-NAME:
Jevon Jackson
#299078
—ADDRESS:
Columbia Corr. Inst.; P0 Box 900; Portage, WI 53901
-SENTENCE:
Life with parole in 2078
-CONVICTION:
Armed Robbery, Homicide, Possession of Weapon
-AGE
INCARCERATED: 16 years old -DATE OF BIRTH: 5/07/77
-ELIGIBLE
AGE FOR PAROLE: 101 years old
—SHOULD
I BE GIVEN A 2ND CHANCE?: If prison is truly about rehabilitation,
then I’ve consistently demonstrated, over the past 20 years, that I
am reformed and ready to integrate back into society as a productive,
hard—working man. I’ve taken advantage of all available education
opportunities, maintained ongoing and steady employment since being
incarcerated, and I continue to learn relevant jobs skills (such as
basic computer skills).
I’ve
avoided violent altercations and all criminal activity, which is a
challenge within itself considering that prison is a violent and
turbulent environment where fighting is a normal part of everyday
activities.
During
the span of my incarceration, I’ve evolved into an introspective
Man who has purpose and compassion and the self— motivation to
improve, not just myself, but the people and the circumstances that
surround me.
What’s
troubling is that the state of Wisconsin does not recognize
legitimate “rehabilitation” as a reason to allow one’s sentence
to be reduced, but yet, the state does
allow sentence reductions for guys who provide helpful information to
law enforcement agencies. For example, if a guy has information that
could help the state convict another person suspected of committing a
crime, then such a situation would allow a guy to get his sentence
reduced, regardless if he’s legitimately reformed or not. But when
a person consistently demonstrates the measure of his rehabilitation,
over a 20 year span, by living a positive and purpose-driven life,
then this should also factor in when considering to allow someone a
sentence reduction.. Vet, it’s not.
I’m
hopeful that more people out there continue to recognize that 16 year
olds do not have the same degree of culpability as adults, and that
juveniles shouldn’t be treated the same as adults when being
sentenced. Juveniles should definitely be punished for their wrongs,
but the punishment must be comparative to their level of maturity. If
a 16 year old is not mature enough to be allowed to vote or buy
liquor, then it would be cruel and unreasonable to suddenly treat the
16 year old as an adult when issuing punishment for a criminal
conviction.
-cONTACT
INFO: Please feel free to contact me at the address above or leave me
a short message at www.prisoninmates.com/Jenb7ackson299O78
Poem
MILLER
versus ALABAMA
From
the bottoms of the earth’s blood to the Saturns in the skies, we
survive the wormwood
where
Jeffrey Dahmer dies.
Between
a wall and a steel cot we conceal the ruckus in our dreams, Damn near
40, and under lock since we were incorrigibly 16.
Convicted
teens, this is all we know-— prison prison prison and jail, But
they just don’t wanna let us go so we can prove our evolution,
availed.
A
hundred years is not a hundred years,
No,
not in the deep dark rear of iniquity;
A
hundred years imprisoned is a blind cruel beast
that
strangles us, long, beneath its wild blue sea.
We’ve
watched our baby Loved Ones
become
parents with their own families, (we’re locked away); We’ve
witnessed mischievous little cousins
grow
into esteemed collegiate honorees, (we rot away).
Some
of us have beeü gone so long that nobody plays that song anymore!
Most of us growl and sneer, to be strong
because
its hard to fit Love through that door.
From
the darkness of a coal mine to the brilliance of sparkling stones; We
shine mighty in the mind
as
we climb our way home.
[Note:
Miller
v. Alabama
is a Supreme Court ruling (from 2012) where the court decided that it
was unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile to a “mandatory”
punishment of Life without parole; although, judges are still allowed
to sentence juveniles to Life without parole, judges must consider
the “mitigating factors of youth” before imposing such a harsh
sentence.]
WHAT
I’VE SEEN
I
once watched a prison take a child and stretch him into angles, so
when that little boy
walks
home, instinctively, they all scram out his way.
I
once watched a prison
fight
a tiger--biggest one I’ve ever seen, with claws that plucked
dragons quick out the sky;
I
once watched a prison smite a tiger gut a lair twist a jungle inside
out.
I
once watched a prison stomp—stomp, extemporaneously, on all the
glowing garden flowers budding fresh in our Imaginations, so when
folks speak of orchids and azaleas and sun-kissed lilies, we run to
hush their lips, for safe.
I
once watched a prison do long division with human heads, with cold
bodies coiled tightly
in
the damp black earth, fresh mud, the fingernails-- a filthy team of
angst and cudgeled anger crumpled into a fist
of
sloped open graves.
I
once watched a prison shrivel up the sun into an orange pebbled nut,
not with bergs of ice or black holes, but simply with the bent
silhouette of its stone razored face pressed firm
against
the dirty glass window.
--by
Jevon
THE
HOPE ROOM
I
go there
when
the light weighs a thousand tons, and I am unable to move
from
this cold, boulder, locked;
I
go there
when
What Is Next leans offensive against my surface, my purpose, my name;
I
go there not to get away, but to get a way to heal this, to feel the
good Cod medicine warm quiet against the rind;
I
go there
when
I am most confused, when
I
fall nauseous to the wicked creep
of
wretched circumstance, the dragon;
I
go there, the vacant old pagoda, to soothe crumpled wings, make
rich-- the tiny pauper;
I
go there (frequently, I show up there) when I am broken, a billion
smithereens
from
scattered dust to gathered stars, truly I show up there, way—way up
there, with asteroids for guts and green planets for brains;
I
go there
to
sip slow, the sun, to feel the glorious weightless push of bliss plus
bliss plus melody;
I
go there
whenever
I am not here,
when
the soul needs a good place to eat,
a
space it knows as roam sweet.
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