KONY2012, bringing justice or leading a gimmick: part two

   As you recall I mentioned in a previous post that some people questioned whether or not the money they sent to the Invisible Children organization was actually going towards the cause.  Funny thing is I came across something else. It isn't recent but it is a video from 2010 when the organization received a grant in the total of one million dollars. You can watch the video here .
    It basically displays one of the executives of the organization joking about how he is going to keep $900,000 to himself while drinking a bottle of Vodka.  I understand being happy about the fact that you have gained the funds to support your cause and wanting to celebrate, however in this situation it was the wrong joke to say.  There are people willingly sending their hard earned money to help your cause and this just creates more doubt.  What if they did decide to pocket some of it? Just do research before you decide to send your money out!
     It was later reported that the Vodka bottle he was drinking out of was filled with water! -____-

Incarceration vs. Education

Incarceration

• America has the highest incarceration rate in the world
• 1 out of 100 adults are in prison
• The U.S. incarcerates 5 times the world average
• Once released from prison, 2 out of 3 are rearrested within a year
• In 1982 state prison budget was 9 billion
• In 2009 state prison budget exceeds 60 billion
• Crime rates in America have been dropping for the last 15 years, while budget spending has increased steadily
• The U.S. spends 6 times more money on prisons than education
• California in 2006 spent 8,000 dollars on one student in the Oakland School district
• California in 2006 spent 216,000 dollars on one juvenile inmate.
• Over the course of the last 20 years, the amount of money spent on prisons increased by 570%, while the money spent on education increased by only 33%
• Over 75% of inmates are illiterate at a 12th grade reading level
• Less than 20% of inmates have their high school diploma.

Education

• 48% of U.S. schools are reporting budget cuts around 10%
• 30% of U.S. schools are reporting budget cuts between 11% and 25%
• Due to extreme budget cuts students are being asked to bring in more school supplies then ever.  For example, in Moody, Alabama students are made to bring in toilet paper, paper towels, and liquid soap.
• Due to extreme budget cuts Hawaii will not have classes on Fridays
• In Arizona funding for a full-day kindergarten has been eliminated 
• In 2005 over 24,000 public schools did not meet the federal requirement for adequate yearly progress 
• In 2007 1,000 of California's 9,500 schools are labeled failures
• 68% of eighth graders cant read at their grade level and statistics say they will never catch up
• 1.2 million students drop out of high school each year

One question : WHY are we experiencing budget cuts ????

Source: https://sites.google.com/site/educationvsprisoninamerica/facts-about-america-s-prison-sytem

Iced Tea and Skittles

   The Trayvon Martin case has landed itself in the "most skeptical" category. Trayvon Martin was a 17 year old African American male who was visiting a relative in a gated community in Sanford, Florida.  On February 26,2012 the neighborhood watch captain of the gated community, George Zimmerman, placed a 911 call to report a "real suspicious guy" (you can listen here).
    Despite the police orders to not follow Trayvon , Zimmerman did so anyways. The only solid fact that we know is that Trayvon was shot and killed.  There are two different versions on how it got to that point.
    The facts are that a 28 year old man shot a 17 year old boy (who only had an iced tea, skittles, and his cell phone) and is still free. When police arrived at the scene Zimmerman plead self-defense and was not arrested because of Floridas stand-your-ground law which states: a person may use deadly force in self-defense when there is a reasonable belief of a threat, without an obligation to retreat first. According to the New York times, " The announcement of the federal investigation came after protests that the Sanford Police Department had mishandled the case.  In particular, the Sanford police chief, Bill Lee Jr., was heavily criticized, leading him to announce on March 22 that he would temporarily step down, saying that he had become a distraction to the investigation."
   The stand-your-ground law is understandable, that is their law. Unfortunately, there was no attempt in trying to identify the dead body but there was a toxicology held. The body was actually placed in the morgue for 3 days until a missing persons report was filed.
    There are many different versions of how this story played out.
The initial thought process that consumed everyone's head is that once Zimmerman ignored police orders to not follow the suspicious guy, Trayvon was aware he was being followed. Reports say he was on the phone with his girlfriend informing her of the circumstances and she told him to run. You can hear her story on ABC News here.  When Zimmerman reached him, Trayvon asked "Why are you following me?" Zimmerman replied with a "What are you doing here?"  The phone call was disconnected by that time.  There was also a 911 phone call placed by a nearby resident. In the background of her call you could hear someone screaming help repeatedly.  The screams stopped when a gunshot went off. You are able to listen to the screams here. When questioned about what happened Zimmerman just brushed the residents off and told them to call the police.

