THOUGHTS ON VIRGINIA’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

by Lord Serious

The sooner the inmate population within the custody of Virginia’s Department of Corrections learn that the General Assembly has no intentions of passing any real prison reform legislation, the quicker they will begin organizing their own political coalition to force their hand. Neither the Republicans, nor Democrats, in Virginia’s state legislature have any interest in passing any substantial laws that will effectively reduce the inmate population. Neither are they willing to pass any substantial legislation that will effectively prepare us to reintegrate back into society as a rehabilitated men and women.

So you want to know my thoughts on Virginia’s Criminal Justice System? Here goes: this is a criminal enterprise ran and organized by a mob of slave catching, thieves, and murderers. The purpose of this system has always been to oppress and repress the movements of Virginia’s Black population and this will never change.

The prison population does not have to continue to hope and pray that the very people making a fortune off of warehousing us will one day become more humane and enlightened. We may “pay our debt to society” by serving time. But this does not mean we have to comply with their demands that we permit them to exploit us for our labor or our financial resources. We have the power to disrupt and dismantle this entire system, and we wouldn’t have to resort to violence in order to accomplish this either. All we would have to do is refuse to work, and boycott Keefe Commissary, Global Tel Link, and JPay.

They have to feed us, and clothe us. So all the inmate population would have to do is give up the luxuries and comfort gained from spending our money, and our family or friends money with these blood suckers.

This system cannot survive without our compliance. Therefore, since Virginia’s Criminal Justice System is just a continuation of the Old Dominion’s long history of keeping Blacks in chains and shackles. I’m of the opinion that we should stop playing by their rules. I think if these politicians and government officials are not careful, a day will come when people in my position will stop waiting for these corrupt politicians and slave drivers to free us. Instead, they will begin thinking up ways to hit these slavers where it hurts.

As long as the expense of housing prisoners can be covered by the tax payer, the politician and government official can balance the budget.

But what would happen if the inmate population stops cooperating with this system, and they removed their monies from their DOC accounts? What if prisoners stopped allowing themselves to be used as a source of revenue?

What would happen if this same inmate population decided to cost the Department of Corrections money in other areas as well? What if there suddenly was a spike in the cost of medical treatment due to more inmates requesting sick call? What if there was an exorbitant spike in the cost to replace broken or damaged state property, because the inmate population suddenly became a lot more clumsy or careless?

What if every criminal defendant took their case to trial and opted for a jury trial? But before the verdict was brought in they had a psychological breakdown in the presence of the jury that caused them to become such a disruption in court that it forced judges to declare mistrials?

This may not amount to much in days, or even months… but what if this type of non-compliance and correctional disobedience was employed for a span of years? I wonder how much money this would cost Virginia’s Correctional System? Would their corporate executives still receive their Christmas bonuses? Or would they find that their ledgers show a decrease in profits and the slave business and the mass warehousing of human beings isn’t as lucrative as it used to be?

It is my opinion that it isn’t too inconceivable for these things to start occurring should the Virginia Criminal Justice System continue to refuse to accommodate the inmate population’s modest request to pass legislation that will permit both violent and nonviolent offenders with an equal opportunity to earn up to 30 days of additional Good Time at a GCA Level I.

Life demands a balance and if you are not treating people fairly, then the universe will produce an individual who will come amongst you to reset the scales.

Lord Serious is an activist and the author of one of the most controversial books of all time. Apotheosis Lord Serious Hakim Allah’s Habeas Corpus Appeal is a must read for those who hope to understand the era of mass incarceration through the eyes of today’s modern day slave.

It is available at https://www.amazon.com/Apotheosis-Serious-Allahs-Habeas-Corpus/dp/1734220201

Prompt: (Non)/Violent Criminal Justice in Virginia

The fight to dismantle a racist criminal justice system and free disadvantaged minorities from the grip of systemic racism is an uphill battle… Fear is the prime strategy for politicians who favor long term confinement and profitable human warehousing, rather than opting to see the human soul as capable and worthy of rehabilitation. Fear is easiest, because it does not have to be given to anyone. It is primal, and everyone already has it in abundance.

