by Lester Pope
For far too long men and women across the LWOP community have been given the Long Walk of incarceration — with no relief, reprieve or redemption. We have been perpetually excluded because society has found no compassion for the humans within us they have discarded. We have all been chained to the worst thing we have ever done, in spite of our transformation.
This is the unforgiving reality that we have all labored under for decades. The new Commutation Regs, along with SB 672, have breathed new life into our world. At long last we have an opportunity to demonstrate the change we have cultivated for decades. MERCIFUL JUSTICE at last!
However, for some this mercy comes with carve outs and exceptions. And as sad as this is, some members of our community — having been perpetually carved out themselves — agree with these exclusions.
We have allowed a society that doesn’t even understand the meaning of rehabilitation separate us. How can we deny others in our community the same opportunity we have all yearned for, for decades?
Any attempt to divide us, as members of the same excluded class, only weakens the whole. Everyone who has done the work should be allowed a trip toward mercy, no matter what they have done. That’s God’s law, not mine.
Do not allow yourselves to be hypocritical about genuine change. Justice for one is justice for all.