Speaking in front of people doesn't exactly come naturally to me. I don't get to look at what I'm saying before it comes out, and Microsoft Word doesn't suggest more helpful words than, "uhhh" and nothing at all. Then there's the subject matter. Talking about my drug and criminal history in front of people I don't know can have a shame factor in it. It's not like the rooms of AA where people can identify with what I say because they've been through some shit themselves.
But this is exactly what I did last night at the Minneapolis Urban League in front of the Jewish Committee for Action. It's a group that, to the best of my knowledge, is working on mass incarceration issues, and sentencing reform. It was only a group of 30 or so, but it felt like hundreds.
My mother and I had interviewed with one of the organizers about a month back as a result of them somehow finding our co-blog, and she asked us if we would come speak to the group and we just went for it. It was very helpful to have Mom by my side to tell her part of the story and to help guide the conversation by asking me questions along the way. We killed it. We nailed it. However you want to put it, we did well. I mean, we weren't being graded, or judged, but the feedback we received was all very positive.
After the question and answer segment, the main participants of the organization split up into smaller groups for discussion on current topics. I chose to sit at a table at which people would be discussing legislature, a term I still haven't Googled. I'm as familiar with politics as much as I am familiar with phenylketonuria or how an atom works, but I saw people handing out MN State sentencing guidelines and I thought I might be able to add a thought or opinion at some point.
What the table discussed, or at least the parts I understood, was making a change to the current guidelines upheld by Minnesota judges in which heavy sentences are handed down for relatively small amounts of drugs. It looked good on paper, but in reality it would unlikely make a difference in the grand scheme of things.
Right now it takes only ten grams of meth to make a case for first-degree sales which carries a mandatory prison term even for a first time felon. The proposal changes it to 25 grams but what I believe is that police and U.C.'s would simply wait a little longer in their investigation until that threshold was met in order to secure the first-degree charge. People are only charged with 3rd and 5th degree charges when the small amounts are found incidental to arrest. Detectives only want the first degree charges and are willing to go to any length to get it.
They said that they want to keep the penalty high for first-degree sales for "the kingpins," but I never met any of those in prison, just a lot of decent people who made some mistakes and were doing way too much time as a result.
Overall it was a fun and informative evening, and it was great to see that there are people fighting against mass incarceration and injustice in the legal system. It was a learning experience for me and I may continue to attend their monthly meetings to see what I can give, whether it be my time, or my input, and maybe together we can make a difference.
But this is exactly what I did last night at the Minneapolis Urban League in front of the Jewish Committee for Action. It's a group that, to the best of my knowledge, is working on mass incarceration issues, and sentencing reform. It was only a group of 30 or so, but it felt like hundreds.
My mother and I had interviewed with one of the organizers about a month back as a result of them somehow finding our co-blog, and she asked us if we would come speak to the group and we just went for it. It was very helpful to have Mom by my side to tell her part of the story and to help guide the conversation by asking me questions along the way. We killed it. We nailed it. However you want to put it, we did well. I mean, we weren't being graded, or judged, but the feedback we received was all very positive.
After the question and answer segment, the main participants of the organization split up into smaller groups for discussion on current topics. I chose to sit at a table at which people would be discussing legislature, a term I still haven't Googled. I'm as familiar with politics as much as I am familiar with phenylketonuria or how an atom works, but I saw people handing out MN State sentencing guidelines and I thought I might be able to add a thought or opinion at some point.
What the table discussed, or at least the parts I understood, was making a change to the current guidelines upheld by Minnesota judges in which heavy sentences are handed down for relatively small amounts of drugs. It looked good on paper, but in reality it would unlikely make a difference in the grand scheme of things.
Right now it takes only ten grams of meth to make a case for first-degree sales which carries a mandatory prison term even for a first time felon. The proposal changes it to 25 grams but what I believe is that police and U.C.'s would simply wait a little longer in their investigation until that threshold was met in order to secure the first-degree charge. People are only charged with 3rd and 5th degree charges when the small amounts are found incidental to arrest. Detectives only want the first degree charges and are willing to go to any length to get it.
They said that they want to keep the penalty high for first-degree sales for "the kingpins," but I never met any of those in prison, just a lot of decent people who made some mistakes and were doing way too much time as a result.
Overall it was a fun and informative evening, and it was great to see that there are people fighting against mass incarceration and injustice in the legal system. It was a learning experience for me and I may continue to attend their monthly meetings to see what I can give, whether it be my time, or my input, and maybe together we can make a difference.
