State of Lunacy

Hotep,

The elections of 2k12 have been documented and filed in the archives of political science as this goes to press.  I’m was always confident that the 44^th president would maintain his seat as this country’s Commander-in-Chief.  Maybe he can better this country’s economical woes with another four-year term as president.  Maybe not.  If nothing else; the citizens of this country will know that terrorism – in-house or abroad – will not be tolerated.  Na mean?

The American dream will continue to thrive under the leadership of incumbent president, Barack Obama.  However, in the state of North Carolina, Governor Pat McCrory has his sights set on revitalizing the state’s death chamber.  I don’t have to tell you that this will prove to be a nightmare for death row residents whose appeals have exhausted.  Unlike the presidential election, the North Carolina governor’s race was wrapped up before it started.  Pat McCrory was the driver – just waiting for the keys.  SMH

I was pretty consistent with my resolutions for the year 2k12.  In “Fulfilling a Resolution” (3/25/12), I spoke about not allowing the rainy days of 2k11, to sway my drive of becoming a much better writer.  I feel as though I did just that.  But, the end of 2k12 projected the potential of state sanctioned executions in 2k13.  Word is bond!

“Communicating with the masses from a death row prison cell has proven to be inspirational for some – but exasperating for others.”

These are my exact words coming from that self-motivating post, of March 25,2k12.  With that said; I will continue to take my life to the next level, in 2k13.  For sure!  I only hope the growth in my writing, isn’t founded on the carnage that the governor has promised to bring to fruition.  Feel me?

As I stated in “Fulfilling a Resolution:” “My life is currently in a state of a major transition.” This remains true in every sense of the phrase, and I’m ever so grateful for this concrete cocoon, in which I’ve grown my literary wings.  Peeling through the payers of this cocoon to achieve my flight to freedom is inevitable.  Ya heard?

The sad part about the winds gusting beneath my wings; is the targeted death row inmates that refuse to grasp the reality of the recent electoral change.  I empathize with death row prisoners worldwide, but the inmates exhibiting more concern for the inner dealings of penitentiary life, and blanketing their reality with the guise of oblivion, while convincing themselves that insignificance is bliss, I can only offer you this: “Hate it or love it; a change is coming.  Feel me?” (Fulfilling a Resolution).

This year, I’ll continue to look at the cup as half full.  2k13 will be a historical year for the state of North Carolina one-way or the other.  Maintaining my sanity while trapped in this state of lunacy is too big of a commitment to be labeled a resolution; it’s a life choice.  So 2k13; Give me what you got!

Keep it 100,

MannofStat

Copyright © 2013 by Leroy Elwood Mann

It's the Law

Hotep, 

USA Today reported in its December 11, 2k12 edition that North Carolina is prepared to impede the efforts of prosecutors seeking the death penalty.  This report doesn’t scream that state lawmakers plan to abolish the death penalty.  However, it is a whisper of recognition regarding the reprehensible practices of the state’s crime lab – along with the prosecutors using race as a means of gaining an advantage in capital cases – is reason to recalibrate the partisan scales of justice.  Feel me?

Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1977, North Carolina has issued at least one death sentence per year.  Well, as of December 14, 2012, that tradition has met a moral road block.  With no more cases on the 2k12 docket, its obvious juries are no longer content with the prosecutorial onslaughts of a defendant’s character, as a method of persuasion, to win a death penalty conviction.  Therefore, the row had no new faces in 2k12.  Our numbers increased in spiritual growth, only, while our population steadily lessens without the usage of the state’s death chamber.  Ya heard?

With this being the case, irony was definitely in the air on Thursday, December 13, 2k12.  Judge Gregory Weeks vacated the death sentences of Quintel Augustine, Tilman Golphin and Christine Walters.  You do remember Judge Weeks, right?  He’s the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge in Cumberland County, who broke the mold of the Racial Justice Act, with the case of Marcus Reymond Robinson back in 4/20/12 (The Concrete Perspective, 5/29/12).

New life outside of today’s norm has been a revelation.  I mean, the days of systematically excluding blacks from juries, and taking a capital dump on indigent defendants are numbered.  For far too long, capital punishment in the state of North Carolina was believed to be a deterrent for crime.  Check the stats; without a single new face in 2k12, the crime rate continues to decrease in N.C.  Word is bond!

As the historical year drew to an end, I wanted to think this change could help us become better people.  Then I’m reminded of the two angry Caucasian males who vowed to take the law into their own hands, since the state’s promise to execute Tilmon Golphin didn’t pan out.  A furor that was exhibited before the cameras of the local news media – and chronicled for generations to come.  SMH.

