Hosting donated by MutualAid.org

Dortell Williams' Radio Broadcasts

Higher Quality Audio files available info@prisonradio.org

Copyright 2007 Dortell Williams/Prison Radio

Dortell Williams is an inmate at the Los Angeles County California State Prison in Lancaster, California. Dortell has been published in a number of community newspapers, including the San Francisco Bay View, The Final Call and The Los Angeles Sentinel. He mentors at-risk kids through San Francisco's The Beat Within and is an inside correspondent for Families to Amend Three Strikes. You can email Dortell at: dortellwilliams@yahoo.com. For more information about the Honor Yard Program, visit: www.prisonhonorprogram.org

Larry Craig: A Prisoner's Perspective

Commentary by Dortell Williams, recorded 9/13/07

1) 3:26 MP3 Radio Essay

Larry Craig: A Prisoner’s Perspective

While politics encompass almost every aspect of a prisoner’s life, for the most part, political discussions and consciousness are not regular facets of the prisoner experience.

However, when the bathroom-bust scandal of Idaho’s Senator Larry Craig surfaced recently, it seemed every table in the chowhall was in chat about the 62-year-old’s alleged, sexual advance toward a Minneapolis undercover cop.

And despite the myths of prolific homosexual activity, or the “downlow” phenomenon in prison, such relationships are actually frowned upon – at least in California prisons.

There was no sympathy for Craig. What the fells could relate to was the his-word-against-his-word aspect of the case. That’s what it boils down to; the word of a police officer, albeit a sergeant, against a three-term Senator – an arch conservative, at that – who garnered 65 percent of the Gem State’s vote in 2002. According to polls and public reaction, it was the officer who won the credibility contest. Certainly it was Craig’s checkered past that did him in.

Still, cops do lie. Remember the Rampart scandal? You remember, the huge corruption disgrace that exposed LAPD officers robbing suspects, planting contraband and setting people up in the 90’s. There was also the Tulia, Texas case, where one white officer lied on dozens of black citizens, claiming he found them in possession of, or selling drugs. They all did time, though no dope was provided to corroborate the cop’s allegations. Fortunately, the truth eventually came out.

Plea bargains were the second catch-theme of discussion stemming from the Republican Senator’s arrest.

Craig, who plead guilty to disorderly conduct, in lieu of the more serious charge of lewd conduct, said he plead guilty because he “over-reacted and made a poor decision.” He hoped it’s just go away. He sought no legal counsel or advice from his family or friends.

Scores of guys here could relate to that. Even with court-appointed counsel they don’t fare much better.

Prosecutors, especially during election season, often boast of a 99 percent conviction rate. I’ve always found this amazing, given that every other human endeavor is so marked by fallibility. Add to that the fact that every case must go through a chain of hands before the prosecutor gets it. Think of all the opportunities for a foul up.

Truth be told, “Prosecutors hold all the cards,” says Angela Davis, a 20-year veteran of public defending in Washington, D.C. “Prosecutors often stack charges above the descriptions in the police report, to intimidate or coerce a guilty plea,” says Davis in a Times Magazine article. The accused often cave in – even innocent ones – because of mandatory minimum sentences and today’s longer prison terms. If the case is lost on trial it could be devastating for the accused, who is often out gunned from the get-goby the overwhelming resources of the state.

Yet, in 2003, the Center for Public Integrity found that prosecutorial misconduct led to charges being dismissed, convictions reversed or sentences reduced in over 2,000 cases sine 1970. And those are just those cases where they were caught. To many imprisoned, North Carolina’s Mike Nifong, entangled in the Duke lacrosse rape case for hiding exculpatory evidence, wasn’t an aberration, but the norm.

Increasingly, it’s not just the people at the bottom getting wrapped up in arbitrary criminal policies. Whether guilty or innocent, everyone deserves a fair shot at justice. Perhaps as more politicians and other defrocked, disgraced elites feel the grate, maybe they, too, will fight for just balance – if only for themselves.

Update:

Senate Bill 299 sailed unscathed through the Senate Public Safety Committee, the Senate Public Safety Commission, Senate Appropriations and the full Senate. The bill is scheduled to go before the Assembly Public Safety Committee, August 31st, where it is expected to hit turbulence. Old fashioned, traditional letters are requested of the public for legislative supporters of the bill to offset expected opposition.