Tech, 45

It is often said that “it takes a village to raise a child”; well what happens when that child grows up, becomes an adult, commits a crime and ends up serving a 32 to life sentence? Where is the village then? For many there was never a village to begin with; for some the village was sparse and continued to dwindle to less than the # on the yellow pencil I am using. And for very few fortunates like myself, my tribe has not only stayed in-tact, but has grown in size and support through time and space. A reminder to all: “we belong to each other”. This personal anecdote is also a mutual love letter to my friends and family thanking them for relentlessly being in my corner for rotting for me when life and the criminal justice system keeps knocking me down. In May, eight years after my arrest, fourth since the initial sentencing, I stood in front of the same judge again feeling like M.J. With 23 strong supporters sitting behind me and over 260 proofs of rehabilitative evidence prepared to evoke relief and mercy via sentence reduction. Akin to Mr. Barack Obama, I had the audacity of hope. Three hours of legal arguments amounted to your honor needing additional time to comb through the dictionary sized stack of documents I presented. Three nail biting weeks later, the decision hearing arrived; the court room was deep with 36 devouts hand in hand praying that I would not have to spend more decades in prison. Finally the words “27 to life” tornadoed through the room twisting everyone’s faces and stomachs, loved ones let down by the turn of events. Tears overflowed like broken levees that I may have to serve another 20 years in a dark cell before being able to attend a parole suitability hearing. Nevertheless and forever the more, the people that call themselves “the Tech support team” remain rallied together. I humbly say: “Dear Ones, thank you for not throwing in the towel; thank you for cheering me on and for believing in my inherently unshakable goodness; raising me and lifting my spirits, with tireless arms over upright shoulders we move in unison onward and forward, I love you all.”