Sic Semper Tyrannis, the Virginia Way
Sadly, there are currently 2.3 incarcerated in this "politically organized body of people" regarded as the "Commonwealth of Virginia," ... are prisoners of war. I refer to us as such because, unbeknowst to the legislation, that is what too many of us have become!
"Sic Semper Tyrannis," translated into the English language implies": thus ever to tyrants, the motto of Virginia." That is the Merriam-Webster definition. The same dictionary defines a tyrant as: an absolute ruler
COMMUNIQUE ON THE IDEOLOGICAL & ORGANIZATIONAL POSITION OF THE VIRGINIA PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Introduction Every individual, group, or organization that fights "against" oppression and "for" justice must constantly struggle against all external and internal forces that places the completion of their mission in jeopardy. External forces can aptly be described as threats while internal forces should be described as weaknesses. We in the VAPOC (Virginia Prisoner of Conscience) believe that Weaknesses are always more dangerous than Threats. Thus, it is with this understan
The Struggles of Re-Entry
When a prisoner achieves the goal of reforming himself, and he strives to help others to do the same, he is faced with great opposition from the very same ones who are charged with the responsibility of helping him to become a better person while in the Department of Corrections. For this reason many do not speak out because they fear reprisal from the Administration. This is where the sacrifice must come in. Some of us have to be persecuted to show the world so that justice
What it Means to be a Prisoner of Conscience
On June 1, 2018 I was fired from my position as a law clerk which I've held for over 3 years now here at Augusta. I was told that it was because I was too much of an activist, and that I was using my job as a means to promote activism.
It all seemingly stems from 2 letters that I wrote during free time at work. The first letter was to the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) where I was requesting membership as they now accept jailhouse lawyers into the Guild. In the letter I gave
The Mental Health Crisis in Prisons
I recently spoke with a prison guard to whom I said, "I really feel for you. You have a hard job. You have to work in a booth where you have to serve two housing units at the same time. Each side has 32 cells with 2 people in each cell for a total of 64 people. That's 64 people on each side for a total of 128 people. That's 128 different personalities in a closed space, and some of them have multiple personalities. This means that by the time you finish working here you will
