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Read article here:
The Detroit Free Press ran a three day series on "A Nationwide Look at the Parole system".....
Click links below to read:
Part 1: Lax controls leave Michigan's ex-cons free to kill...
Part 2: Unsupervised ex-con's living near each other in places like parole town can lead to crime
Part 3: States shift focus to aid parole's' transition home
Recidivism Hard To Shake For Ex-Offenders Returning Home To Dim Prospects
I SURE DIDN'T TILL NOW
Death Is certain but the Bible speaks about untimely death!
Make a Personal reflection about this.........Very interesting so read until the end.......
It is Written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7): 'Be not Deceived; God is not mocked: For
Whatsoever a man sow, That shall He also reap....
Here are some Men and women Who mocked God:
John Lennon (Singer): Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine, He said:
'Christianity Will end, it will disappear. I do Not have to argue about That..I am certain.
Jesus Was Okay, but his subjects were too simple. Today we are more Famous than Him' (1966).
Lennon, after Saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, Was shot six times.
Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil ): During The Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes
From his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency. Sure he got The votes, but he got sick a day
before being made President, Then he died.
Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian Composer, singer and poet): During A show in Canecio ( Rio de Janeiro ),
While Smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air And said:
'God, that's for you.' He died at The age of 32 of LUNG CANCER in a horrible manner.
The man who Built the Titanic: After The construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the
Titanic would be. With An ironic tone he said: 'Not Even God can sink it!'
The Result: I think you all know what Happened to the Titanic......
Marilyn Monroe (Actress): She Was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a Show. He Said the
Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her. After Hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said:
'I Don't need your Jesus'. A week later, She was found dead in her apartment dead.
Bon Scott (Singer): The Ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he Sang:
'Don't Stop me; I'm going down all the way, down the highway to Hell...
On the 19th Of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked By his own vomit.
Campinas (IN 2005): In Campinas , Brazil a group of friends, drunk, went to pick up a friend.....
The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to
the daughter holding her hand, who was already seated in the car:
'My Daughter, Go With God And May He Protect You.' She responded: 'Only If He (God) Travels In The Trunk,
Cause Inside Here.....It's Already Full ' Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident,
everyone had died. The car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was
intact. The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk
was a crate of eggs, none was broken.
Christine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer) said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book
ever written. In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle......
Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the
name of Jesus. Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and he is still alive. 'Jesus'
Jesus said: 'If you are embarrassed about me, I will also be embarrassed about you before my father....'
It only takes eight seconds to share this over the Internet. You are my 8 seconds.
Just repeat this prayer and see how God moves!!
Only he can Open those Iron Gates and set our Loved Ones FREE! Pray for them daily. Only takes 8 Seconds.
'Lord, I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home, and my friends,
in Jesus' name. Amen.'
PS: If this were a funny joke, we share this with everyone you came in contact with. So are you going to have courage to share this? I have done my part!
Let God bless you and your family!
Peace and Love
Published May 17, 2012
DENVER – Troy Anderson is a mentally ill inmate in isolation at the Colorado State Penitentiary, deemed for more than a decade too dangerous to be among other offenders.
His lawyers argue, however, that prolonged solitary confinement is contributing to a vicious cycle, making his psychiatric conditions worse and resulting in misbehavior that warrants further punishment.
Prison officials defend the practice, saying administrative segregation, which can include up to 23 hours a day alone in a concrete cell, is a fundamental part of security.
Art Leonardo, executive director of the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents, says keeping prisoners away from the general population is a way to "keep them from being harmed."
But prisoners' rights advocates around the nation say putting mentally ill inmates in long-term solitary confinement amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. In some states, activists are pushing court challenges to get convicts, such as Anderson, out of isolation.
"People with mental illness suffer horribly in solitary confinement," said David Fathi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project.
Anderson, represented by University of Denver law students, last week appeared before a federal judge in Denver to ask for better medication for conditions said to lead to panic attacks. He's also asking to be let outside three times a week.
Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti says prison officials use isolation "to maintain offender and staff safety."
Inmates' rights activists might concede that temporary isolation has its place, but Anderson's lawyers say he has been in solitary for 12 years, and it's not helping.
Long-term isolation has "become an integral part of how we manage prisons in this country," Fathi said.
The National Prison Project has handled about 10 cases in the last dozen years dealing with mentally ill inmates indefinitely kept in isolation, Fathi said.
There are no statistics detailing how many of the more than 218,000 federal prison inmates are considered mentally ill. Similarly, there is no official estimate as to how many inmates are placed in solitary confinement.
U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics show that in 2010 there were more than 1.4 million inmates in state prisons. However, there are no official estimates for how many state prisoners are mentally ill or in isolation.
Cases involving inmates such as Anderson, convicted of attempted murder in 2000, are coming with increasing regularity, inmates' rights advocates say. The outcomes have been varied.
Lawyers on behalf of a North Carolina inmate with severe paranoid schizophrenia, depression and borderline personality disorder argued last year that a decade of solitary confinement, which sometimes included being shackled inside his cell, worsened his conditions considerably.
But a judge ruled against them, and Michael A. Williams remains in isolation.
A federal jury in January awarded $22 million to a New Mexico inmate who extracted a tooth by hand, rocking it back and forth in the socket for hours, after going without medical or dental care while in solitary confinement for two years.
Stephen Slevin had been isolated because he was depressed and someone checked a box on a form indicating he was suicidal, according to his attorney.
A pending class action lawsuit headed by a South Carolina advocacy group says the state has been punishing mentally ill inmates without giving them enough access to psychiatric care.
One of the four prisoners represented in the suit spent nearly 24 hours a day in his cell for 16 years and saw a counselor only once a month, according to court documents.
Defense lawyers, in closing arguments in March, said South Carolina prison officials are doing their best to treat mentally ill inmates with the limited money they receive from the state. A judge is considering the case.
Psychiatrist Stuart Grassian says that long-term isolation for prisoners who need psychiatric help is counterproductive. He says the typical approach from prison officials — "if you punish bad behavior, it'll eventually get better" — does not work for mentally ill inmates without proper medical treatment.
Leonardo, head of the prison officials group, says that while isolation is not ideal, administrative segregation is the best way to manage inmates who pose a threat and need special care.
"A number of years ago, we began in this country to stop institutionalizing people who had mental illnesses. We just put them in jail. Jails really are not prepared or staffed in most cases to deal with them."
Laura Rovner, a law professor at the University of Denver whose students helped represent Anderson, says part of the reason behind the push for more lawsuits are mental health advocates proclaiming that isolation practices do not work.
"Being put in isolation," Rovner said, "is likely going to make you worse."
WHILE STROLLING THROUGH THE FIELDS OF TIME
THERE ARE MANY THINGS TO SEE
BUT NATURE IS THE GREATEST SIGHT
THAT THERE COULD EVER BE
THE GREATEST OF THEM ALL YOU SEE
IS HOW THE WORLD WAS FORMED
AND WHY A ROSE IS THERE TO LIVE
EACH DAY AMONG THE THORNS
ONE DAY AMONG THE WORLD OF THORNS
A ROSE BEGAN TO GROW
IT WAS THE GREATEST GIFT OF GOD
THIS WORLD WILL EVER KNOW
IT WAS THE WILL OF GOD TO SHOW
THAT SINCE THE WORLD WAS FORMED
THERE HAD TO BE A ROSE TO LIVE
A mentally ill inmate is "A Rose Among the Thorns" when THOSE around them is either
unpleasant, aversive, antipathetic, apathetic, callous, cold-blooded,
disinterested, hard, harsh, heartless, icy, indifferent, insensitive and incompetent!
When you find "A Rose Among Thorns"
you find a soft flower among the sharp thorns.
