“Humanity and good policy conspire to dictate that the benign prerogative of pardon should be as little as possible fettered or embarrassed. The Criminal Code of every country partake so much of necessary severity that, without an easy access to exceptions in favor of unfortunate guilt, Justice would wear a countenance too sanguinary and cruel.”
Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist, No. 6
The above quote has since been removed from the cover of the booklet issued by the Board of Pardons when I came to prison.
My name is James Muhammed Taylor. I am 81 years old with 51 years served on a
life sentence. I am a living witness to
the fact that Death by the means of day to day Imprisonment
History does not deceive us. History does not lie to us about the origin
of this racist cruelty being perpetuated against the release of Black Lifers in
this state. It was the (questionable)
release of a Black Lifer, Reginald McFadden, which gave the Racist Political
Element an opportunity to cause the complete shutdown of the Pennsylvania Board
of Pardons for 25 years in driving the stereotypical fear in White people as a
reason against releasing “Dangerous Black criminals back into the community
through the Board of Pardons in the first place.” And they did it as a collective punishment of
ALL Lifers -- Black, White, and Hispanic -- because of the actions of one bad
apple!
We are calling on all right minded
people, as a moral obligation to take a stand against this form of
Institutionalized Racism that kills Black Lifers unjustifiably and denies them
their freedom.
The Pennsylvania Board of Pardons,
during former Governor Milton Shapp’s Administration, released hundreds of
Lifers. This is proof positive for the
case I am making for the immediate release of Senior Black Lifers here at SCI
Phoenix to serve a greater purpose of service to the African Community of
Philadelphia in a time of need.
“Free Them To Heal Us” is a voice coming from the society to those
Elected Officials who claim to be in search of a solution to the out of control
gun violence and crime within the African American community of
Philadelphia. This voice is a testament
to the powerful work being done towards the economic justice, social justice,
criminal justice, and racial justice reforms we have been working towards over
the course of many years.
To use the example of Joseph found
in the Bible and Holy Qur’an: One of the
important lessons to be taken from his story is that, as a prisoner, Joseph
looked into the society and saw a solution to an important problem that the
Authorities were looking for and found in the unexpected place of a
prison. The point being made is that,
as collective body of prisoners, we,
too, have looked into society with a view towards making a valuable
contribution in a time of need. And
right now, with an investment of trust from Governor Shapiro of Pennsylvania
and Mayor Kenney of Philadelphia, we would have space to breathe and feel
confident about having chosen the location for an economic justice and social
justice model -- a Reentry Zone -- envisioned for Returning Citizens to the
community from our prisons to operate from.
Being one of those men, I can indeed assure the public and those in
Authority that, through the ongoing efforts of our various economic justice and
social justice reform initiatives, we are on a mission of bringing an effective
Healing to the African American community that the Authorities themselves are
seeking a solution for, coming from the unexpected source of a prison.
The leadership of our Economic
Justice and Social Justice Initiatives here at Phoenix are continuing to prove
themselves well qualified to set the Economic Justice and Social Justice Model
in place as a guide for others to follow in addressing gun violence and
crime in the African American community.
The State has the legal means of releasing these Seniors immediately.
The Men of Phoenix have the support
of politicians and others from the community who see the value in our being
released to do the work.
We are now in need of support from
our Prisoner Support Organizations in making a direct appeal to those in
Authority on our behalf, encouraging them to release those Seniors immediately
to do the trench work necessary in addressing gun violence, economic
justice, social justice, and crime within the African American community from
our unique perspective. This work would
be permitted to go forward in a show of good faith on the part of the
Authorities by acting upon a viable Prison Reform measure to be carried out
under the watchful care of Community Stakeholders. Such a course of action would positively
improve economic justice and social justice within the African American
community.
After reading the Summer/Fall
edition of “Straight Ahead” (https://straight-ahead.org/) , I believe that Straight Ahead (https://straight-ahead.org/) has now earned the political clout to
hold Governor Shapiro and Mayor Kenney of Philadelphia accountable by forcing
their hands to act upon the release of the Seniors referred to in this writing
in support of the economic justice and social justice model of a Reentry Zone
for Returning Citizens in a show of good faith that something concrete is being
done to relieve the situation for Senior Lifers during the two (2) to five (5)
year interim that legislation is expected to pass for the release of Senior
Lifers. Would the State then deny these
Seniors the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the African American
community in its time of need, by Men being held in prison under unjust
circumstances who would represent the Lowest Form of Hanging Fruit that even
any racist society on the face of Planet Earth would embrace as a safe bet for
release?
Perhaps Governor Shapiro would do it
in his stand against the Death Penalty, and in a show of appreciation to the
African American community for his counting on the Black vote and the African
American community coming through for him in his bid to be elected Governor of
Pennsylvania. If the people of
Pennsylvania, representing Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, find these
Truths to be self-evident, would they then have the courage to correct this
long standing cruelty as a show of good faith towards those Black Lifers, such
as myself and others, who could and should have been released ten years
ago or more if basic fairness had been applied to
their release worthiness, and as a response to the African American community
in its time of need?
I have provided below for your review and
consideration the Plan Of Action of People Advancing Reintegration
(PAR) and the role it will play in advancing economic justice, social
justice, and racial justice reforms we are in pursuit of.
To learn more, contact:
Mr. James Taylor (AF-4120)
Smart
Communications/PADOC
SCI-Phoenix
Post Office
Box 33028
St.
Petersburg, FL 33733
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