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to End Drug War Injustice |
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My Name is Joe Louis Gonzales III. I am currently serving a 15 year sentence in Federal Prison.
When sentenced to the federal system, a person must serve 85% of the sentence, and federal sentences are excessively long. If the Federal Parole Bill is passed, a person imprisoned, who works on rehabilitation would have a chance to return to his family sooner, and rebuild life as a productive citizen. Support for returning parole or a form of earned, early release is what I'm working on with the help of family and friends on the outside.
A second project that I'm working on I call the "Get Stop Snitching Right" campaign, and it's a touchy subject.
Touchy or not, "Get Stop Snitching Right" is an important project because most federal prisoners are locked up for inhumane lengths of time, solely on the word of informants, or 'wet snitches.'
Drug conspiracy laws can convict a person on another person's statement. If that were not bad, in and of itself, most of the time the person testifying against another is doing so to get a reduction in their own sentence. Many times the people testifying against someone, didn't even know the people, other times family members turn in family member so they don't have to go to prison. Still, the prisons fill and innocent people are swept up into the system, too.
A return to parole would give relief to those imprisoned today. People on the streets refusing to turn people over in order to save themselves would bring relief today. People coming together to change the laws would save millions of people this anguish tomorrow.
I owned an independent music store and record label before I was incarcerated, and I feel the best way I can tell people what's going on, is through music. With the help of my family and friends, we recorded a CD to share our messages with our community. Other men that worked with me on this project are incarcerated, serving anywhere from seven years to life sentences. About 60% of the music and messages onf the Stop Snitching CD were created by those imprisoned.
Part of the promotion includes a billboard in my hometown of Kansas City, MO, promoting the support of federal parole and the CD. We already have support through the music website, www.Siccness.net , and we're now featured at www.november.org -- feel free to add a link to your website.
The more people behind what we are doing, the better chance of being families again together, and preventing more mass imprisonment through the betrayal of snitching. You can contact me, through my father Joe, at: jgonzales@kc.rr.com or call 913-710-6820.
Thank you & God Bless
Joe L. Gonzales III
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