A rose among the thorns mean anything nice found among
not-so-nice things.
DID I MISS ANY WORDS? IF SO, ADD THEM TO THE LIST....Inhumanity..Illiterate, Controlling, Dictator......
Peace and Love YaVon | |
For the first time in the nation’s history, more than one in 100 American adults is behind bars, according to a new report.
Multimedia
Nationwide, the prison population grew by 25,000 last year, bringing it to almost 1.6 million. Another 723,000 people are in local jails. The number of American adults is about 230 million, meaning that one in every 99.1 adults is behind bars.
Incarceration rates are even higher for some groups. One in 36 Hispanic adults is behind bars, based on Justice Department figures for 2006. One in 15 black adults is, too, as is one in nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34.
The report, from the Pew Center on the States, also found that only one in 355 white women between the ages of 35 and 39 are behind bars but that one in 100 black women are.
The report’s methodology differed from that used by the Justice Department, which calculates the incarceration rate by using the total population rather than the adult population as the denominator. Using the department’s methodology, about one in 130 Americans is behind bars.
Either way, said Susan Urahn, the center’s managing director, “we aren’t really getting the return in public safety from this level of incarceration.”
But Paul Cassell, a law professor at the University of Utah and a former federal judge, said the Pew report considered only half of the cost-benefit equation and overlooked the “very tangible benefits — lower crime rates.”
In the past 20 years, according the Federal Bureau of Investigation, violent crime rates fell by 25 percent, to 464 for every 100,000 people in 2007 from 612.5 in 1987.
“While we certainly want to be smart about who we put into prisons,” Professor Cassell said, “it would be a mistake to think that we can release any significant number of prisoners without increasing crime rates. One out of every 100 adults is behind bars because one out of every 100 adults has committed a serious criminal offense.”
Ms. Urahn said the nation cannot afford the incarceration rate documented in the report. “We tend to be a country in which incarceration is an easy response to crime,” she said. “Being tough on crime is an easy position to take, particularly if you have the money. And we did have the money in the ‘80s and ‘90s.”
Now, with fewer resources available, the report said, “prison costs are blowing a hole in state budgets.” On average, states spend almost 7 percent on their budgets on corrections, trailing only healthcare, education and transportation.
In 2007, according to the National Association of State Budgeting Officers, states spent $44 billion in tax dollars on corrections. That is up from $10.6 billion in 1987, a 127 increase once adjusted for inflation. With money from bonds and the federal government included, total state spending on corrections last year was $49 billion. By 2011, the report said, states are on track to spend an additional $25 billion.
It cost an average of $23,876 dollars to imprison someone in 2005, the most recent year for which data were available. But state spending varies widely, from $45,000 a year in Rhode Island to $13,000 in Louisiana.
The cost of medical care is growing by 10 percent annually, the report said, and will accelerate as the prison population ages.
About one in nine state government employees works in corrections, and some states are finding it hard to fill those jobs. California spent more than $500 million on overtime alone in 2006.
The number of prisoners in California dropped by 4,000 last year, making Texas’s prison system the nation’s largest, at about 172,000. But the Texas legislature last year approved broad changes to the corrections system there, including expansions of drug treatment programs and drug courts and revisions to parole practices.
“Our violent offenders, we lock them up for a very long time — rapists, murderers, child molestors,” said John Whitmire, a Democratic state senator from Houston and the chairman of the state senate’s criminal justice committee. “The problem was that we weren’t smart about nonviolent offenders. The legislature finally caught up with the public.”
He gave an example.
“We have 5,500 D.W.I offenders in prison,” he said, including people caught driving under the influence who had not been in an accident. “They’re in the general population. As serious as drinking and driving is, we should segregate them and give them treatment.”
The Pew report recommended diverting nonviolent offenders away from prison and using punishments short of reincarceration for minor or technical violations of probation or parole. It also urged states to consider earlier release of some prisoners.
Before the recent changes in Texas, Mr. Whitmire said, “we were recycling nonviolent offenders.”