Trayvon Martin's lawyers

    On the flip side Zimmerman's family and lawyer said that is not what took place.  It is said that those cries for help on the tape were actually Zimmerman's. His lawyer said Trayvon managed to get on top of Zimmerman and was brutally beating him.Please note that it is said that Trayvon Martin weighed 140 pounds and George Zimmerman weighs 250.  His lawyer said that Zimmerman suffered from a broken nose and a gash on the back of his neck and shooting Trayvon was his only option.  Yet there has been another video released showing Zimmerman at the police station with NO BLOOD PRESENT. check it out here
   Many people are making this a racial thing.  A White/Hispanic man sees a Black boy with a hoodie on so he must be up to no good.  Zimmerman's father counter argued with that claiming that George and his wife mentored two Black children for free so there is no way possible that he is racist. Trayvon's records were even brought up saying that he was suspended from school because of marijuana.  What does that have to do with him getting shot?  http://www.huffingtonpost.com  quotes President Obama, who says, "If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon."
     Whether it was racial or not George Zimmerman belongs in prison, lets hope justice comes up to par.

Why Justice: Troy Davis

     The Troy Davis case was a case that really opened my eyes to the justice system. In 1991 Troy Anthony Davis was convicted for the murder of an off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail.  He was sentenced to death.
     There has been no DNA evidence linking Davis to the crime.  Although there were nine different witnesses who placed Davis at the scene of the crime seven of them recanted their statements, many claiming police intimidation.  One of the witnesses was originally a suspect and several people claimed that he bragged about killing MacPhail.  There was only one witness who remained consistent with their story.  The crazy thing is that the murder weapon that Davis allegedly used was never found. 
     Davis was scheduled to die September 21, 201. Throughout the twenty years he spent in prison Davis still claimed his innocence.  He tried to get granted clemency and even offered to take a lie detector test but the board denied it still sticking to the set date for his execution.
     I still remember September 21,2011.  I seen over a thousand people protesting in front of the Georgia prison in order to stop the execution.  He was set to be killed at 7 pm that night but it was postponed. 
    It was postponed because the Supreme Court reviewed his petition.  After deliberating for two hours they denied it and his execution was back on.  Everything at this moment was filmed live on television so you can tell that a lot of protesters were discouraged because it was as if all their hard work did nothing. There were petitions signed with over a million signatures, celebrities and big organizations involved, everything that they could possibly do was done but nothing worked.  The execution began at 10:53. His last words consisted of: 

" Well first of all I'd like to address the MacPhail family. I'd like to let you all know, despite the situation -- I know all of you are still convinced that I'm the person that killed your father, your son and your brother, but I am innocent. The incident that happened that night was not my fault. I did not have a gun that night. I did not shoot your family member.  But I am so sorry for your loss. I really am -- sincerely.  All I can ask is that each of you look deeper into this case, so that you really will finally see the truth. I ask my family and friends that you all continue to pray, that you all continue to forgive. Continue to fight this fight. For those about to take my life, may God have mercy on all of your souls. God bless you all."


Troy Davis was announced dead at 11:08 pm.
       The thing is even if this man was not innocent, is it right to kill someone for killing someone? That goes hand in hand with the saying " an eye for an eye will leave everybody blind". There were way to many loopholes in the evidence to give Georgia the right to take a life. There are numerous cases out there similar to this, all we can do is to keep shouting until our voices are heard.
     

Why Justice?

          Someone in class yesterday asked why I chose to do my blog on the justice system.  I was kind of appalled because I could not really answer that question.  I would not say I have a passion for justice, but more like a  deep interest.  Law and Order, Special Victims Unit to be specific, sparked that interest.  When I used to come across crime television shows I turned the channel without a second thought.  Honestly I only  began watching them because my older sister would, it was kind of a forced situation.  Each show I watched the more interested I became. 

