African American Pundit Expresses Doubts in Esteban Carpio Case

African American Political Pundit says today:

As someone who was raised in Boston, and []known the family of Esteban Carpio for many years, I have always thought that he was wrongfully convicted of the murder of Providence Police Detective Sgt. James Allen. 

I have always wondered if he was beaten even before the officer was shot. 

Read more: http://africanamericanpundit.blogspot.com/2010/09/case-of-esteban-carpio.html#ixzz18QFpA5ET
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

It seems obvious to me that at some point Esteban Carpio was severely beaten about the face by police in Providence, Rhode Island.  African American Political pundit wonders whether he was beaten before he shot a policeman and jumped out a forth-floor window or after that.

The question is crucial.  If  a reasonable were in the position of being severely beaten during questioning, instead of calmly questioned with his lawyer present, and if police continued to beat said reasonable person until his face looked like hamburger, I can imagine how that reasonable person might take the only weapon he had at hand--the officer's gun--and shoot that officer in order to stop the beating.  That scenario is not the known truth of the matter, but the truth of the matter it is a question worth being asked and answered.

I have always assumed that Esteban Carpio was beaten by the police for shooting a fellow officer.  Is it possible that Esteban Carpio shot an officer to end a beating administered by police?  The question had never occurred to me until it was raised by African American Political Pundit. 

In any case, the Providence Police Department has learned, hopefully, that leaving one armed police officer in a room with a suspect charged with murder, when the suspect's family has warned police that the suspect is mentally ill, creates a life-threatening situation for that lone, armed police officer.  And maybe, just maybe, police have learned that beating a person until he is unrecognizable is unacceptable, particularly to the person being beaten.

Police may also have learned that questioning a mentally ill suspect without his lawyer present can have negative results not merely for the mentally ill suspect, but also for police officers.

One thing is sure:  Police will never credibly tell the public whether they beat Esteban Carpio until he shot an officer, or whether they beat Esteban after he shot the officer.  The world might never know, but the Providence Police know, and they know who was most responsible, and how, for the death of a fellow police officer.

GA Prison Inmate Strike Enters New Phase, Prisoners Demand Human Rights, Education, Wages For Work

Story by Bruce A. Dixon, audio interview by Glen Ford

Georgia prisoners who began a courageous, peaceful and nonviolent protest strike for educational opportunities, wages for their work, medical care and human rights have captured the attention of the world. Black Agenda Report intends to closely cover their continuing story. Glen Ford recorded a conversation with activist Elaine Brown and one of the striking inmates in Georgia on Wednesday, December 15.

Click here for more information from Black Agenda Report.

Prisons and Jails: A Color-Aroused Caste System.

I received this letter from Color of Change and I think it addresses
well the systematic brutality of the criminal injustice system aimed at
perpetuating a permanent Black underclass in a color-aroused caste
system.

Need a gift idea for the holiday? This book is for anyone who wants to fix our broken criminal justice system. Buy the book and join author Michelle Alexander in the new year to talk solutions.

Dear Atty,

We’ve all heard the statistics, and most of us have simply become numb to hearing them. For many people, the over-incarceration of Black people is simply a fact of life. It shouldn’t be.

Thanks to legal scholar and professor Michelle Alexander¹ we now have a new book that explains how we ended up with a criminal justice system that targets and endangers Black communities, as well as ideas on what we can do to free ourselves from that system’s clutches.

When we put the book — The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness — in the hands of 20 ColorOfChange members to review, the response was unanimous. In addition to giving the book glowing reviews, they all wanted the entire ColorOfChange community to know about it.

It’s why we’re now inviting you to get your own copy (and one for your friends or family as well, in time for the holiday season), as well as participate in a conference call with Professor Alexander in the new year to discuss it.

You can get your copy here:

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/284?id=1990-898983&akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=4

Professor Alexander’s book outlines the evolution of drug laws and how their ongoing effects on Black America parallel the role that segregation played in the period following the Civil War and preceding the Civil Rights Movement.² And it raises questions about what it will take to build a movement that can reform the broken drug laws that fuel high incarceration rates.

Criminal justice reform is key to our community — a third of Black men will spend part of their lives in prison,³ and Black children are more than six times more likely to have a parent incarcerated than White children.⁴ ColorOfChange members have demonstrated time and again that they want to change the status quo. More than 59,000 ColorOfChange members called on Congress to remove the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine, and nearly 25,000 sent a statement to Senator James Webb of Virginia, thanking him for his attempts to overhaul our approach to incarceration.

We believe — and the ColorOfChange members who read and reviewed the book agreed — that the book will help us, as everyday people, stand with even more power to advocate for change. Ms. Alexander is herself a longtime member of ColorOfChange.org, and she’s agreed to speak with those of you who read the book, and answer any questions you have. We’ll contact you again early in the new year with more information about how to participate in that conference call, which is sure to be informative and powerful.