I caught a bit of the Virginia State Senate meet on prison reform and wondered to myself how easy is it to hide the truth of profile-fueled mass incarceration behind the myth of a colorblind justice, and promoting “community safety” as a means of pumping more young black and brown men through the proverbial prison pipeline…

The senators, representing their respective counties, some for numerous terms and spanning decades of elections, stood to give their uninventive political spiel. Lofty, fear-writhed narratives framing Virginia’s prisons full of rapists, murderous lunatics who can’t for Christ’s sake ever be trusted with civil privilege again… That fantasy propagated by our state senate is far from truth… I’ve also come to find that most politicians at the state senate level just so happen to know numerous victims of overtly violent crimes, and no people incarcerated for crimes of any type. I found that concerning… it’s the tell-tell sign of a major disconnect between politicians and so many minorities who are faced with the ‘awesome’ fact of incarceration illy effecting their families and communities.

The senate pleaded for an amendment that extented the good time earning credit to only those incarcerated that have charges falling within the category of “non-violent.” This provision does not meet the cause for which special session was prescribed – reformation for racial and social justice. The simple fact being that most falling under the non-violent criteria happen to be white ‘victims’ of the drug epidemic. Once again, a chance for some correction of the racist system to take place may be manipulated, distorted, and amended to meet the needs of the already privileged.

Though the provisions for “violent offenders” likes to cite murderers, rapists, and other sexual offenders as the centerpiece of its public safety interest, it is an examination of the more ambiguous crimes of desperation that exposes a line-teetering sensible policy making and subtle racist devices of the past still being unknowingly used to disempower and disenfranchise minorities today…

The crime of robbery, majorally effecting downtrodden poor minorities, a crime of desperation, is considered a violent crime whether actual violence occurred as a result of the act or not. A large portion of the prison system is made up of robbery charges… some were accompanied with coinciding charges identifying violence, such as malicious wounding or assault. Others, not so much.

A crime such as robbery is not a result of some mania or perversion of mind in most cases. This crime directly reflects the pressures facing a 1st world society and its social systems failing its most needed citizens. It is economical disparities that create the prototype robber, not some lust for violence. It just happens to be black and brown Americans that make up the lower side of that economical ladder. Black and brown men are no more violent than any other race in this country, therefore there must be some deeper reasoning behind the mass incarceration of these people.

Aided by time and information, the once ago capital of the Confederacy has made strides in the abolishment of racism… But the dismounting of monuments means little if the ideals behind those statues remains in tact and still dictate how minorities are treated in this country today…

Prompt: What do you think about the criminal justice system in Virginia and how they are separating violent and non-violent offenders?

What do people need to know about you that would show them that you are human? Imperfect, but full of limitless potential and capable of astonishing change…

We are accepting different form of expression, (writings, essays, poetry, and art) that highlight the question at hand.

-Q. Patterson, BrillianceBehindBars Creator

How To Overcome Racism

by Lord Serious

We march holding signs,
We hold hands while we chant,
We sing we shall overcome –
but secretly we believe we can’t.

We plead with our oppressors,
We beg our enslavers,
We vote for our enemies
and hope they show us favor.

Our Black men live in chains,
Our Black women get shot,
Our children are miseducated
Are we free? I think not.

To overcome this racist system,
Blacks must face the facts,
We do not need the White man,
it is the White man who needs Blacks.

When he teaches us our history,
Blacks are traded like stocks
When we learn of Black empires,
this comes as a shock.

These books are never recommended,
These facts never mentioned,
Our so called White allies
are those who kept us dependent.

Your thoughts are not your thoughts,
Your own words you cannot talk,
So before you give an opinion,
you first must be taught.

The art of peaceful protest
that’s a tool for the poor,
But the rich and affluent
always threaten civil war.

The powerful understand power,
But the powerless are unsure,
This is why for every life lost,
they will lose a hundred more.

One day when Blacks lose patience,
One day when Blacks stop waiting,
One day Blacks in this nation
will overcome racism through separation.

– Lord Serious Hakim Allah / J. Boughton Jr., Chesapeake, VA #1404741

Lord Serious Hakim Allah is the author of the controversial book APOTHEOSIS LORD SERIOUS HAKIM ALLAH’S HABEAS CORPUS APPEAL available now on Amazon.com for $10.00 plus s/h. It is a must read.

Fear: Writing Prompt

The year of 2020 was anticipated with promise of change. Many of us prisoners here in Virginia were looking towards possibility of some relief, but as quickly as that light came, brilliant and burning with hope, the quicker that flame was doused and the gloom of despair and uncertainty reclaimed the reigns of our community. This time, the darkness came in a form fit for global impact – a pandemic. pestilence. 2020: affectionately dubbed the year of clarity and vision by most of us, has quickly wrapped into 2020: the year of the coronavirus.