OAN, my heart goes out to the families of the angelic souls – recently departed – from Newtown, Connecticut.  Sandy Hook Elementary School is now a historical landmark, by the hands of violence.  The pain of losing those beautiful babies to such a horrendous act will forever be a cataclysm within our hearts.  But, I can only hope that the preadolescent survivors evolve into a generation that echoes the sentiments of our 44^th president – not the injurious thoughts/words displayed in a Cumberland County Court room last December.  Na mean?

Nothing we do or say will change who’s deceased and who’s left behind as a survivor.  Taking the law into your own hands leaves another deceased and more survivors left to mourn.  You can be sure the deplorable practices of the state will be ready and willing to accommodate.  It’s the law.

“The ugly truth of race discrimination revealed by defendant’s evidence is the 1^st step in creating a system of justice that is free from the pernicious influence of race.”

- Judge Gregory Weeks, 12/13/12

Keep it 100,

MannofStat

Copyright © 2013 by Leroy Elwood Mann

A Mann Behind the Pen

Hotep, 

Wow!  This is absolutely incredible!!  The 3^rd year of W2TM.  Who knew?  SMH.  This journey began with a friend and some great childhood memories. Three years later, W2TM has become a learning tool for anyone unaware of ‘Lady Justice’ peeking from beneath her blindfold.  Na mean?

I recognize this opportunity as nothing less than Divine Intervention.  In no way is it a common practice for a prisoner of my political status to have a voice of this magnitude.  Not only am I thankful for my Creator delivering such a great moment in my life, but, I’m also humbled by the many responses to my Creator’s work, through my writing.  That’s what’s good.

There have been many times – more than I can count – I’ve picked up this pen without the slightest inclination of what I should write.  Somehow, the words will just pour out of me, as if my physical presence was nothing more than a boiling tea pot unleashing the flavor of the ultimate preparer.  I merely contain this literary sweetness that fills the cups of the masses.  I don’t make it.  Feel me?

There are other times where I’m awakened by a sudden thought.  Call it a dream or a voice, but I’m driven by a higher power to push this pen.  Of course, there are times when the teapot will try to stir the sweetness residing within, for what I may believe to be additional flavoring.  Imagine that.

That’s why I’m also thankful for my Editor-in-Chief, Rochelle.  She’s the balance that prevents the overflow of my deepest expressions.  She dovetails my declarations one sip at a time, allowing the masses to savor the everlasting flavor of the Creator.  Ya heard?

I’m just a Mann behind the pen, my Peoples.  W2TM was destined to be; long before any of us came into the physical existence.  I’m honored to be appointed as your MannofStat; the point guard to the People.

This 12-month span has been filled with tragedies, around the world, and in our own backyards.  I mean, the madness at Sandy Hook Elementary School should’ve  made you tell people closest to you that you loved them.  If not; it was definitely a lesson that some things we just won’t be able to control.  You can only protect your loved ones, but so much.  At some point, you have to let go and let God.  The Creator doesn’t need our help.  We need His.  Feel me?

Despite my shortcomings; I’ve been sculpted for this particular mission.  As I continue to fulfill my purpose, I’m still the Mann you knew; the Mann you know now; and the Mann behind this pen.  This Mann’s labor of love is an integral facet to the Creator’s plan for 2k13 and beyond.  Stay tuned.  Love ya fam.

Doing What I Do,

MannofStat

Copyright © 2013 Leroy Elwood Mann

Back on Track: Driving to a Purpose

Hotep, 

The final days of 2k12 left the sour taste of uncertainty and discouragement on the surface of my soul.  But, like a North Carolina snowfall; it just wouldn’t stick.  The movement of the ‘snail mail’ (you do remember what that is, right?) was simply atrocious.  My old friend, ‘Smoke Digga,’ lost his most precious jewel, Ms. Daisy Mae Larry (7/23/1934 – 12/4/2012).  Rest in peace Mama Larry, your son’s love for you stands out like a fresh tear gracing the side of a dry cheekbone.  That love will continue to flow.  Ya heard?

To make matters worse, a certain ‘Time Stretcher’ threw a glitch into the Mannerisms of my Manhood.  In saying that; I wholeheartedly apologize to my fam and followers for any degree of disappointment resulting from my brush with the wiles of the ‘Time Stretcher.’

Every situation won’t always add up like dollars and cents.  If you allow yourself to engage in senseless interactions, you may find yourself making sense of matters that aren’t worth the scents rising from a day old bag of trash.  So, since I’ve done just that; it’s now my obligation to assure you that your MannofStat is back on track.  Word is bond!

