“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
I am appauled that the House would even entertain such legislation. What is the thought process behind this? Will taking away t.v. make for a hostile environment due to lack of an outlet? It's a possiblity, in my opinion. If they take away t.v. what's next? books? photos? skies the limit! Televison keeps the masses informed as well as entertained. I fail to see the harm in that.
ReplyDeleteA hostile environment is always a possibility when death is the ultimate penalty. The annual basketball tournament (http://www.balltilwefall.blogspot.com/) has been the embodiment of progress and peace. The exact opposite of what state lawmakers would want the public to know about North Carolina's death row.
ReplyDeleteAs prisoners, losing the television really shouldn't be an issue. It's the inmates that will have a hard time coping with such a drastic change. Feel me?
You hit the nail on the head Ms. TLC, when you said, "the sky is the limit." No matter what the administration chooses to take away, from my penitentiary existence, they can't deter the Mann I've become. My knees are firmly planted in the soil of my Creator and my focus is on his blue skies. They can't take my gift, so "the sky is the limit." Ya heard?
Keep it 100,
MannofStat