Dear M.I.S.S. Family,
In 1991, Troy Davis was convicted of murdering a white police officer. Though there's major evidence that Davis didn't commit the crime, Georgia is prepared to put him to death. We have a good chance of stopping this -- but only if we speak up now.
The fact is, no physical evidence connected Davis to the murder. Seven of the original nine witnesses have recanted, with many saying their testimony was a result of law enforcement pressure. Of the remaining witnesses, one is highly suspect and the other could be the actual culprit in the officer's murder.
Now, despite these and other facts, the state of Georgia has taken the first steps toward Davis' execution -- and only the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole stands between Davis and the lethal injection chamber.
Georgia may be about to kill an innocent man. That's not justice. Please join me and my friends at ColorOfChange.org in asking the Georgia Parole Board to spare Troy Davis' life, before it's too late:
Georgia Parole Board
Since Troy Davis' 1991 conviction, numerous facts have emerged that introduce significant doubt as to his guilt.
These facts include:
* All but two of the original witnesses against Troy Davis have signed affidavits recanting their earlier testimony. Most claim that their testimony was coerced by police officers.[1]
* Multiple witnesses say that another man -- one of the original witnesses against Davis -- has claimed to have slain the fallen officer.[2]
The weapon used in the murder was never found. The only physical evidence connecting Davis to the crime was circumstantial -- and new testimony disputes Davis's connection to that evidence.[3]
* In light of this evidence, the Supreme Court granted Davis another chance. But instead of an actual new trial before a jury, which would mean the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt is on the prosecutor, he got an evidentiary hearing before a single federal judge where Davis' lawyers had the burden to meet an impossibly high and undefined legal standard.
Unbelievably, the judge rejected the new evidence and cleared the way for Davis' execution. But even he acknowledged lingering doubt, noting that the case against Davis was not "ironclad."
But "ironclad" is exactly what the evidence should be in order to put someone to death. If the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole doesn't act to stop Davis' execution, they'll run a serious risk of putting an innocent man to death. That is not acceptable.
Please join me and my friends at ColorOfChange.org in asking the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole to save Troy Davis' life by commuting his sentence to life in prison. And when you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same.
Thanks.
YaVon Best
By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jan 4th 2011 12:37PM
Cornelius Dupree (pictured) was sent to prison in 1979 on charges of rape and robbery. After doing more than 30 years in prison, he has finally been set free by the Innocence Project.
Dupree served more time in a Texas prison than any other innocent person in the history of the state. There are only two others in this country who have served more time and been exonerated, according to the Innocence Project:
"Cornelius Dupree spent the prime of his life behind bars because of mistaken identification that probably would have been avoided if the best practices now used in Dallas had been employed," said Barry Scheck, co-director of the Innocence Project. "Let us never forget that, as in the heartbreaking case of Cornelius Dupree, a staggering 75 percent of wrongful convictions of people later cleared by DNA evidence resulted from mis-identifications."
For three decades, Dupree fought for his innocence and was turned down for appeal on all three occasions. The Texas prison system is known for being the harshest and most racist justice system in the United States.
According to Robert Perkinson, a historian at The University of Hawaii, the Texas prison system gave 30 years to Lee Otis Johnson, a black power advocate who simply passed a joint to an undercover officer. To this day, there are seven times more black prison inmates in Texas than whites, according to Professor Perkinson's book "Texas Tough: The Rise and Fall of the Prison Emprire."
Whether in the state of Texas or in a place like Georgia, where the inmates went on strike last month, prison reform is needed. If you believe that Cornelius Dupree is the only innocent man behind bars, you're sadly mistaken.
The truth is that the Innocence Project, as brilliant as it may be, only has the resources to investigate a limited number of cases. Additionally, most of the men and women freed by the Innocence Project happen to be African American. This argues for the necessity of black organizations, politicians and regular citizens to supplement the great work of the Innocence Project by demanding substantial reform in the Prison Industrial Complex.
