Prison Radio
Charles Karim Diggs

My name is Charles Karim Diggs, and I’m at Graterford state prison. What we call it now- it’s a new jail we have called Phoenix. They just completed it, and we will have been transferred over almost two months now, and, uh, so I’m adjusting to the new prison. Anyway, my subject for today is, “Is the administration of justice fair in America?”

It is August 14th, 2018, and almost every news station is covering the recent grand jury investigation concerning the sexual, moral, and spiritual molestation allegedly taken place in Pennsylvania and the Catholic diocese. The report accuses 350 priests of sexual- rape and molesting of children as young as seven years of age. The report is graphic.

The grand jury was consisted of 23 people. They found that secret archives were set up where only one bishop had the key. The report said over 1000 children were raped and molested. No charges will be brought because of statute of limitations.

Historically, the Catholic Church has done great work throughout the communities and with excellent schools. Personally, every priest I had ever met was an honorable servant of God. What is missing from the news report is how parents, in some cases, did bring charges and complaints against the officials. Nothing was ever done by the officials in the church, nor from the law enforcement authorities.

Where were our law and order advocates? I’ve seen no state lawmakers of the legislation even whisper in all these years about any investigations across the state. I heard of no new legislation that would extend the statute of limitations for raping children and destroying lives forever.

There was now a Senate bill pending seeking elimination of the grand jury in Pennsylvania. Yes, the Republican party submitted a few weeks ago to the Pennsylvania Senate that the grand jury should no longer exist. And there are lobbyists that’s lobbying to stop this particular form of investigating crimes in the state. However, the lawmakers were all advocating for longer sentences, more prisons, and more unfair judges when it came to prosecuting the poor people in the seat.

Nothing in the political atmosphere is speaking fairness, and a new system that includes all stakeholders needs to be developed in Pennsylvania. We’re now living in the new $400 million state prison called Phoenix. There is some praise about the modern technology use to construct the maximum security institution.

Certain prisons have been built to house the elderly and the seriously ill prisoners. Commutation processes that’s supposed to show mercy and allow prisoners to be paroled who have kept good conduct. That system has proven to be meaningless. A few persons every eight years might get commuted out of 5,500 life sentence people.

The purpose of this information is to show how our elected leaders and law enforcement leaders are using the tax dollars directed to enhancing the prison-industrial complex and their official position. They are actually upholding the oath that they took when it concerns only their people. But when it comes to African-Americans, Hispanics, and poor white people, they go by mandatory sentences, more prisons sentences.

We can’t continue to stay we have the administration of justice in our system when the administration of justice is only being forged against specific classes of human beings. That horrific revelation of mass child rapes illustrates that when shameful and ethical actions are committed By white males, the urgency and enforcement of human and criminal rights are not important.

The concentration is the imprisonment of the blacks across America and other non-European-Americans. Where were the law enforcers? I will tell you where they are. They’re are too busy building more prisons, arresting people, shooting people, testifying in court falsely against poor folks, hiding evidence.

Finally, they are making sure commutation, pardons are never granted. This is where billions of tax dollars are literally wasted. This is why tens of thousands of children and families were left molested for over 70 years before it was uncovered for the public.

Thank you for reading my message. Feel free to exchange ideas and solutions. Thank you.

These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.