Change in America. My name is Omar Askia Ali aka Sistrunk. One of a number of examples that America is trying to right the wrong, is the Baltimore prosecutor’s effort to vacate pot convictions of 3,770 people for possession of marijuana. The case is Merlin v. Maryland, the State’s Attorney, Marlin Mosley says, “The legal press is necessary to right an extraordinary wrong.” Only note that the racist disparities in the predominantly Black cities, after Maryland’s 2014 discriminalizations of small amounts of marijuana (Philadelphia Daily News, 2/1/19). Therein, an advocate like Philadelphia Meek Mill, fellow rapper Jay Z, New Englands Patriot owner Robert Kraft, 76ers co-owners Michael Rubin, and a group of criminal justice advocates in New York City, will lobby for changes to state probations and parole laws. However, the radical racial disparities that are still quite prevalent, with the all white jury, is a symbol for criminal justice reform.
About 2.2 million people in the United States are incarcerated. Out of that number, thousands of Black people are in prison because of the racist notions of stereotypical attitudes of all white juries. This matter can be rectified by retrying every Black person tried by all white juries, or release them, because most were poor, without the resourcefulness of the DA’s office; and they come from the communities that training video, that these [DA’s] are taught how to select an all white jury, and refrain from Black communities, because Blacks on juries may form a kinship with them [the defendant] because of poverty.
After all, Black people have the highest poverty rates of any major racial group in America: 21.2%, and unemployment rates 5.9% (Philadelphia Daily News, 2/3/19, page 11). Therein, any DA can look good. They have the resources. Money talks. That’s why Kim Kardashian, with 5 million followers online, can ask President Trump to release a Black woman one week and the next week she’s free; or a billionaire can visit Meek Mill in prison one week, and say to him, ‘before the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court rules,’ that you’ll be home next week. Money talks and friendships and all walks of life can walk you right out of the door. Thank you. My name is Omar Askia Ali AKA Sistrunk.
These commentaries are recorded by Noel Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