Let's do our part to advocate for our love ones freedom, NOW!
Peace and Love
YaVon
Inmates at a facility in California, a state that spent almost $10 billion on corrections last year
By Senator Jim Webb
published: 03/29/2009
America's criminal justice system has deteriorated to the point that it is a national disgrace. Its irregularities and inequities cut against the notion that we are a society founded on fundamental fairness. Our failure to address this problem has caused the nation's prisons to burst their seams with massive overcrowding, even as our neighborhoods have become more dangerous. We are wasting billions of dollars and diminishing millions of lives.
We need to fix the system. Doing so will require a major nationwide recalculation of who goes to prison and for how long and of how we address the long-term consequences of incarceration. Twenty-five years ago, I went to Japan on assignment for PARADE to write a story on that country's prison system. In 1984, Japan had a population half the size of ours and was incarcerating 40,000 sentenced offenders, compared with 580,000 in the United States. As shocking as that disparity was, the difference between the countries now is even more astounding--and profoundly disturbing. Since then, Japan's prison population has not quite doubled to 71,000, while ours has quadrupled to 2.3 million.
The United States has by far the world's highest incarceration rate.
With 5% of the world's population, our country now houses nearly 25% of the world's reported prisoners. We currently incarcerate 756 inmates per 100,000 residents, a rate nearly five times the average worldwide of 158 for every 100,000. In addition, more than 5 million people who recently left jail remain under "correctional supervision," which includes parole, probation, and other community sanctions. All told, about one in every 31 adults in the United States is in prison, in
jail, or on supervised release. This all comes at a very high price to taxpayers: Local, state, and federal spending on corrections adds up to about $68 billion a year.
having done prison time and become full, contributing members of society. And, in the face of the movement toward mass incarceration, law-enforcement officials in many parts of the U.S. have been overwhelmed and unable to address a dangerous wave of organized, frequently violent gang activity,
much of it run by leaders who are based in other countries.
With so many of our citizens in prison compared with the rest of the world, there are only two possibilities: Either we are home to the most evil people on earth or we are doing something different--and vastly counterproductive. Obviously, the answer is the latter.
Over the past two decades, we have been incarcerating more and more people for nonviolent crimes and for acts that are driven by mental illness or drug dependence. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 16% of the adult inmates in American prisons and jails--which means more than 350,000 of those locked up--suffer from mental illness, and the percentage in juvenile custody is even higher. Our correctional institutions are also heavily populated by the "criminally ill," including inmates who suffer from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and hepatitis.
Drug offenders, most of them passive users or minor dealers, are swamping our prisons. According to data supplied to Congress' Joint Economic Committee, those imprisoned for drug offenses rose from 10% of the inmate population to approximately 33% between 1984 and 2002. Experts estimate that this increase accounts for about half of the dramatic escalation in the total number imprisoned over that period. Yet locking up more of these offenders has done nothing to break up the power of the multibillion-dollar illegal drug trade. Nor has it
brought about a reduction in the amounts of the more dangerous drugs--such as cocaine, heroin, and
methamphetamines--that are reaching our citizens.
Justice statistics also show that 47.5% of all the drug arrests in
our country in 2007 were for marijuana offenses. Additionally, nearly 60% of the people in state prisons serving time for a drug offense had no history of violence or of any significant selling activity. Indeed, four out of five drug arrests were for possession of illegal substances, while only one out of five was for sales. Three-quarters of the drug offenders in our state prisons were there for nonviolent or purely drug offenses. And although experts have found little statistical difference among racial groups regarding actual drug use, African-Americans--who make up about 12% of the total U.S.
population--accounted for 37% of those arrested on drug charges, 59% of those convicted, and 74% of
all drug offenders sentenced to prison.