Here’s what ColorOfChange.org members are saying about The New Jim Crow:

“This book explains how this new Jim Crow came to be and how deeply ingrained it is now in the American psyche. Unless we really understand how this happened, we’ll never break this vicious cycle of African-American overincarceration… How many family members of prisoners lie about their relatives in the penal system in an effort to mitigate the stigma of criminality? This system penalizes entire families. [The book] was such an eye opener."
— Irma, Washington, DC

“This book will give you a good understanding of the system, its historical roots, its origins in the War on Drugs, the complicity of the police and legal system leading to mass incarceration of people of color, and the tragic result of creating a permanent caste system based on color. It opened my eyes and stirred my soul.“
— Larry, Freeland, WA

“This isn’t a fight for the lawyers. This is a fight for regular people, the non-experts, the advocates, the sympathizers, the human beings who care and want to care more. Fertile ground for change is wherever we are, however we are, and accessible to those of us with less than sizable monetary wealth or a law degree.”
— Thuha, Fountain Valley, CA

For more on The New Jim Crow and to get your copy, click here:

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/284?id=1990-898983&akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=6

Thanks and Peace,

-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
   December 9th, 2010

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU -- your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

https://secure.colorofchange.org/contribute/

References:

1. “The New Jim Crow,” article by Michelle Alexander in Mother Jones, 03-08-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/279?akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=9

2. “Legal Scholar Michelle Alexander on ‘The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness’,” Democracy Now, 03-11-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/283?akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=11

3. “Too Long Ignored,” The New York Times, 8-20-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/598?akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=13

4. “Collateral Costs: Incarceration’s Effect on Economic Mobility,” Pew Charitable Trusts, 9-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/603?akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=15

Additional resources:

“More than 1 in 100 U.S. adults are in prison,” New York Times, 2-29-2008

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/281?akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=17

Historic 1-day peaceful strike by GA prison inmates today, Reports Black Agenda Report

By Bruce A. Dixon

Managing Editor,
Black Agenda Reportwww.blackagendareport.com

In an action which is unprecedented on several levels, black, brown and white inmates of Georgia's notorious prison system are standing together for a historic one day peaceful strike today, during which they are remaining in their cells, refusing work and other assignments and activities. This is a groundbreaking event not only because inmates are standing up for themselves and their own human rughts, but because prisoners are setting an example by reaching across racial boundaries which, in prisons, have historically been used to pit oppressed communities against each other.

The action is taking place today in at least half a dozen of Georgia's more than one hundred state prisons, correctional facilities, work camps, county prisons and other correctional facilities.  We have confirmed reports that authorities at Macon State prison have aggressively responded to the strike by sending tactical squads in to rough up and menace inmates.  

Outside calls from concerned citizens and news media will tend to stay the hand of prison authorities who may tend to react with reckless and brutal aggression.  So calls to the warden's office of Georgia State Prisons during this day are welcome.

Macon State Prison is 978-472-3900.  

Telfair state prison is 229-868-7721

Valdosta State Prison is 229-333-7900

Hays State Prison is (706) 857-0400

Baldwin State Prison is (478) 445- 5218

Smith State Prison is  (912) 654-5000

This is all the news we have for now, more coming.

One in every thirteen adults in the state of Georgia is in prison, on parole or probation or some form of court or correctional supervision.  

*********************************

Press Release

BIGGEST PRISONER STRIKE IN U.S. HISTORY

Thousands of Georgia Prisoners to Stage Peaceful Protest

December 8, 2010…Atlanta, Georgia

Contacts: Elaine Brown, 404-542-1211, sistaelaine@gmail.com;Valerie Porter, 229-931-5348, lashan123@att.net; Faye Sanders, 478-550-7046, reshelias@yahoo.com

            Tomorrow morning, December 9, 2010, thousands of Georgia prisoners will refuse to work, stop all other activities and remain in their cells in a peaceful, one-day protest for their human rights.  The December 9 Strike is projected to be the biggest prisoner protest in the history of the United States.

            These thousands of men, from Baldwin, Hancock, Hays, Macon, Smith and Telfair State Prisons, among others, state they are striking to press the Georgia Department of Corrections (“DOC”) to stop treating them like animals and slaves and institute programs that address their basic human rights.  They have set forth the following demands:

·         A LIVING WAGE FOR WORK:  In violation of the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude, the DOC demands prisoners work for free.

·         EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES:  For the great majority of prisoners, the DOC denies all opportunities for education beyond the GED, despite the benefit to both prisoners and society.

