#life in prison

[one-time-i-dreamt]

I was falsely accused of stealing strawberries and nobody would listen to my explanation. I got life in prison and my mother said she was very disappointed in me, It’s then revealed I was (somehow) sabotaged by Bill Cipher, who worked at the supermarket.

[azbrt]

im late whatever

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“In the 43 years that I’ve spent in a small cell at San Quentin, I’ve felt grass under my feet only five times.

The first time was after I had spent seven years in the isolation unit because I refused to cut my hair. I’m Monache and Cherokee. They punished me despite the fact that it’s my tradition and spiritual belief as a Native American to grow my hair long.

But outside the isolation unit there was a row of grass that they really took care of. As the guards led me out of that building, I stepped off the concrete path so I could feel the grass and dirt under my feet. The smell and feel of grass is still part of me.

I'm sure most free people don’t even realize that they take something like that for granted, but it’s the little things that I cherish the most. I often think back to growing up at Big Sandy — the coyotes and foxes, the geese and deer and wild turkeys. There were 17 of us living together in three cabins, and it only cost about $80 a month to feed us. We ate venison, rabbit and turkey, and we had a garden. We always had homemade biscuits, tortillas, frybread and cornbread, and there were always beans cooking on the back of the potbellied stove. Those thoughts, along with the self-discipline I’ve developed in here, have helped sustain me.

I can say that conditions in the isolation unit have changed since 1980, when I was there for the first time. Back then, there was a hole in the floor for a toilet. The toilets were supposed to be flushed once every 24 hours, but they rarely were.

We were supposed to get 1,500 calories a day. But we got one meatball in the morning and one at night with half a slice of bread. Anytime people acted up, the guards would pepper spray them. Sometimes, guards would spray people just to see how they’d react.

Guards would also take our mattresses in the morning and give them back at night — presumably because they didn’t want inmates destroying them. But nine times out of 10 you wouldn’t get your mattress back. It would be someone else’s, and there might be feces on it or urine on it. After five times, I told them, “No, I don’t want a mattress anymore.” I haven’t had one since then. I just fold a blanket in half and sleep on it. I also haven’t had a pillow — I use a roll of toilet paper, and I’m comfortable with that.

In the death-row cells where I’ve spent most of my time, I’m still in isolation — it’s just not as bad. My current cell is roughly 4 1/2 feet by 10 feet. Along with my toilet, bed and sink, I’ve got a shelf, two lights and a typewriter. I have some CDs and a CD player with a radio. I also have some photos and eight posters of Harley Davidsons. My dad was a biker.

But I’m still locked up all the time, and I don’t come out unless I’m handcuffed. I go to the shower, I’m handcuffed. I go to medical or the yard, I’m handcuffed. A guard is always watching. It’s like I’m in a zoo.

We do have Native worship services at San Quentin, but our religious adviser doesn’t do it right. He has a sacred pipe that he allows everybody to touch, and that’s bad medicine. You’re not supposed to touch the pipe or anything sacred like that if you have blood on your hands. If you’ve killed someone in self-defense or to protect your family or your property, that’s one thing. But if you kill somebody just to kill, it’s called having blood on your hands. That’s why I go to other worship services, so I can absorb other teachings and learn about different religions.

We used to have four powwows a year. Tribes from the Bay Area and all the way up north would offer buffalo, elk, venison and fish. Now we’re lucky if we have one powwow per year. The reason is that the religious adviser would tell the tribes we were going to have a powwow on a certain date and after the tribes caught fish and deer for it, he’d say, “Well, now we’re going to have it next month.” You can’t do that.

When we did have a powwow, we’d get a two-ounce serving of salmon and everything else would be prison food. The prison wouldn’t allow people to bring in buffalo meat because they said bones were a security risk. They could just take the meat off the bone and then bring it in, but they won’t do that. You’ve got these brothers and sisters in the free world going out and getting it for us, and we can’t have it.

Meanwhile, my daily routine is the same as it has been for decades. I wash up, make sure my cell is clean, then I say my prayers and I meditate for 20 minutes to an hour. After that, I turn on the radio, exercise, maybe type a letter and get my breakfast. I work on my case for about three hours a day. We have a law library, but you have to get on a list, so you might go once a month. Every week, we can put in requests for a law book we need. You may be placed on a waiting list for the book, but it's better than nothing.

I go to the yard with other people twice a week for a total of six hours — unless it’s foggy or there’s been an incident and we’re in lockdown. I get to shower for 15 minutes every other day with a guard standing by. Otherwise, I’m in my cell.

Since my sentence was reduced to life without possibility of parole in 2019, I have the option of transferring to a cell in the general population. But I’d have to go to a Level 4 maximum security unit where there’s a lot of violence. Other inmates would want to test me because I’ve been on death row.

I also have the option of moving to a different prison, but my legal team is in this area. I might end up 500 miles away; that would make it harder for them to come and see me when they have to. 

