Mann to Man

Dear Mr. President,

Hotep.  I know that seeking your personal acknowledgement to the following expression is nothing short of a long-shot, but stranger things have happened.  I mean, if a 60 year old Jack LaLanne can swim from Alcatraz to Fisherman’s Wharf handcuffed shackled and towing a 1,000lb boat, why can’t the 44th president hear the words of a death row prisoner/blogger.

I gotta tell you Mr. President, some days I feel the weight of the world bearing down on me, and I’m slowly sinking into an abyss of irrelevance.  Handcuffed and shackled by injustice, my head is barely above the surface, but your blueprint has taught me that anything is possible if you truly believe in what you’re doing.

This blog has been my platform of expression for more than 2 years.  I apologize for not reaching out to you sooner, but if you read W2TM in its entirety, you’d see I’ve been pretty busy.  It’s something I truly believe in.  So many people believe that true justice is being served in our courts, Mr. President.  W2TM have removed the guise of blind justice and educates the public from the inside of this judicial tornado.  Feel me?

Your firm stand against terrorism is indisputable evidence that you’re a man who’s about his business.  You’ve given the American people a reason to shun fear.  You’ve got plenty on your plate, Mr. President, but if I may, I’d like to approach your table with this entrée of injustice that’s getting colder than the North Pole.

The state of North Carolina has been using corrupt SBI agents to win convictions in capital murder cases.  Death row prisoners have been denied clemency, and death warrants have been signed by a former governor, who was later prosecuted for his misuse of state funds.  The judicial integrity of this state is far beyond being compromised.

It has now been proven that some prosecutors sought capital punishment based on the race of a victim, and not the facts of the case.  The mere existence of the new Racial Justice Act infers that some of the executions, which took place before 2006 were not just.  SMH

No one has been executed in North Carolina since 2006, but the time spent in limbo is killing people – all the same.  The laws in this state are long overdue for a major overhaul.  Abolishing the death penalty won’t, in itself, cure the injustice being served to someone seeking a 2^nd chance; someone who has proven he/she can be an asset to society.

North Carolina’s death row receives World News coverage because one inmate portrayed death row as a leisurely treatment.  The media has somewhat made this particular inmate the spokesperson for all of death row.  In 15 years on death row, not once have I felt like I was in a place of leisure.  This is why I have every reason to reach out to you, Mr. President.

The fact that I’ve been depicted as this ominous figure and portrayed as “the worse of the worst,” thumps my mental like a Travis Barker solo.  Na mean? Murder was my case, but it’s not my crime.

Due to my current circumstance, I was unable to vote for you in 2008 and I’ll be restricted from casting a ballot in this year’s upcoming election.  Commonality is what draws me toward a presidential candidate.  I have a son, a grandson and a granddaughter on the way.  My fam comes second only to my Creator.  Mann to Man; I’m sure you can understand that.  Four more for the 44^th! Ya heard?

Honorably,

MannofStat
Copyright (c) 2012 by Leroy Elwood Mann

“One person can change the world, if only by changing a piece of it.”

-          Soledad O’Brien

Fatherhood: Generations of Pride

Hotep,

It was October 12, 1988.  The U.S.S. Tarawa was dropping its anchor in Monterey Bay, when the Red Cross sent a message to my commanding officer that one of his crew members had just become the father of a healthy, bouncing baby boy; My son, Daveante Elwood Mann.

The Air Boss came down to my berthing quarters to deliver the news.  I was barely 20 years of age.  I didn’t know the first thing about being a father.  Even so, I was overwhelmed with pride when the Air Boss shook my hand and welcomed me into fatherhood.  I intended to do everything for my son that my Pops had done for me.  I blame myself for the circumstances that impeded my deepest intentions.  SMH.

You see, my Pops, Elliot C. Dabney, restored the parental balance in my household, during my most impressionable years.  The ongoing displays of affection between him and Moms – along with the pet names and many road trips – were an obvious beginning of our bond as father and son.  This was everything that I wanted for my son.  Real Talk.

My son grew up knowing his father was living on N.C.’s death row.  How do you explain that to a 10 year old boy yearning for his father?  How do you explain that you won’t be coming home any time soon, while looking into those innocent brown eyes that once belonged to you?  I gotta tell ya, blogosphere; my honesty led to some painful moments inside this box.  Feel me?

My son became a father exactly 20 years after I did.  For the last 4 years, he’s been molding and shaping the future of the Elwood Mann tribe; my grandseed, Deuce.  He’s giving Deuce everything a father should give a son:  guidance, pleasant memories and someone to call Dad.  Even though I can’t be there for them physically, I still take pride in the fact that my son respects me enough to call me, Dad.  Funny how life works, right?

This father recognizes that his offspring will in many ways define his existence.  My son has done a great job of making me proud.  It may be difficult to embrace this thought, but I feel I’ve done the same for my Pops.  Simply because my past mistakes aren’t the deciding factor in whom I’ve become.  How I’ve chosen to respond in the face of adversity gives all of us something to be proud of.  Ya heard?