·         DECENT HEALTH CARE:  In violation of the 8^th Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments, the DOC denies adequate medical care to prisoners, charges excessive fees for the most minimal care and is responsible for extraordinary pain and suffering.

·         AN END TO CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS:  In further violation of the 8^th Amendment, the DOC is responsible for cruel prisoner punishments for minor infractions of rules.

·         DECENT LIVING CONDITIONS:  Georgia prisoners are confined in over-crowded, substandard conditions, with little heat in winter and oppressive heat in summer.

·         NUTRITIONAL MEALS:  Vegetables and fruit are in short supply in DOC facilities while starches and fatty foods are plentiful.

·         VOCATIONAL AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES:  The DOC has stripped its facilities of all opportunities for skills training, self-improvement and proper exercise.

·         ACCESS TO FAMILIES:  The DOC has disconnected thousands of prisoners from their families by imposing excessive telephone charges and innumerable barriers to visitation.

·         JUST PAROLE DECISIONS:  The Parole Board capriciously and regularly denies parole to the majority of prisoners despite evidence of eligibility.

Prisoner leaders issued the following call: “No more slavery.  Injustice in one place is injustice to all.  Inform your family to support our cause.  Lock down for liberty!”

Bruce A. Dixon
Managing Editor,
Black Agenda Report
www.blackagendareport.com

The Real Pat-Down Outrage

Cord Jefferson at The Root points out that the frisk procedures that whites are now going through at the airport are not entirely unlike the daily stop and frisk that Black people experience every day, whether we fly or not. 

One significant difference I see is that whites know they will be friskes at the airport, while New York's Blacks can be stopped and frisked at any time, in any public place, with no notice or opportunity to prepare for the dehumanizing process.


Cord Jefferson says at The Root:

"If the media want to focus on embarrassing frisks, they should look at what black and Hispanic Americans routinely deal with, courtesy of the police department.

If the media want to focus on embarrassing frisks, they should look at what black and Hispanic Americans routinely deal with, courtesy of the police department.

 

As the fevered pitch around the Transportation Security Administration screenings gets even more fevered on the busiest travel days of the year, it's worth noting that, for some Americans, embarrassing frisks are de rigueur.


The man who first pointed this out to me is New York Times reporter David Carr, who tweeted, "White people aren't used to having the hands of state on them. Black folks know all about stop and frisk."

Carr is right about that, at least as far as New York City goes. According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, the NYPD's stop-and-frisk tactic, in which officers stop citizens on the street and search their bodies and bags, was used on 149,753 New Yorkers in the first three months of 2010. Of those frisked, 85 percent were black or Latino. Even more shocking is that 87 percent of those stopped were completely innocent.

More at the Root.

I felt sorry for whites who got this treatment at the airport, until I realized that Blacks suffer this everyday, everywhere, and whites don't raise their voices in unison against these frisks of Blacks.  Maybe we can chalk this up to "sensitivity training" in which whites suddenly realize some aspect of what Blacks experience evert day, except that these pat-downs are unlikely to result in police beat downs and false charges of criminal behavior.

White Dallas Police Shoots Unarmed Black Man 8 Times?

I don't have the bandwidth necessary to watch this video, so I would like for readers to watch it and then describe it or comment upon it in the comment section below.

White Dallas Police Shoots Unarmed Black Man 8 Times; 11 year old boy caught in crossfire.

Link to tragedy in South Oak Cliff:
http://www.the33tv.com/videobeta/4cdb001e-f831-45d0-b696-0f45a348a9e2/News/11/03/10--tobias-mackey

Do Blacks and Whites Benefit Equally from the Word and Concept of "Race"

There is an informative article in The Root  by Professor Lawrence D. Bobo, W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University, confirming that enormously expensive state and federal "tough on crime" programs have mostly been tough on Blacks:

For the first time in more than 30 years, state prison populations have shown a slight decline. But the federal prison population continues to grow. And the heavily disproportionate incarceration of minorities, especially poor blacks, for low-level drug offenses continues largely unabated.

However, I wrote the letter below to Professor Bobo, challenging his use of the word "race" in the article:

Professor Lawrence D. Bobo, Ph.D.
W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences
Harvard University

Dear Professor Bobo:
 
I am a Black blogger researching the use of the word "race" among America's Blacks.  I would like to pose a question regarding your use of the word "race" in an article at The Root entitled, "Time to End the Criminal-Punishment Binge."  

I concur with the position of your article.  However, in your sentence as follows, what difference would it make if you removed the word "race" and inserted the term "skin color" instead?

Let us be the generation that undoes the connection between race and who populates our jails and prison.

