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FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
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President Plans Prison Reform
remember about fifteen years ago, only two people in the Florida State Legislature were interested in prison re- form. They were then Senator Les Miller and his Legislative Assistant, me. What we at- tempted to do was a giant step
in that direction.
The first thing we did was
introduce a bill that called for non-violent, first-time offend- ers to receive counseling rather than a jail sentence. We wrote a second bill that called for the creation of four rehabilitation prisons in each part of the state. Each one would house first- time, non-violent offenders who would be taught a saleable job skill.
Unfortunately, the bills were ahead of their time and they were labeled as costing too much.
There was no serious talk of prison reform as much as it was needed. It was only recently
when President Barack Obama saw a serious need for reform and he moved it to the front burner. The President launched his campaign by be- coming the first sitting presi- dent in history to visit a federal prison.
He spoke to prison officials, prisoners and he toured the prison. When he left the facility, he gave everybody hope that a change was to come and he would see to it.
Let the records show that the President is by no means soft on crime. He believes that if you do the crime, you should be punished. He just believes that it should be done in a hu- manistic and cost effective manner.
President Obama thinks that more control over inmates and more protection of prison- ers from each other is a must. He advocates that non-violent crimes require no jail time, or at
most, minimum jail time.
As part of his jail reform President Obama wants to give judges more control over
sentencing guidelines.
This would allow judges
more room to consider special circumstances. You may not hear anymore from President Obama about prison reform for a while. He didn’t forget. Just keep up with the news.
I’ve got a feeling that getting the prison reform that Presi- dent Obama wants is not going to be hard for him to get. Republican leaders and some Republican Congress persons have said they are for prison re- form.
I hope that after the Demo- cratic Massacre in the last elec- tion, Democrats have learned not to go against the President. The percentage of Blacks in prison far outnumber any other race of people. Many of them are in jail for minor crimes, un- fair sentencing, or the inability to obtain proper representa- tion.
The President wants fair and humanistic treatment for inmates. But, he has no inten- tion of turning jails into resort hotels.
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‘I Will Light You Up’: Trooper To Sandra Bland
o doubt you didn’t know Hempstead, Texas (population
approx...6,000) is world famous for its watermelon crop. Not only is it the top shipper of watermelons in the United States, but it hosts a popular watermelon festival each year. However, now Hempstead, Texas has achieved another piece of notoriety. From here on, it will be known as the place where a Texas state trooper stopped motorist Sandra Bland for turning without a signal, who quickly got into an argu- ment with Bland when she refused to get out of her car as in- structed, who in exasperation pulled out a Taser then finally said to an angry Sandra Bland, “I will light you up!” All of that happened in the tiny town of Hempstead, not far from where Bland’s life would end in a Waller County Jail cell. Authori- ties say it was suicide. Sandra’s family is not buying it.
The term is “pretextual stop.” Sanctioned by the Supreme Court, a pretextual stop defines the right by police to detain a motorist for one reason while in fact, there is another rea- son why the stop was made. Sandra Bland’s detainment smacks of a pretextual stop. Here’s why: Though the state trooper who stopped her later stated she was detained be- cause she neglected to use her turn signal, when Bland asked the trooper why she was stopped (a question she asked at least 14 times), she received no answer. And the rest was his- tory.
Yes, Sandra Bland should have complied with the trooper’s request to exit her vehicle. Though she had a right to remain in her car, common sense should have prevailed. No, the state trooper had no right nor reason to make the statement, “I will light you up!” Obviously, he had lost con- trol. However, if there was indeed, a hero in this situation, it was the officer’s vid-cam. Though there seems to be a snafu in the tape, what is on tape does not lie. Perhaps, there should be vid-cams in jail cells, too.
A Not So Obvious Conclusion
imagine anyone reading this right now who has paid attention to the news recently, is aware of the case of Sandra Bland. The 28-year-old Black female who was found dead in her county jail cell three days following her arrest for assault- ing a police officer after being pulled over for a lane change vi-
olation.
The official cause of death, ac-
cording to the Waller County, Texas authorities, was suicide. Allegedly Ms. Bland was so distraught about her situation that she hung herself with, what was reported to be, a plastic trash bag.