Against this backdrop of chaos and mismanagement, a dangerous form
of organized and sometimes deadly gang activity has infiltrated America's towns and cities. It comes largely from our country's southern border, and much of the criminal activity centers around the movement of illegal drugs. The weapons and tactics involved are of the highest order.
The Mexican drug cartels, whose combined profits are estimated at
$25 billion a year, are known to employ many elite former soldiers who were trained in some of America's most sophisticated military programs. Their brutal tactics took the lives of more than 6000 Mexicans last year alone, and the bloodshed has been spilling over the border into our own neighborhoods at a rapid pace. One terrible result is that Phoenix, Ariz., has become the kidnapping capital of the United States, with more than 370 cases in 2008. That is more incidents than in any other city in the world outside of Mexico City.
The challenge to our communities is not limited to the states that border Mexico. Mexican cartels are now reported to be running operations in some 230 American cities. Other gang activity--much of it directed from Latin America, Asia, and Europe--has permeated our country to the point that no area is immune. As one example, several thousand members of the Central American gang MS-13 now operate in northern Virginia, only a stone's throw from our nation's capital.
In short, we are not protecting our citizens from the increasing danger of criminals who perpetrate violence and intimidation as a way of life, and we are locking up too many people who do not belong in jail. It is incumbent on our national leadership to find a way to fix our prison system. I believe that American ingenuity can discover better ways to deal with the problems of drugs and nonviolent criminal behavior while still minimizing violent
crime and large-scale gang activity. And we all deserve to live in a country made better by such changes.
Dr. John P. May is chief medical officer at Armor Correctional Health Services, a minority-owned enterprise incorporated in the state of Florida that provides comprehensive medical, dental and mental health services exclusively for inmates in jails and prisons.
Meeting the health needs of some of the sickest and most complex patients in our community is the responsibility and privilege of those who deliver healthcare in jails and prisons. Like those in uniform who also protect and serve, these healthcare providers must maintain professionalism, integrity, competency and ethics in challenging environments that are often ill-designed for healing and far from therapeutic. These healthcare providers advocate for and deliver services in the best interests of their inmate patients. The community ought to appreciate and support these efforts, even if only because the community's own health and safety ultimately benefit when proper care is given to inmates.
The impact of incarceration on public health is significant. Incarcerated populations are known to have high rates of transmissible diseases because of preexisting problems including poor access to healthcare, high risk lifestyles and living in close quarters. Frequently landing in jail or prison marks the first time these individuals have had access to medical services, mental health treatment and dental care. Often substance addiction complicates disease processes and treatments.
Each year in the United States more than 12 million people are released from jails and prisons. A slightly larger number enter each year, owing to a steady increase in our jail and prison populations. This is an important intervention point for screening, treating and preventing disease. A report to the U.S. Congress by the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare shows an estimated 98,500 to 145,500 inmates released from U.S. prisons and jails in 1996 were HIV carriers. Another 38,500 had AIDS, and an additional 155,000 were infected with hepatitis B while another 1.3 million to 1.4 illion were infected with hepatitis C. In Florida, an HIV test is mandatory prior to leaving the state's prison system and is typically available to jail and prison inmates upon request, along with other preventive health information.
Learn More about Experiments on Prisoners
Women are screened for cervical and breast cancer, while men are tested for prostate cancer. Vaccinations are administered, along with other preventive healthcare. Failure to identify and treat disease among prisoners and failure to provide a continuum of health and social services to those transitioning from jail or prison perpetuates disease and disenfranchisement, resulting in higher healthcare costs for everyone. Through an adequate jail or prison-based health program of disease screening, treatment and discharge planning, the negative impact of health conditions that affect the public can be minimized.
Nonetheless, healthcare for inmates is often rejected by both the public and public officials. Had it not been for a Supreme Court judgment ruling that prisoners have a right to adequate healthcare, few would receive it at all. And this despite the fact that the purpose of jails and prisons is public safety, and part of public safety is protecting the public's health.
