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Editorials
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Everybody Deserves A Second Chance
mong the numerous
things that happen to a person, who was unfortunate enough to experience prison, is the stigma he or she is forced to confront once they are released. Regardless of how long an individual has been away, or how much they believe they've atoned for their crime, the "low-life" criminal branding they re- ceive upon their re-entry into a community seems to never fade away.
While people have a ten- dency to forgive, forgetting is an entirely different matter. And, for an ex-offender, that means being constantly re- minded of his or her past transgressions at every turn.
To some individuals, I as- sume, the scarlet-lettering of the formerly incarcerated provides a sense of security. In a world filled with uncer- tainty, to them, being able to
identify as many potential threats as possible could be considered a necessity.
But, if that's the case, what does it mean for the idea of so-called "repen- tance?" I mean does a person ever truly pay his or her debt to society or does that debt come with a continuously ballooning interest rate?
The thing is, anyone can make a mistake (some more serious than others). But once a punishment has been handed down, and the time served, a person should be al- lowed to move on with his or her life without having to steadily answer for previous misdeeds.
Sure there exist career criminals who've proven time and time again that they just can't get it right. But if every person who ever exited prison was painted with the same "worthless" paint brush
imagine how different the world would be without the contributions of people like Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Ben Chavis, Charles Dutton and even the man who would go on to star in the hit television sit- com Home Improvement, Tim Allen. Second chances allowed us to benefit from each of their exceptional tal- ents.
I bring this up because, with the environment con- stantly changing when it comes to criminal justice, a time is coming when a large number of men and women will be returning home to re- claim their lives. And, con- trary to popular belief, they're not all looking for- ward to stealing your cars or breaking into your homes.
For the most part, a large majority of them only want one thing, a simple opportu- nity to prove to themselves and everyone else that they belong. And, as perfect exam- ples of our own imperfec- tions, who are we to deny them?
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What May Become Of Bill Cosby
he court case of the century will not be the case
of Charles Manson and his ghouls who mur- dered film star Sharon Tate; it will not be Rodney King’s case against four Los Angeles police officers, nor will it be the case of O. J. Simpson (accused of killing his wife Nicole Brown).
Indeed, what will eclipse them all is about to take place in coming weeks. It will be the case of Black icon, Bill Cosby who will be facing a court case that might send this 78- year-old man to jail for no less than 10 years.
Is it fair? The answer to such a question depends on what side the question is asked.
If convicted, is it fair that Cosby should be punished to the fullest extent of the law for drugging women for sexual favors?
If so, is it fair that public opinion should strip him of all the years of triumph that underline his name?
Nevertheless, is it fair to a people who identified with him and to a world that idolized him that such a beloved luminary should be brought so low, even by his own imperfect hand?
The world weeps for the women in Cosby’s life, in- cluding his wife, Camille and their daughters. But mostly, the world weeps for itself.
Dr. Huxtable, why?
Justice Clarence Thomas Is Against Us!
By Warren Hope Dawson Attorney At Law
have been a lawyer, a
member of the Bar for nearly 49 years. For many of those years, I have been a Bar Leader. I personally have and I have counseled others to show maximum respect for the law, for the courts and for the Judges on whom we rely to interpret the law fairly and impar- tially. As a Bar Leader, I have also had occasions to defend judicial deci- sions that were fair and yet unpopular in the eyes of some.
Whereas I have over the years exercised re- straint in criticizing our judicial system, I am nev- ertheless compelled by the very recent decision of the Supreme Court of
the United States in which it reversed a Geor- gia Supreme Court deci- sion that rejected the race bias claim of a Black man (Timothy Foster) in Geor- gia who said the prosecu- tors in his case had deliberately excluded Black people from the jury that found him guilty. This Black man was accused of murder- ing a White woman and because of the decision of the all-white jury, the Black man was sentenced to death.
Currently, there are only eight (8) Judges serving on the U. S. Supreme Court. Ordinar- ily there are nine (9) Judges – but one (Justice Anthony Scalia) died ear- lier this year. Of the re- maining eight, it is said that they are equally di-
vided four-to-four be- tween liberal and conser- vative. This decision to reverse was made by a vote of 7 to 1.
That one dissenting vote was cast by the only Justice who is originally from Georgia– and who also happens to be the only Black Justice on the Court – Clarence Thomas. Fortunately, 7 White Judges saw the problem and voted to cor- rect it. Clearly (Justice) Clarence Thomas Is Against Us.
The lesson learned from this decision by fair- minded and well-mean- ing citizens of our great nation, regardless of their race, sex or religion, is: the upcoming presiden- tial election is as much about which Judges will be named to sit on the U. S. Supreme Court where they may sit for the next 20 years or more, than it is about who will occupy the White House for the next 4 years. If you and your family do not vote in the upcoming elections, can it be said that you too are against us?
Do Republicans Really Support American Workers
The answer to that question is a resounding “No!” One of Donald Trump’s often stated claims, “I will bring jobs back to the United States,” is not one that he practices in his own business dealings.
The Republican Party is historically responsible for passing laws giving tax breaks to businesses that have shipped jobs overseas, and has consistently fought the Democrats’ and President Obama’s efforts to end such tax breaks.
Republicans have voted against raising minimum wage and sick leave for all employees; voted against equal pay for women; voted against extending the overtime pay protection to all workers who make up to $50,000 a year, and they even voted against closing off-shore tax havens for corporations and the wealth- iest Americans.
All of the aforementioned policies have enabled multinational companies to avoid paying up to $37 bil- lion annually in taxes, to eliminate one million Amer- ican jobs, to reinvest one trillion of earnings overseas permanently, and to stash an estimated one trillion in off-shore accounts.
In addition, Republicans voted against denying government contracts for corporations that incorpo-
rate on paper overseas to avoid paying their taxes in America, voted against provid- ing financial assistance for workers whose jobs have been outsourced overseas and voted against funding for the U. S. Commerce Department to complete an independ- ent study on outsourcing of U. S. jobs.
Therefore, all American workers need to review and study the Republican plat- form for American workers. Republicans talk a good game, but stick it to workers when legislation benefitting workers come up for voting. This means one thing: Workers must also be voters.
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