Since this story has come to light, it has been hard for the av- erage person to understand how a young woman, who her family says was full of life and energy, could suddenly end her exis- tence so abruptly? And the fact that it happened during a period in time, when a number of men, women and children have died at the hands of police officers across the country over the last 12 months, makes this incident even more suspicious.
I admit, on the surface, recent history makes the idea of a sher- iff deputy or police officer being responsible for Ms. Bland's death not so far-fetched. I mean the mere fact that her traffic stop, that should have con- cluded with either a warning or a citation at the most, turned into a physical confrontation raises a large red flag.
Add to that the well-docu- mented contentious relation- ship Waller County law enforcement has had with its African American population over the years and you have a
plausible reason to believe something foul is at play in this scenario. For me, though, there are a couple of things that keep me from lumping Ms. Bland's death with others who've previ- ously died in police custody like Eric Garner or Freddie Gray.
Of course, I'm not saying that it's a certainty that she wasn't killed in some form or fashion by a few out of control cops. But, if she was, the officers responsi- ble either had to be operating on a genius level or had some seri- ous help from the entire depart- ment.
The first thing that stands out to me about Ms. Bland’s death is the plastic trash bag. It is hard for me to envision a few small town deputies attempting to stage a suicide scene in a jail cell using something that out of the ordinary.
Whether they murdered Ms. Bland intentionally or acciden- tally through abuse or force, it doesn't make much sense for them to try to create a scenario where something as odd as a garbage bag would be used by a person to take his or her own life. It would have been much easier for them to list something more typically associated with suicidal hangings like torn bed sheets or her prison jumper. Anything that would bring less scrutiny to a crime that they were trying to conceal.
The second thing that leaves me scratching my head is the timing. According to jail logs Ms. Bland was alive at 6:30 a.m. when she denied breakfast. She was alive at 7 a.m. when she denied recreation. She was alive at 8 a.m. when she requested a
phone call. And, at 9 a.m., her body was discovered.
Unless those documents were forged, Ms. Bland would have had to have been mur- dered sometime between 8 and 9 in the morning on a range not far from a busy work area. The fact that no one reported hear- ing any commotion or screams would suggest a cover up of the highest order.
I would never say that it isn't possible. But, the idea of every single person in that building being complicit with a senseless murder just seems unlikely to me.
Rather than attempting to in- corporate everyone into the con- spiracy, those responsible would have been better served per- forming their dastardly deed the night before and having Ms. Bland's body discovered im- mediately by the morning shift. It just makes more criminal sense.
The unfortunate truth that we may all have to accept is the very real possibility that Ms. Bland wasn't as mentally tough as she led those around her to believe. Everyone has a break- ing point. And, just maybe, Ms. Bland found hers inside of a cold and lonely jail cell.
But, even if that turns out to be the case, I don't think it ab- solves the sheriff's department of any wrongdoing. After all, it was the existence of racial bias- ness, that was allowed to thrive unchecked throughout Waller County's law enforcement com- munity that started the chain of events ultimately leading to Ms. Bland's demise.
So, in essence, even if it's found that sheriff deputies weren't active participants in her cause of death, their badges will forever be stained with her blood.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Company. Anyone wishing to contact Clarence Barr can email him at: realityonice@- yahoo.com.
Needed: Transparency In Medical Billing
here has been a renewed push for hospital and medical
bill transparency in light of escalating medical costs in America, Often, receiving large hospital bill upon release can send a patient into financial debt that seriously impacts his or her credit and future financial health. No doubt, if pa- tients reviewed hospital bills sent to their insurance compa- nies, they would be stunned at the price charged for certain items and services.
Health industry advocates recommend patients prepar- ing and planning for hospitalization should do comparison shopping among hospitals because there is wide price varia- tion in rates (for the same procedure) between hospitals. In fact, some hospital pricing may be found online. Though pa- tients have no idea what specific services (pharmacy, med- ical/surgical supplies, laboratory, radiology etc.) may be required during their hospital stay, a quick question on Google will generate several sites that will estimate the cost of many surgical procedures and treatment for illnesses.
Healthcare advocates support hospitals and physicians publicly posting or informing patients of the cost for all pro- cedures and treatments that would allow patients to select the service provider or hospital most cost effective for them. We support their efforts.
Yes, welcome to 21st century healthcare, but choose your hospitals with care.
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