And so, I await a court date. It could be in a month, it could be in six months. We don’t know. Meanwhile, I just try to be the best person I can be so that I’m content with myself and can go to sleep at night and say, “Well, I did a good day. I didn’t do anybody wrong, I didn’t lie to anybody.”

People have asked me, “How did you make it through 43 years in prison?” And I say, “By being Native.” Being Native gives me the strength to overcome all of this — not just for me, but for all our brothers and sisters. Society cannot break our spirit.”

- DOUGLAS RAY STANKEWITZ as told to RICHARD ARLIN WALKER, “California’s Longest Serving Death-Row Prisoner On Pain, Survival and Native Identity.” The Marshall Project. March 18, 2022.

[deathorlifeinprison]

Susan Atkins (above and below) and Patricia Krenwinkel in plaid dress.

Both were part of the Charles Manson cult and participated on the murder of several people during a crime spree in 1969. Victims included actress Sharon Tate and coffee heiress Abigail Maxwell.

In 1971 they were both sentence to life in prison, they were never granted parole. Susan and Patricia, both died in prison.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The 19-year-old White man who killed 10 people in a racist mass shooting at a grocery store in a predominantly Black area of Buffalo last May cried and said he regretted his actions as he was sentenced to life in prison during an emotional court hearing Wednesday.

“I’m very sorry for all the pain I forced the victims and their families to suffer through. I’m very sorry for stealing the lives of your loved ones. I cannot express how much I regret all the decisions I made leading up to my actions on May 14,” Payton Gendron, wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackles, said in court.

“I did a terrible thing that day. I shot and killed people because they were Black. Looking back now, I can’t believe I actually did it. I believed what I read online and acted out of hate. I know I can’t take it back, but I wish I could, and I don’t want anyone to be inspired by me and what I did.”

The statement came during the state sentencing hearing for Gendron, who pleaded guilty in November to one count of domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate, 10 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and a weapons possession charge for the mass shooting at Tops Friendly Markets on May 14, 2022.

A number of victims’ family members spoke emotionally Wednesday about how the mass shooting had changed their lives. At one point, Gendron took off his glasses and began crying during the testimony from the victims’ families.

At another point, a man in a gray sweatshirt rushed at Gendron in court but was quickly blocked by security, and Gendron was taken out of the courtroom.

After a short break, Gendron returned to the courtroom and Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan restarted the hearing.

“We cannot have that in the courtroom,” Eagan said. “We must conduct ourselves appropriately because we are all better than that.”

In the end, the Judge sentenced Gendron to life in prison on each of the terrorism and murder charges and offered a stern rebuke of him.

“There is no place for you or your ignorant, hateful and evil ideologies in a civilized society,” she said. “There can be no mercy for you, no understanding, no second chances. The damage you have caused is too great, and the people you have hurt are too valuable to this community. You will never see the light of day as a free man ever again.”

Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn said after court the sentence put legal closure on the case, but not on the broader issues.

“It certainly does not put any closure on what we need to do as a society and a community going forward,” Flynn said. “Justice was done with a small ‘j’ today, but we still have a big ‘J’ of Justice to do.”

MAN RUSHES AT GENDRON DURING VICTIM STATEMENTS

The attempted attack on Gendron came during a particularly intense victim impact statement by Barbara Mapps, the sister of Katherine Massey, a 72-year-old who was killed in the attack.

“I want personally to choke you,” Mapps said in a loud voice. “Your little punk ass decided to come here to kill Black people.”

Flynn said the man will not be charged with a crime, explaining he did not want to compound the tragedy.

Other families of victims offered more somber memories of their loved ones and criticisms of Gendron’s violent actions and hateful ideology. Many of the victims’ family members voiced that they wish for Gendron to be sentenced to life in prison, rather than the death penalty, so the shooter will have to suffer with his thoughts for the rest of his life.

“One day I hope you find it in your heart to apologize to those families,” Wayne Jones, the son of Celestine Chaney, said in court.

“I pray to God they do not kill you,” said Brian Talley, family member of shooting victim Geraldine Talley. “You need to be known worldwide … I forgive you, but I forgive you not for your sake, but for mine and for this Black community.”

Christopher Braden, who said he was shot in his leg, said he saw dead bodies on the floor as he was led out of the supermarket to the hospital.

“The visions haunt me every day,” Braden said, adding he continues to suffer from night terrors and post-traumatic stress disorder from the shooting.

Zeneta Everhart, whose son Zaire Goodman was shot and injured, said her son has survivor’s guilt.

“He is dealing with the pain that I as a mother cannot bear,” Everhart said. “On that day this terrorist made the choice that the value of a Black human meant nothing to him … whatever the sentence is that [Gendron] receives, it will never be enough.”

Michelle Spight, who said she lost her aunt and her cousin in the shooting, said she hopes Gendron is haunted every day and every night.