Incarcerated populations across America have been affected by the disease at various rates. On the low end, staff’s refusal to work in possibly infected areas is slowing operations. At the high end, the highly communicable virus rapidly spreading throughout the confined quarters of prison communities, where social distancing is literally impossible.

So far, there is no apparent sign that the virus is here at Lawrenceville, but the proliferation of COVID-19 across cable television, the woes of our family members by phone, the statewide directives locking down prisons, and distributing sneeze guards keep fears fluid and real from one side of the gates to another.

Fear: the surrender of the help that comes from reason.

Behind the walls, fear is king. As incarcerated people, we deal with a set of fears most others do not. We depend on staff for almost every necessity. If conditions became somewhat apocalyptic and society destabilizes, prisoners will either be legally executed or abandoned in cells to futilely fend for themselves… a fear permanently etched in the back of the mind, and at the center is the motivation for all fear — the idea of survival.

Prompt: Define fear in your words. What are some of your fears? How do you see yourself overcoming them? What do you think could be done to alleviate today’s fears of sickness and death?

– Quadaire Patterson, Creator, Organizer, Writer VADOC #1392272

Editor’s Note: If you or someone you know wants to write on this prompt this month and be featured on BrillianceBehindBars.com, send an email to yourlovedoneq@gmail.com with the essay and bio to review, or we can add inmate numbers to our Brilliance Behind Bars JPay to allow them to contact us directly.

Limitation.

FREEDOM.

What does this word mean to me? 7 letters with such a powerful impact that becomes more than the actual verb of the word itself. What I thought was freedom – able to come & go at will, no limitability – was just barely scratching the surface of what it truly represented. See, being incarcerated for a long time gives new meaning to simple (everyday) normalcy; and with time normally comes wisdom & insight. With that said, knowing the dynamics of its core definition, freedom does not necessarily mean that one is free to do whatever (without barriers). It just means you’ve been let go (for temporary purposes). But don’t get it twisted, you’re not all the way free. You still got limitations on your blackside. As a human being, coming into existence puts a limit on you; so you are never “free” to really be free, or have freedom.

A good prime example: this COVID-19 virus that is seriously affecting the worlds population right now. There is no freedom in that or from it. Young or old, big or small, hot or bitter cold, it affects all that comes into contact with it. This strips all of their “so – called” freedom in one form or another. If its not the virus itself, then its the government restrictions placed on society’s movements. New news for all of us!

Freedom is something that one will never really experience, due to life limitations & restrictions, no matter how much or hard one tries to achieve such. It’s just one of the many possibilities that we’ll never reach, no matter the exerted energy into it. Sad as they say, but so very true to the essence & core of the meaning. That’s my take and overstanding of the issue here.

– D.Moyler – Words of Wisdom :-), #1119539, Virginia

Choice.

Greetings and Salutations,

My name is Jay Strode and this is my first entry participation in Brilliance Behind Bars submission.

So to begin my definition of freedom, I would start with the premise that one is bound by something. Whether these things be natural physical means or psychological/mental and even spiritual means, to be free is to be afforded the opportunity/privilege to choose. To choose what you may ask? Well, I would say to choose life to choose love, hope, peace, and prosperity just to name a few things. If we as people are truly free why on earth would we choose things that would be to our detriment or counterproductive to our overall wellbeing? Could it be because we are bound by something? Ignorance, philosophical anorexia, or even lack of the ability to simply critically analyze people or situations, these can be root causes for the lack of freedom. My personal prescription for obtaining, securing, and maintaining freedom is a daily dose (in the midst of penitentiary living) of humility, forgiveness, and love.

We must remain open to knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. For without understanding, there is no application of the things we’ve learned. And I believe that freedom is not only linked to choice, but also process as in the learning process. Choice is just that powerful. I never intend on belaboring a point or proverbially beating a “dead horse”.

So for that point and that point alone, I will close for now but never forever. Shalom. Meditate on these things.

WHAT’S FREEDOM? Lord Serious and His Thoughts on HB1532

There are two kinds of freedom in this world. Actual freedom and nominal freedom. Actual freedom consists of all of the rights, duties, responsibilities, rewards and burdens that come along with being a free people. Nominal freedom consist of granted privileges that can be taken away. Actual freedom is expressed by the will of the people and their God-given right to exercise self determination as a people. Nominal freedom is expressed in statutory laws that prohibit those who are actually free from discriminating against those who are only nominally free. Those who are actually free understand that freedom cannot be granted by any man made law because all men are actually born free. However, those who are nominally free are free in name only. Society tells them they have been granted their freedom and they believe this to be true simply because they have been given more privileges.