I love you Pops.  You’ve always been there for me, and you’ll never be far from me.  Na mean?  I love you too, Son.  You’re the manifestation of the father figure I wanted to be for you.  You’re out there raising your son.  An artist takes pride in his beautiful works.  Deuce is just that, Son; a beautiful work of art.  That’s what’s up!!

Son, I also want to congratulate you on the upcoming edition to the Mann fam.  The thought of a female Mann coming into this world, during the revolutionary month of July, stirs the soul of a proud G-dad – resulting in a jewel leaving a track on the side of my face.  I think I will call my granddaughter, Tear.  I’m overflowing with pride, Son.  Word is bond!!

Father’s Day is a gift that I choose to share with the world.  So allow me to acknowledge some fathers that have left us with the gift of their memories.  Rest in Peace Mr. Julius Samuel, Mr. Leroy Elwood. Mann Sr., Mr. Walter Frank Williams and Mr. Thomas Leon Carter.  Long live the fruits of your legacy.

One Love,

MannofStat

Copyright © 2012 by Leroy Elwood Mann

Who Is Imani?

Hotep,

The first time I encountered Imani, I had no idea she would be essential to my existence.  I wanted to get closer to her, but I wouldn’t dare try to use her.  There was something that made her so different from all of the rest.  Even a man like me could see her presence was much more significant than the occasional conquest.

Lust, infidelity and deception were my acquaintances and they did a fairly good job of convincing me of who and what a Mann needs in his life.  Their mere existence granted my distorted perception that “seeing is believing.” So Imani remained a familiar mystery to a man of the world, but this Mann has grown wiser and that man is no more.

Imani is the drive behind this Mann’s achievements.  She is a force of unending generosity that requires a Mann’s spirited and original efforts to free him of any form of bondage.  Imani waters the seed of a Mann’s creativity.  She is the bridge linking inspiration to fruition.  Ideas may come and ideas may go, but Imani makes every thought a small gift worthy of being shared as a momentous treasure.

How could I live without her?  She gauges my frustrations, and then channels them through a literary craftsmanship that ignites the flame of a Mann’s passion.  Giving him more than what he can see, but offering him everything that he feels.

How could a Mann know love without Imani?  She is the fruit without a season.  Love knows no season. It just happens when it happens.  When Imani is present, love is never misleading.  She’s direct and to the point.  She offers much, but asks for so little.  To truly love, you have to know Imani.

It’s comforting to know that my blindfold didn’t keep Imani from seeing the real me.  The path that lies before me will be a journey of newfound experiences that refines the best of men.  Obstacles of discouragement and indifferences may weigh heavy, but having Imani will surely lighten the load of the world’s disparagement toward my future achievements.

Imani is Swahili for “faith.” Without faith; life would be hollow.  Aspirations would be nonexistence.  Imani has always been here and for that reason I will never leave her.  Imani breeds high expectations.  Who is she?  She’s the love of my life. Without her, seeing would be believing.  Ya heard?

Eternally Yours,

MannofStat

Copyright © 2012 by Leroy Elwood Mann

Plugging Into Society

“After one has discovered what he is called for, he should set out to do it with the power he has in his system.

-          Martin Luther King 

Hotep, 

The House Rules committee voted Wednesday (5/16/2012) to introduce legislation that would ban death row inmates from watching television.  The Rules Committee Chairman, Tim Moore, describes his visit to death row as follows: 

“We were within feet of the inmates and got to see what life is like on death row.” 

The irony of Mr. Moore’s death row visit is another example of how death penalty supporters continue to evade the faulty process of sending someone to the death chamber.  This bill he supports is a mere reaction to a letter written by death row inmate Danny Robbie Hembree, Jr., to the Gaston Gazette. 

Hembree went into protective custody shortly after he came to the row.  So, technically his visit to the row lasted a couple of months longer than Mr. Moore’s.  Neither of these men can give you a true account of “what life is like on death row.”  Here’s a much clearer view – coming from a 15 year in-house observation. 

Glenn Chapman, a.k.a., “Chap,” was written off as one of “the worst of the worst” for 14 long years, for two murders for which he was eventually exonerated.  I knew Chap well.  He’s been making an honest living – back in society – for the last 4 years.  Should he have lost his television privileges?  Should every lawyer in the District Attorney’s Office be disbarred because a few are guilty of prosecutorial misconduct? 

Danny Robbie Hembree, Jr. may refer to himself as “a gentlemen of leisure,” but as a long time detainee of this facility, I can assure you that aint nothing sweet about life on the row.  Ya heard? 

The debauchery of the legal system is a much bigger issue than a color t.v. on death row.  As this goes to press, Hembree is probably suffering from television withdrawal.  Protective custody inmates don’t have access to television; or the local newspaper for that matter.  Real talk. 

The state’s crime lab debacle and racial injustice has thwarted my connection to society, but W2TM has been the power within my system.  So, t.v. or no t.v., I’ll continue to plug in and serve my calling.  Na mean?  I’m out like Glenn Chapman. 

One,

MannofStat

Copyright © 2012 by Leroy Elwood Mann