The physician's creed -- in Latin primum non nocere or ``first, do no harm'' -- guides those of us providing healthcare to incarcerated persons to build care systems that meet our patients' needs and insure that during their incarceration they are not vulnerable to health deterioration. The task is not easy, and it's made more difficult by those who do not value our mission. If only for reasons of self-interest, prison healthcare deserves public support.
Assigning disparate values to the lives of prisoners in comparison with those of the general public puts the community in peril. Infectious diseases do not respect the boundaries of prison walls, nor can we forget that the prisoner will once again walk among us.
This post is about sharing ideas and techniques that we can use to become better advocates at each stage of the advocacy process.
We have a common cause: Alleviating the unjust suffering of our child, loved one, spouse, or friend who deserves to be treated better while incarcerated.
As a member of M.I.S.S. we must make a commitment to advocate for those who are unable fight for themselves. Therefore, I did a little research and found this information that may help us to get our thinking caps on and share ideas.
1. Defining the Problem – What problem are we addressing here? What, specifically, do we want to accomplish? Let's start by describing some easy techniques for exploring our challenge and keep things positive. Using one or two good ideas will give us a much clearer indication of what we want to do or need to do.
2. Defining a Good Idea – Take a few minutes ahead of time and think about the criteria that define a good idea. We need to at least spend time considering our resources, our mission, our environment and the time-frame in question.
3. Generating Ideas – Traditional, informal brainstorming can come into play at this stage. We know how to do that sort of brainstorming. However, we may not know about the many techniques that exist for generating ideas. But we can learn to be more creative.
4. Evaluating Ideas – An informal process of comparing our list of ideas to the criteria that define a good idea. Many ideas are rather weak in their original form. Don’t worry about that! Let's take promising ideas and reinforce them.
5. Deciding What to Do – Taking time to formally study a decision is usually a good idea. Some decisions are simple enough to make without much research or analysis. For the other decisions that come at us, there is a need to develop a formal method for deciding what to do.
6. Doing Something – This is the obvious last step in any advocacy effort. We can describe some principles and practices that can lead to better results. Just remember, even a small improvement (however defined) in two or three parts of the process can really make a difference!
(If you are just getting into the advocacy game after the cause and general approach have been defined you can still use the tools and techniques referenced above.)
Who wants to study these techniques and apply them to our mission? I do!
We need all the suggestions we can get to effect a change in our justice system!
Together we can do the "UN-DO-ABLE"
Peace, Love and Blessings
YaVon
Terrence, was born on January 31st, 1980. I purposely moved from New York State to the state of Virginia when I was four months pregnant.
I wanted to move to a better environment, where raising a son, especially a Black son, would not be hazardous to his health and well being.
I remember the day he was born just like it was yesterday. I was three weeks over due. My due date was January 10th. Well, since I needed to work as long as possible before his birth, I mentally forced myself to hold him in just long enough to get a few more paychecks.
Three more to be exact and he came 21 days later. My last day at work was Friday and I went into labor on Monday while watching the Young and the Restless.
When he was born later that day, at 11:14 p.m., I was elated and over joyed. You see, I planned to have Terrence. I used his father to get pregnant and then left town. All I wanted was a baby, not him. I was well educated, self-sufficient, and able to take care of myself and my two children. I will always remember that day, the day he was born........ Life was beautiful!
Do you remember the day your son was born?
Let's hear your story too..It will lighten your heart to share it with us.
Peace and Love Always
YaVon
Three more to be exact and he came 21 days later. My last day at work was Friday and I went into labor on Monday while watching the Young and the Restless.
When he was born later that day, at 11:14 p.m., I was elated and over joyed. You see, I planned to have Terrence. I used his father to get pregnant and then left town. All I wanted was a baby, not him. I was well educated, self-sufficient, and able to take care of myself and my two children. I will always remember that day, the day he was born........ Life was beautiful!
Do you remember the day your son was born?
Let's hear your story too..It will lighten your heart to share it with us.
Peace and Love Always
YaVon