The nominally free voluntarily hand over their will power to those who are actually free. This is due to their miseducation on what freedom really is.

Free people have their own land. Free people form their own governments. Free people build their own school systems and teach their own children. Free people grow their own food to feed themselves, and what they cannot grow on their own land they will trade with another nation of free people to get the things they need. Yes, free people are free to make trade agreements with other nations of the world. But the nominally free are not permitted to do any of these things.

For the nominally free, when they purchase land they must pay property tax to those who really own the land. The nominally free do not form their own government, instead they rely on the government of their enslavers to protect them. The nominally free think they have achieved a level of success if they can send their children to one of their enslavers most prestigious schools. The nominally free are dependent upon their enslavers government assistance to provide them with food and shelter. And the nominally free are so brainwashed that the idea of finding a foreign connect and establishing a direct line of trade for anything other than drugs, would be ungrateful to the middle man who is their enslaver. He’s done such a terrific job of taking care of them, that it almost seems unfair to cut him out of the deal.

I’m tired of being only nominally free. Nothing less than actual freedom will satisfy me now. However, this kind of freedom cannot be gained as an individual. It must be achieved collectively by a group of people who share a determined idea. I am writing this hoping to connect with more people like me so that we may put our heads together and devise a plan of action to succeed in such an undertaking.

Now, I will briefly express my thoughts on the Virginia General Assembly’s decision to Amend HB 1532. In it’s original form this proposed House Bill would have been the most impactful prison reform in Virginia since the abolition of parole in 1995. The original version permitted those who are incarcerated in state prison to earn up to 30 days good time credit for every 30 days served. It would be retroactively applied to both violent and nonviolent felons. This would effectively reduced a state prisoners time potentially by 50%. To meet this criteria the prisoner would have to remain charge free and enroll in educational programs, vocational programs, and other rehabilitative programs such as Anger Management, Substance Abuse, etc. I actually supported the passage of this bill over the one that would repeal the abolition of parole. My reason is HB 1532 in its original form permits all prisoners with two priceless things: it would give us a chance to redeem ourselves; and second, it would also allow us to control our own destiny. However, the amended version of HB 1532 was not all inclusive. This version would only offer this earned good time credit to nonviolent offenders.

Obviously, members of the Virginia House of delegates are of the opinion that Virginia’s violent felons do not deserve an opportunity for redemption. This is extremely hard to swallow, especially after watching reports on the news showing U.S. officials negotiating peace and signing agreements with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Do you mean to tell me that America is ready to forgive the terrorist organization responsible for the most violent terrorist attack committed on American soil (911), but America is unwilling to forgive the violent felon in Virginia? Do we live in a nation that is accepting of a double standard that grants reprieve to the terrorists responsible for murdering thousands in cold blood, but it demands retribution from the violent criminal who hurt far less people? This is just another example of governmental mismanagement and American hypocrisy. When viewed through this lens, I challenge any of Virginia’s state legislatures to defend this ridiculous policy. But I see through the deceptive wording of this bill’s race-neutral language, and will expose it for the discriminatory political farce that it really is. The problem with HB 1532 in its original version, is that it benefits too many Black and Brown men. The amended version is designed to offer relief to those who fell victim to the “opioid crisis” otherwise known as White people. The individual mental, physical or spiritual freedom of members of the minority in this country, can guarantee no long term security for that individual. Our only hope to achieving actual freedom, real freedom… freedom from racism and discrimination will only be achieved when we begin fighting for the freedom of all Black souls as if they were our own.

– Lord Serious Hakim Allah / J. Boughton Jr., Chesapeake, VA #1404741

Lord Serious Hakim Allah is the author of the controversial book APOTHEOSIS LORD SERIOUS HAKIM ALLAH’S HABEAS CORPUS APPEAL available now on Amazon.com for $10.00 plus s/h. It is a must read.

‘What’s Free?’ Introduction

In the state of Virginia this year, there was a justice reform bill that drew the attention of every eye within the incarcerated community (this community includes family members of incarcerated people.)

