The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

As you looked at the picture of the dead mouse caught in a trap; you’re probably wondering, “Where are you going with this one?” Well as soon as I read an article from the Washington Post titled, “From A First Drug Arrest To A Life Sentence”, I thought about a mouse problem I had at my home. After discovering that we had a mouse running around the house, I went and brought a couple of mouse traps and set them in the corners of the kitchen. Little did that mouse know that when he came out to hunt, there was a trap already set for his demise. It was sorta like “Trading Places”, because the mouse that was out hunting for food became the prey of the trap I already set! What irony, the hunter became the hunted. That leads me to my next question;  

What’s the chance of an American citizen, who’s a first time, non violent offender, to serve a LWOP (Life with-out parole) sentence for a nonviolent crime? The chance is a reality if you’re Sharanda Jones. In 1999, a federal judge sentenced her to life in prison after her conviction on a single cocaine offense.  For the past 16 years, Ms. Jones has been housed at Carswell federal prison in Fort Worth for a cocaine conspiracy conviction. Maybe Sharanda Jones caught the wrong judge with the wrong case, at the wrong time; which would explain this ridiculous sentence. I wish that was the case but the cold reality of the matter is, there’s a common theme with African Americans and LWOP sentences for non-violent crimes; Blacks catch the blunt end of the sentences.

Estimates show that nationwide, 65.4 percent of prisoners serving LWOP for non-violent offenses are Black, 17.8 percent are White and 15.7 are Latino. Need more? The percentage of Black prisoners serving LWOP for non-violent offenses is 78.5 percent in Mississippi, 68.2 percent in South Carolina, 60.4 percent in Florida, and 57.1 percent in Oklahoma. (Statistics gathered by the A.C.L.U.)

A quote from the late 2Pac sums it up best; “Use your brain, use your brain; it aint them that’s killing us, it’s us that’s killing us, it aint them that’s knocking us off, it’s us that’s knocking us off. I’m telling you, betta watch it, or be a victim, be a victim in this white man’s world.” 2Pac- White Man’z World