I ask this question because if there is one thing that white supremacists and Black intellectuals can agree upon, it is the continued fundamental nature and necessity of the word and concept of "race." For example, here's what the white supremacist Nationalist Party USA says about "race:"

The Nationalist Party embraces the differences in Cultures and races, and allows for each group to embrace their own heritage -- while recognizing the right to live separately, if we choose; and to preserve our unique Culture and heritage. Nationalist Party USA (Emphasis added.)

Clearly the Nationalist Party's belief in different "races" rationalizes, in their minds, their belief in and advocacy for segregation and white supremacy. And why not? Do we not segregate the dog species from the cat species at the dog pound?

It seems to me that as soon as we concede that we and whites are from different "races," we supply intellectual and moral support for white supremacists' belief in segregation, with separate and unequal roles for whites, Blacks and Latinos in society. 

Here's another quote from the same website:

"The question is not why anyone would believe the races are unequal, but why anyone would believe them equal."

As Prof. Levin points out, a book like Why Race Matters should not have to be written. The only sensible conclusion to be drawn from simple observation is that races differ: "To put the matter bluntly, the question is not why anyone would believe the races are unequal in intelligence, but why anyone would believe them equal." For centuries, people as different as Arabs and Englishmen have judged Africans to be unintelligent, lascivious, jolly, and keen on rhythm. Today, in whatever corner of the globe one looks, blacks behave in certain consistent ways." Nationalist Party USA  (Emphasis Added.)

There you have it. White supremacists agree with many Black intellectuals, including Harvard University professor Lawrence D. Bobo, Ph.D., that Blacks and whites are from separate "races."  With white supremacists and Black intellectuals in agreement on this point, why should we even bother to consult the relatively new and opposite findings of the  U.S. Department of Energy's Human Genome Program which says:

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Human Genome Program devoted 3% of its annual Human Genome Project (HGP) budget toward studying the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) surrounding the availability of genetic information. Some of these projects studied potential effects of ELSI, and others sought to educate professionals through literature, conferences, workshops, and multimedia. Among the programs funded by DOE ELSI were educational materials for physicians, educators, students, clergy, and judges and other legal professionals. 

DNA studies do not indicate that separate classifiable subspecies (races) exist within modern humans. While different genes for physical traits such as skin and hair color can be identified between individuals, no consistent patterns of genes across the human genome exist to distinguish one race from another. There also is no genetic basis for divisions of human ethnicity. People who have lived in the same geographic region for many generations may have some alleles in common, but no allele will be found in all members of one population and in no members of any other.

Ari Patrinos, Director for Biological and Environmental Research, Office of Science, US Department of Energy, says on behalf of the DOE, in 'Race' and the Human Genome,

With very rare exceptions, all of us in the US are immigrants. We bring with us a subset of genes from our homelands, and for many Americans, often first-generation but more commonly second-generation, the plural noun 'homelands' is appropriate. From this perspective, the most immediately obvious characteristic of 'race' is that describing most of us as Caucasian, Asian or African is far too simple. Despite attempts by the US Census Bureau to expand its definitions, the term 'race' does not describe most of us with the subtlety and complexity required to capture and appreciate our genetic diversity. Unfortunately, this oversimplification has had many tragic effects. Therefore, we need to start with the science

( . . . )

In the end, each person must be treated as an individual with his or her own medical issues, rather than as an exemplar of a race. We anticipate a future in which accurate predictive medicine, based on one's individual genetic profile, will promote longer and healthier lives and a better ability to manage interactions with our environment and the challenges it constantly presents, be they allergens, diseases or environmental hazards. If nothing else, among so many potential benefits, the kind of solid science presented and discussed in this issue and at the Howard conference is providing proof that oversimplified concepts of race simply don't work in any objective realm. It's bad medicine, and it's bad science.   'Race' and the Human Genome,
 

Clearly what we have called "race" does not exist as a matter of science, yet the premise of "race" continues to be the single most fundamental commonality between white supremacists' arguments and those of Black intellectuals.  Do white supremacists and Blacks benefit equally from the ubiquitous use of the word "race'?  Historically, did we all benefit equally from the "N" word, whose use is just about as old as the word and concept of "race"? 

Words and concepts can empower and disempower whole classes of people.  We must either believe that whites gave Blacks the word "race" to empower us, or whites gave themselves the word "race" to empower whites. 

I propose that we Blacks challenge white supremacists, as well as journalists, newspapers and websites of all skin colors to cease and desist using the word "race," based on the new Human Genome Project declarations.  Rather than agree with white supremacists about "race," our strongest political high ground comes from insisting, based on new genomic science, that the word "race" be must be dropped from all public discussion of skin color, because the word "race" is nothing more than a pseudo-scientific and highly controversial political synonym for "skin-color group." 

Those who insist on continuing to use of the word "race" are "racists."

Sincerely,

Atty. Francis L. Holland
Brazil