I gotta tell you, blogosphere; the first 10 minutes of the Steve Harvey morning radio show has played a major role in the replenishment of my focus.  His inspirational thought of the day has been a spiritual booster for a Mann engulfed in the melancholy of the concrete box.  Feel me?

So far, 2k13 has been a strain on my mental, but my productivity remains consistent.  There are times when my day-to-day circumstances threaten to hinder my connection to the free world.  Thank God I’m a firm believer that your present circumstances don’t have to be your defining moment.  That type of existence would be a submission of any principles that make me the Mann I am.  Ain’t no way!  SMH.

It’s only March, but I can already see that I’ll be tuned into the journalistic works of Philadelphia Daily News columnist, Ms. Helen Ubinas.  In the short time I’ve been reading her column, she’s displayed a much appreciated knack for showing the better side of what society may deem to be the ‘common criminal.’

Ms. Ubinas recently reviewed the film, ‘Pull of Gravity.’ One of the stories within this film features a cat named Andy.  A 44-year-old black male recently released from prison.  Now tell me; how could I not draw inspiration from this seed of freedom?  Hopefully, the pioneering spirit of Ms. Ubinas becomes contagious to those who can’t see the forest for the trees.  The seed of freedom has fallen on fertile soil.  Na mean?

Asante, Ms. Ubinas!  Through your literary outlook, I can feel that I’m not kicking on the door in vain.  That’s what’s up!!

Peace and Love,

MannofStat

Copyright © 2013 Leroy Elwood Mann

The Time Stretcher

Hotep,

There are distinctive situations where casual conversation can be an effective method for gauging another person’s state of mind.  Right?  Well, in a penitentiary setting, casual conversation is normally a segway into a prolonged discussion with the likes of someone intent on killing your time.  This brand of inmate is better known as the “Time Stretcher.” No need to look at your watch because the “Time Stretcher” makes all time endless.  Real talk.

Just try to imagine being trapped in an elevator with talk radio Jock, Rush Limbaugh.  Okay.  Now imagine this same episode and Rush doesn’t have access to prescription painkillers.  That’s the Time Stretcher I’m speaking of.  The conversational lush with the insatiable appetite for the nearest wandering ear.  Na mean?

No matter where you go in the penitentiary (Death Row, G-Pop, the prison hospital or the Bing) you just can’t escape the verbal clutches of this vociferous individual.  The Time Stretcher knows no boundaries when it comes to the dismal practices of complaining about the obvious.  SMH.

The Time Stretcher will complain about the frigid temperatures during the winter months.  Then turn around and complain to the unit manager about the heat being too high.  The Time Stretcher constantly bickers with others concerning television programming.  He/she will even have the audacity to grab the remote; turn to a specific show; then retire to his/her cell to maybe, read a book.  Or, in some instances; take a nap – while the television program entertains an empty dayroom.  Believe me People, I couldn’t make this stuff up. 

No serving of food is sufficient for the Time Stretcher.  I hear this all of the time: “These ain’t enough eggs.” “Put my eggs in the big slot” (of the food tray).  Or, the all time classic complaint about the juice from one food slot bleeding into another.  This particular complaint has the potential to incite a prison riot.  I mean, all are legitimate culinary gripes if you were being served at a local restaurant.  Time Stretchers have a tendency to forget they’re in prison. 

It’s always the same people complaining.  Sometimes it’s like having a pot dropped over your head, and a wooden spoon is pounding the rhythm of the Star Spangled Banner into your ear drums.  You know the tune so well, but you just don’t want to hear it in that capacity.  Feel me?

One of the most common traits of the Time Stretcher is a willingness to share their knowledge of any and everything concerning the penitentiary.  They can tell you how everything works – from the hydraulic system inside the officer’s control station, to the water lines running throughout the prison.  If this was the movie, “ShawShank Redemption,” that 411 would probably be relevant, but since it isn’t; I see it for what it is: simply another way for the Time Stretcher to become acquainted with your ear canal.  SMH

Some Time Stretchers are exclusive with particular cellblocks.  Others will leave no eardrum uninterrupted.  Audio terror is what the Time Stretcher lives for.  So, he/she utilizes the method of “Blockhoppin” (regularly moving from cell block to cell block) to infect the sound waves of anyone who may not have had the excruciating experience of being vocally subdued by this particular individual.

You’d have to wonder: what does the Time Stretcher do when the doors are closed, and the only two ears to burn are their own?  I guess they just look forward to the next day like anyone else in this box.  You may be looking forward to a new day, but the Time Stretcher is looking forward to feeding on your time.  No doubt.

Hold Ya Head,

MannofStat

Copyright © 2013 by Leroy Elwood Mann