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The following article was published in our article directory on February 2, 2017.
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How 2 Men Overcome Adversity of Prison Sentencing Disparity, Part 2

Article Category: Self Help

Author Name: James Nussbaumer

Prison reform as well as criminal justice system reform is a continual political concern, yet there's one factor on which basically everyone has come to terms on, is that the U.S.A.'s prison populace is escalating beyond control.

In part one of this blog article, experiences like the one of the 78 year old William sent to prison over punctured tires have shown me firsthand the bitterness that resides in the prison system.

Many men have no choice but to teach deep within and overcome adversity. I have learned that few prisoners are able to show, or refuse to display, their true feelings due to fear and resentment of the injustices they have suffered themselves and witnessed imposed on others. This makes for rage toward prison officials and beyond, spilling onto other inmates and prison life in general.

Routine injustice is deeply rooted into the "justice" system, which is used by many judges, prosecutors, public defenders, prison operators, and others for personal gain in public life.

Clearly there are many prisoners who do belong behind bars; but this situation is not about their debt to society. All my years I have been a proud American and a firm believer that democracy is the best system in the world. I have always realized that of course, as with anything else, it has its pitfalls and "bad apples."

But now I have witnessed close up the other side, where a mockery of justice is being played out over money and power. Judges and prosecutors are locking individuals behind bars for political reasons and gaining votes as they prove their "tough on crime" agenda, regardless of the accused's individual circumstances or due process. That is, of course, unless there is plenty of money to hand over to "iron out" a situation.

Prisoners do exaggerate, though often they do so out of a longing for change; this is the only way many can express their disgust. At first, I discounted most of the stories I heard. But, as with Willie, I discovered that many of these tragic tales were all too true.

I can honestly add my opinion here that the Founding Fathers of this country, who wrote the Constitution and suffered to defend it, would be ashamed of what has happened to politics in the U.S.—and all for the price of personal gain.

In my 2nd book of the ever-developing series, Mastering Your Own Spiritual Freedom, I ask my readers to explore within one serious question:

Who is there in this United States of America today, or in the entire world, that you can choose as a role model for your children? Is there anyone at all?

I do believe there have been other factors involved in these criminal cases, and many who should be punished go free. But as the stories accumulated, and I checked them out as best I could, it was easy to see why sentencing disparity is the chief cause of all the bitterness in prison. If this kind of thing were occurring in other countries under communism or dictatorships, the bitterness would not be born.

In the "Land of the Free" and the "Home of the Brave," however, when these things continually happen, we are right to be angry at the travesty. Take a look at the case of inmate George, the owner of a large retail shopping franchise. George shot and killed his card-playing partner during a game of high stakes poker. Expensive lawyers were able to "iron out" a plea bargain from murder to manslaughter, and George received a four-year prison term.

Then there was Terrence, an illiterate young man with virtually no education, who was serving twelve years in prison for possession of three pounds of marijuana. Terrence was caught up in a bind: about to lose his home to foreclosure, with a wife and two small children. He tried his hand at earning cash as a "delivery boy" for a big-time drug dealer.

He would not "snitch" on the drug dealer in order to get a better plea deal because he feared for the safety of his family. Since he wouldn't "cooperate," the prosecutor demanded he receive a maximum sentence. Such injustices of the system are everywhere, though not in every case. In many cases justice has been served.

But those numberless cases where this is not so are very painful, and the bitterness extends when one comes to know the victim face to face. It fosters rebellious attitudes toward the law, even among those who know they deserve their own sentences.

Often it's the inexperienced lawbreaker, like Willie, who puts his trust in the judicial process and does expect to pay his debt to society for his or her error, only to be taken advantage of by zealous judges and prosecutors, who consign them to the prison system to meet demands that voters are totally unaware of.

When are we going to overcome adversity as a whole and bring into this land a system with the sole purpose of helping and protecting society, one that is not used to help deepen and fill up the pockets of the greedy?

This brings me to Doc's story and how he had to begin reaching deep within and overcome adversity. Doc told me he pled guilty without a plea bargain, just as I did. Doc was later told that his lawyer traded him off for another client with more money who could pay for "investigative expenses."

Doc had a small business that went belly-up, which put him behind on all his bills until he ran out of money. He could not pay for any "investigative expenses," and the lawyer suggested he hope for mercy from the judge for his child support arrearages, which had reached the felony level.

When Doc contacted a government agency called "Child Support Enforcement" for help, they would not listen to him until he could get the following year's income tax return to prove his hardship.

The "Enforcement Agency" had no choice but to report his arrearages to the court. As Doc stood in front of the judge with no plea bargain at the sentencing, he noticed a patriotic banner hanging next to the American flag that said "The Land of the Free and Justice for Everyone." He said a quick prayer to God and trusted that the judge would treat him fairly.

Instead, Doc was given a four-year prison term and was scolded by the judge for his "poor fatherhood" and non-support of his ten-year-old son. Doc told me that the judge had no idea how he did truly support his son, and that like many families, he had merely been hit by hard times. So now Doc is literally doing "hard time"—where he certainly has no chance of being able to recover or financially support his son.

He writes to his boy often, supporting his son's dream of one day being an Ohio State football player. Doc is sure his son will achieve that goal. But "Child Support Enforcement" and the judge did not look at it that way.

A Course in Miracles asks us to contemplate this question: What if we all were able to be increasingly aware of the Oneness we all share, and the Holy Spirit's constant communication between us all, in order that we may live our free will? We can't see Him with our eyes, nor hear Him with our ears, but He is there. When we let go of the prison in our minds, we are able to recognize His presence!

When I first met Willie that day in the overcrowded county jail cell, we felt a sense of joy that inspired both of us. A connection, if you will. Most of us have experienced this before, but shrug it off as simply "having something in common" with one another. Does this seem familiar?

Don't you think there's more to it than that?

A Course in Miracles helps us to be aware that if you inspire joy and others react to you with joy, even though you are not experiencing joy yourself, there must be something in you that is capable of producing it.

If what is inside you can produce joy, and if you see that it does produce joy in others, you must be giving of yourself, and therefore are not lacking. In order to continue to not be lacking, you must receive the joy as well, which others have available in their "lackless" supply of joy.

A Course in Miracles further teaches that reaching deep within is how giving and receiving can be seen as two distinct aspects of the same thought.

When we can begin to see this light on a larger scale, and incorporate this way of extending our thoughts in our pursuit to get a grip on crime, we can learn that what we fight we only get more of. Likewise, what we extend we get more of, and love is intended to extend.

Here is what legendary author Henry David Thoreau had to say in his famous book, Walden, about reaching deep within and his experience of being jailed for not paying income tax, in a particular year when he was hit with hard times:

You who govern public affairs, what need have you to employ punishments? Love virtue, and the people will be virtuous. The virtues of a superior man are like the wind; the virtues of a common man are like the grass; the grass, when the wind passes over it, bends.

To the best in you

Keywords: overcome adversity, sentencing disparity, a course in miracles, reaching deep within

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