[Peace-discuss] Forgiveness Weekend program schedule

Sun Feb 13 20:57:30 CST 2005

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "C. G. Estabrook" <galliher at alexia.lis.uiuc.edu>
To: "danielle schumacher" <danielle at illinoisnorml.org>
Cc: <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2005 8:11 PM
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Forgiveness Weekend program schedule

: What, specifically, is the disenfranchisement of felons that this
: conference seeks to end? In Illinois, strictly speaking, there isn't any:
: the franchise (right to vote) is restored to felons who have completed
: their sentences.  Metaphorically, disenfranchisements for released felons
: include the prohibition of owning a gun.  Is this the sort of thing you
: have in mind?  What else?

Carl, you may find an answer to your question in what Aaron said in his
recent "Public Square" commentary (included below).

You say below that "efforts should be directed to penal reform". Does
Aaron's argument below not qualify?

You seem predisposed toward disparaging "Forgiveness Weekend". I'm quite
certain that you're fully capable of distinguishing between the overall goal
of the event and Reverend James Bevel's undeniably objectionable support of
the Larouche and Moon cults. So I'm a bit mystified as to why you seem
biased against the event. Perhaps you'll be willing to clarify =8-)

R

from:
http://www.will.uiuc.edu/community/publicsquare/transcripts/transcript050128.html

----

Peace be upon you all.  My name is Aaron Ammons, also know as Brother A-Dub.

I'm a local activist, husband, father, and published poet.  I am also
co-founder of CU Citizens For Peace and Justice which is just one of the
reasons why I will give you the following information concerning felony
convictions.

When one hears that someone has a felony conviction, images of murderers,
rapists and pedophiles might come to mind.  But did you know that a person
can receive a felony for minor crimes such as possession of a small amount
of marijuana, video and audio taping of traffic stops of police officers or
giving the police a false name.

Why should someone who smoked a little bit of pot in Illinois, for example,
lose the following rights:

The right to apply for a  Pell Grant to pay for college tuition and books.

The right to bear arms or be around guns or bullets.

The right to work as a firefighter and police officer.

The right to be a Public School teacher, principal, counselor, bus driver,
coach or janitor.

The right to hold municipal elected office such as Mayor or city council
member or President.

The right to obtain licenses for cosmetology, such as Barbers or
Beauticians.

The right to volunteer at places such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of
America.

The right to serve in any of the armed forces or reserves.

The right to work as an insurance agent.

And these are only some of the rights taken from a person convicted of a
felony.

Furthermore, in Champaign, if a felony crime is less than five years old,
landlords are allowed to deny housing to people who have been convicted of
felonies.  Felons are also tax paying citizens yet are denied many of the
rights other tax paying citizens enjoy even after paying their debt to
society.

It is unconstitutional to repeatedly try and convict an individual for the
same crime. People with felony records need to earn a living and yet there
are many jobs denied to them even after serving their time.  There are local
businesses such as convenience stores home improvement stores who refuse to
hire people with felony conviction.  You won't be hired for a job with the
city or park district even after serving your time.

This sweeping perpetual noose must be re-evaluated, after all the numbers of
felons certainly are not decreasing.

And, in 12 states people with felony convictions are banned from voting for
life. Florida is one of those states. Thankfully, people with felony
convictions in Illinois can still vote.

The Illinois Constitution Article 1 of the Bill of Rights says: "all men are
by nature free and independent and have certain inherent and inalienable
rights among which are LIFE, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness."

However, a man cannot have LIFE and be sentenced to Death! Ex-States
Attorney John Piland once said that the consequences of a felony conviction
are a death sentence!  One cannot experience Liberty when he is harnessed
like a horse and controlled by the bridle of a felony conviction, and it is
inescapably true that ones pursuit of happiness is more like a veil of
misery and stress.

In Illinois we want amendments to laws that prevent felons from working as
firefighters, bus drivers and counselors.  We must allow citizens who have
made mistakes to still receive Pell grants for a college education, and we
absolutely must allow them to participate in the making and enforcing of the
laws that govern them.  Finally, we want full voting rights restored to all
felons who have paid their debts to society by serving their time.

----

: I ask this with a clear understanding that the War on Drugs creates many
: (but not all) felons and the suspicion that efforts should be directed to
: penal reform and reform (that is to say abolition) of the drug laws.
:
: The War on Drugs is a vicious attempt to control a potentially dissident
: segment of the population defined by class and indexed by race. As a
: result, we Americans imprison more of our fellow citizens per capita than
: any other country: with 4% of the world's population, we have 25% of the
: world's prisoners.
:
: The War on Drugs should be ended, and so should laws on "controlled
: substances."  Our Libertarian friends are right: governments should not be
: enforcing what we can put into our bodies.  But corporations should be
: controlled by public policy on what they can sell, and (accurate)
: informational campaigns by governments on the dangers of drugs (notably
: alcohol and nicotine) are appropriate.
:
: I have the impression that the Forgiveness Weekend is at best working on
: the edges of a serious social problem, perhaps inefficiently and even
: wrong-headedly.
:
: Regards, Carl
:
:
: On Sun, 13 Feb 2005, Randall Cotton wrote:
:
: > Folks were asking during the AWARE meeting today about what the
: > program schedule was for Forgiveness Weekend. On Feb. 3rd, Danielle
: > Schumacher posted the following website link with that information:
: >
: > http://citizen.freeshell.org/forgiveness.html
: >
: > Danielle, is this schedule current? Is it final?
: >
: > Thanks R
: >
:
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