Is one letter enough to make your point, two, three, or more?
For me, it's got to be whatever it takes.
John Richard Knock is still in prison. mostly because he didn't play the prosecutor's game. He didn't plead guilty. He didn't become a co-operating witness and inform on anyone. He went to trial and learned the hard way just how lopsided the scales of justice are hung.
There are thousands of people who got too much time, thousands of inmates who don't need to be locked up, who pose no danger to society. They had the book thrown at them and now they while away their days behind bars. Wasting the money of tax payers, wasting the lives of people. They won't get released unless someone with the authority to release them acts on it.
It is encouraging that our President finally acted on this problem. Not much, but better than nothing. I thought I should thank him for it and remind him there is still much more he can do. Here is what I said.
July 23, 2015
Mr. Barack Obama
President
United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr President,
Your office continues to amaze me. Your skill and dedication to doing what is right is refreshing and inspiring to millions of Americans and possibly billions of people around the world. I am proud that you are the President of our country. It is also encouraging that you are not satisfied with the way things are and that you strive to make them better for us average people.
Your efforts to reach out to those of us who are not politically involved is appreciated. I enjoyed listening to your appearance on the Marc Maron podcast. I can’t imagine any other politician at the top of his game in the final term, taking the time and trouble to reach out and connect with an audience of regular, not necessarily politically engaged people. It says a lot about you, that you recognize the struggle for a better world is never ending.
I am also thanking you for your (and your office’s) action on commutations. I understand there are thousands of people in prison trying to deal with the injustice that has been put on to them. I appreciate the effort that your office has put into this matter. I hope that you also see this work on issuing clemency needs to be continued and offered to everyone who deserves a second chance and poses no threat to society.
My mother’s youngest brother, John Richard Knock was sentenced to two Life in Prison terms as a first time NON-violent offender. We continue to hope that common sense and justice will eventually prevail. My Uncle has been behind bars in the federal system since 1999. His security level is on par with the most hardened criminals.
I understand this is because of the wide ranging “conspiracy” he was charged and convicted on. It was essentially a “thought-crime” and a courtroom game of musical chairs where people were compelled to testify in exchange for lowering their own sentences. Each witness was asked the same rote questions and answered them carefully with the hope they didn’t displease the prosecutor or judge, the men with the power to lock them up for life. The last person standing in this game has no one to testify against and therefore no way to get any sentence reduction. The “minimum” sentence was built on “perceived” amounts of contraband built from hearsay and coerced testimony. Many people have been caught with large quantities of cannabis and received far less time in prison. None of the witnesses against my Uncle were sentenced to more than five years thanks to the plea agreements they made.
Explaining this to the average citizen has been nearly impossible. For the most part people don’t believe you can be sentenced to Life In Prison for importing pot. My Uncle was able to get Two Life in Prison terms for crimes which occurred in Canada many years before. There was no actual seizure of pot in our country. The “crime” that was used to establish venue in Gainsville, FL was the DEA threatening and badgering people who were associated with some money couriers. Those poor misguided people were hoping to get rich by contracting with under cover DEA agents to import loads of cannabis products into the country.
The fact that nobody who actually had cannabis products made an agreement here didn’t matter. According to the government this was a massive conspiracy and it linked to Gainsville because they said so. It didn’t matter that nothing was smuggled. It didn’t matter that my Uncle walked away from those who had been active in that sort of business years before. People even testified that he had nothing to do with those plots and that he told people way back in 1988 that he was never going to smuggle in the United States. These facts are not disputed.
But just talking about smuggling is in fact a crime. It’s the crime of “conspiracy” and if you buy the government’s position on how that crime works, it is joined to every other conspiracy and criminal act done by anyone connected to it. Even after you’ve told everyone you quit. So you could basically charge anyone with anything that ever might have happened and if you get the right Judge and the right jury, well actually you just need the right judge, he can instruct the jury to find you guilty.
Of course, you might be thinking that outrageous things like this would never happen in our system of justice. Even if wrong things are done in a trial, there are always appeals. Those things are addressed and corrected on appeal, right? Not really. Trial judges seldom reverse themselves on appeal. A cursory look at statistics for appeals would reveal that our courts are right nearly 93% of the time. According to the way they correct themselves. The vast majority of plain errors are more than likely “harmless”. New trials are extremely rare.
That’s how you can be sentenced for Life in Prison without actually being caught doing anything wrong.
Thankfully you are in a powerful position. I (and millions like me) are grateful that a man of your conscience and consideration has taken on the mantle of President and leader of the free world. The fact that our country holds so many people behind bars is an irony which I’m sure is not lost on you.
I’m also sure you can see what little political fallout there has been for commutations. This is a bi-partisan issue where the majority of people agree. They only lack the leadership which you alone can provide. Only your office holds the hope to redress these wrongs. I am hopeful that you will continue to work on this important issue.
Sincerely yours,
Tom Walters