“You came to Buffalo with hatred and anger in your heart,” Spight said, also speaking on behalf of her other family members.

HOW WE GOT HERE

On the afternoon of May 14, Gendron turned the community’s source of necessities into a crime scene.

Gendron was heavily armed and wore tactical gear – including a tactical helmet and plated armor, police said at the time. He also livestreamed his actions using a camera.

Using an illegally modified semi-automatic rifle, the gunman shot four people outside the grocery store – three of whom died. He continued the massacre inside the store, fatally shooting an armed security guard and eight others, six of whom didn’t survive.

The shooting traumatized the predominantly Black neighborhood of Masten Park on Buffalo’s east side. The area was a food desert and the Tops Friendly Markets was the only supermarket in the neighborhood.

Gendron shot a total of 13 people, including 11 Black people and two White people, authorities said. All the victims killed were Black.

Prosecutors have argued the horror that unfolded both inside and outside the supermarket was rooted in Gendron’s racism toward Black people. Evidence included social media posts and a lengthy document written by Gendron, revealing he had planned the attack and visited the supermarket several times prior to the massacre.

Gendron posted he chose the Tops market as his target because it’s located in the 14208 ZIP code in Buffalo which is home to the highest percentage of Black people close enough to where he lived in Conklin, New York.

In the document, he attributed the internet for most of his beliefs and describes himself as a fascist, a White supremacist and an antisemite.

The shooter’s charges included the first use of New York’s terrorism motivated by hate charge since it became available in 2020 under state law.

On the federal level, Gendron faces 10 counts of hate crime resulting in death, three counts of hate crime involving bodily injury, 10 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a violent crime, and three counts of use and discharge of a firearm during a violent crime, according to a criminal complaint.

He has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, which carry the potential for the death penalty.

In December, Gendron’s attorneys said during a court hearing he would be willing to plead guilty to the federal charges if prosecutors agreed to remove the death penalty as punishment.

[writingtimelessthenovel]

[faeorwizardorsmthn]

Caught him being SILLY 👆

[nakeddeparture]

BREAKING NEWS: Eligio Bishop, 40, gets life in prison, no possibility of parole, plus ten years.

https://youtu.be/v6f0tQHXXCI

The judge cited his lack of remorse as disturbing. I will blog on this again when more is released. Naked!!

Like/share/comment/subscribe on YouTube (it costs you nothing). Press the notification bell 🔔. NEW WhatsApp #2527225512

[1000-year-old-virgin]

Life in prison is not enough! Too bad we don't have the Death Penalty in Canada because this scum bag needs it.

[annabelle--cane]

you think people actually have sex? naked and everything? I have to laugh.

[lionsground]

Portage Woman Sentenced to Life in Prison for Strangling Boyfriend: Latest Updates

[deathorlifeinprison]

Erik and Lyle Menendez.

[playitagin]

1964-Life sentences.

Anti-apartheid activist and ANC leader Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison for sabotage in South Africa.

[higgsbison]

you and your bestie [incomprehensible]

[whoslibby]

‘i’m a feminist obviously but I wouldn’t mind him saving me.’ you whisper to your friend at the bar the two of you worked at.

your friend hiss out a giggle at your boldness, talking about the group of army men that had been regulars. a group of them. a guy in a skull balaclava that got lift to his nose when he drank his pint. a scottish man who always order a scotch no matter the day. a nice scouse man with a cute hat who ordered a cider. the three of them regulars you came to like.

‘I know i’m fine without a man but I wouldn’t mind his protection.’ you whisper to your friend towards the man with the skull balaclava. he didn’t say a lot except from when he ordered his round.

you couldn’t help but say these things to your friend who wouldn’t stop giggling as she poured pints. as the skull man came up to the bar he came to order and you instantly went to serve him. ‘the usual?’ you question.

‘shots please,’ he muttered seeming not to happy himself.

‘on a wednesday night, bold,’ you say as you grabbed out three shot glasses pouring them. ‘$6 please,’

‘not m’choice, johnnys on the piss,’ he says as you hand him the three shots. you let out a soft chuckle as you take the money from him before putting it in the cash register.

when he went back to his booth you couldn’t help but giggle to your girl friend about it. giggling everytime he took a glance at you.

it wasn’t long until his drunk friend johnny was coming up to the bar ‘you see ghost? big guy. he wants your number!’ johnny says with just as much as a giggly tone himself, the shots going straight through him.

‘oh really? hand him this.’ you write his number on a napkin. you always avoiding giving your numbers to strangers but when he looked like he would go to prison for anyone that would hurt you. it was intriguing.

[nakeddeparture]

Bridgetown, Barbados. Cheriss Ricardo Ince gets life for the murder of Marcelle Smith, 75.

https://youtu.be/CVmUo5zOR_U

But even so, Randall Worrell gave him a dim light for release in the far future. Ince should have gotten 180 year sentence. Shame on you Randall! Naked!!