HB 1532 was a bill that was set to change the world of Virginia men and women circulating the VADOC system. The bill was set to upgrade an already in-use system of earning “good time,” which in its current state allows inmates with a flawless conduct record to earn up to 15% off of their sentence. For example, an inmate can be given a sentence of 20 years. If they remain flawless in conduct for an entire 17 years, they would find themselves released. No real incentive placed on unrealistic standards – disparaging and illusionary. Under the introduced bill, if an inmate maintained flawless conduct (and mind you, this is no easy task by far), they would receive up to 50% (give or take 5 years) of their time reduced. Hence, tangible incentives to encourage good behavior and rehabilitation… giving some realism to the standard put forth…

The bill eventually – after several committees mulled over it – applied amendments relegating its effectiveness to non-violent offenders (which make up a very small portion of the ones who need it), and pushed its date of effectiveness back to 2021. The patron, Delegate Scott, elected out of Portsmouth, has opted to push the bill in hopes of finalizing a more inclusive clause…

I had predicted for a time before the conclusion of Virginia’s 2020 election season, that the House wouldn’t just ‘flip the jailhouse over’ and empty convicted criminals into the streets. Irresponsible, along side political suicide. I know in these confusing times, it’s unclear whether they go hand and hand anymore.

The idea of being released early was met by the majority of my community with joy. I did not share in the same elations as my community members. I took in that idea with much needed perspective. Knowing that since I came into the final stretch of my sentence, it’s all been about planning. Planning not only to be released – no, that’s not even a fraction of the struggle for me or most in here – and not only to survive; but to thrive in a world that’s unfamiliar. The thought of early release becomes synonymous with thoughts of being unprepared… and the question… what is free?

I started with the definition of release – to be free from restraint, confinement, or servitude…

How many of us questioned freedom outside of being physically imprisoned? A lot of the thinkers inside have attacked the concept of freedom philosophical. But I don’t believe the core of freedom resides solely at the footstep of the mental. I warn against my fellow incarcerated people to disregard what we have already blatantly ignored. The station of the law fails to return a standard form of freedom to those who have been convicted of a crime, resulting in a virtual life sentence.

‘Ex-felons’ are subject to restrictions that accompany them long after their prescribed sentence. nullifying a lot of any possible knowledge they may have acquired over their decade long stints. For example, many of us incarcerated were oblivious to legal process, being that a lot of us didn’t make it to government courses. Nor were many of us properly introduced to ideas or proper outlets to help us define ourselves to ourselves, outside of the deplorable environments which we were raised and ventured.

I plan to help change that by bringing awareness to the political obstacles that impede an incarcerated person reacclimating into society.

Together, we can help better restore the standard of freedom amongst ALL members of society…

– Quadaire Patterson, VADOC #1392272, From Virginia Beach, VA

Editor’s Note: In March, we will be approaching the topic of freedom, amongst those imprisoned. For more, visit: ‘What’s Free?’ To read the prompt shared with those who are writing, check out this post. Thank you as always, for your support.

Oppression

“Freedom is never given voluntarily by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” -MLK

The origin of oppression has always eluded me… why does the oppressor oppress? Why does the oppressed accept the circumstances enforced by the oppressor?

As opposed to a condition of nature – for animals do not share in unoriented oppression beyond survival – I feel as if oppression (the deliberate and willful use of power to deject the progress of an individual or group of persons) is a common condition of human folly. A compensatory action of fearful emotions. The oppressors fear the image of their own perceived inadequacy – and to reinstate to themselves a perception of strength, they choose already disadvantaged victims to afflict upon, reinforcing an illusionary form of power. This process is not only fallacious for the oppressor, it is just as so for the oppressed.

When oppression is prevalent, it is so because the oppressed subscribe to a fallacy. That fallacy is one that promotes a dominance held by one over another. This allows the oppressed to accept what they believe to be a matter of fate rather than one of self determination. Forfeiture of will, the core of the human spirit immobilizes the oppressed and empowers the oppressor… oppression germinates in fear and thrives in despair.

In the past it took the form of physical slavery. Now, it has a more subtle body. Distrust in political processes, or a form of systemic slavery. The oppressed today in America are the dejected men and women who disregard political activism as a means of bettering the state and quality of their lives. The oppressor will not willingly give up even a grand figment of power for a minuet reality of powerlessness. It goes against the very nature that breeds it. But the oppressed have a choice… a choice to grab hold of self-determination and free themselves from the illusion of powerlessness.

But this is a CHOICE, unprovoked by the oppressor, that must be decided for one’s self…

– Quadaire Patterson, VADOC #1392272, From Virginia Beach, VA