          As a viewer of the show you are able to see the whole story and see the truth in what is really happening.  So when I saw episodes of innocent people being convicted or guilty people being let free i thought to myself, "wow, our justice system really sucks."  There are so many loops and ways around the law its crazy! For example, the movie Law Abiding Citizen.  I was just in awe and became very curious to find out more. 

         In addition to being intrigued by what I seen on television I was able to take a couple of field trips to the Compton courthouse in high school.  There we were able to have discussions with different judges about their experiences, we witnessed some murder cases, and we sat through a couple of boring things.  The thing is, I could kind of see myself in that environment, maybe not necessarily a lawyer but somewhere along those lines.  

         Besides the television shows and court visits what really gained my attention were the court cases that were being made public.  For example the Casey Anthony case.  Her verdict did not make any sense to me and for a moment I started to question my own intelligence.  Not to long after that case, there was a case that was very public that dealt with a man named Troy Davis.  His outcome did not sit very well with me.  So to answer my classmates question, I chose to focus around the justice system in order to increase my knowledge of what is going on around me as well as to inform others if they are not already aware. 

How far have women really come?

       As a college student you hear so much about life after graduation.  You worry about whether or not you will obtain a job, but most of all how you will pay off the student loans you owe.  This has crossed my mind numerous times and because I am the type of person who likes to be prepared for what my future upholds.  A solution that I came up with is to join either the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army, etc. In my head my plan was ideal.  Serve my four years and then come out and let the government pay for me to earn my degree.  I would be gaining experience too! Everything seemed so perfect.

        Tonight I came across a video that struck a nerve. PFC Lavena Johnson was pronounced dead in July of 2005.  The military declared it as a suicide but according to a story published by David Zucchino in the LA Times,"There was no suicide note, no recovered bullet and no significant gunshot residue on her hands. But the Army cited fellow soldiers' reports that she was depressed and has spoken of killing herself."  What raised eyebrows is when her father requested a disc that contained close up photos of the body and other material regarding the autopsy and they denied him.  As a father he became suspicious and knew he had to look deeper into the situation.  Once he filed a Freedom of Information Act request it was released to him and what he found was horrible.  The LA Times says,

    "Johnson maintains that his daughter was raped and killed, and that her death scene was staged to make it appear as if she shot herself.  He accuses the Army of covering up for a killer or killers to conceal a soldier-on-soldier slaying, explaining that military personnel would have had unrestricted access to the area where his daughter died and therefore would not have attracted undue attention. If Lavena's death were investigated as a homicide, Johnson added, it would raise questions about base security and discourage women from enlisting." 

        With something like this occurring and with so much conflicting evidence you would think that this case would be jumped upon. But it wasn't.  According to militarycorruption.com, "An Army spokesperson, LTC Anne Edgecomb, arrogantly sniffed that the Johnson case "has been thoroughly investigated by the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Command (CID) and is considered CLOSED.""  How are we as women supposed to feel?  We go into the Army with the thought process that we are doing something good for our country and if anything we will be free from a horrific violence such as rape.  That is just the last place you would think that something like that would occur.  Where are we really safe? Obviously not under our government!

        PFC Lavena Johnsons parents were not the only ones who encountered such a problem.  The LA times says, 

  "Of the 115 female service member deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 16 have been ruled suicides.Overall, 205 of the 4,868 military deaths in those wars through Jan. 31 were ruled suicides. The 128 reported Army suicides in 2008 were the most in one year since the Pentagon began keeping track of suicides in 1980."

I know one thing is for sure. This is definitely giving me second thoughts about what I want to do with my future! Check out the video I viewed below.

KONY2012, bringing justice or leading a gimmick?

          If you stay active on the popular social networks these days I am pretty sure you have came across the Stop Kony movement.  Joseph Kony is said to be in charge of the LRA, the Lord's Resistance Army, causing chaos in Uganda for the past twenty-eight years.  An organization called Invisible Children state that Kony has kidnapped 30,000 children forcing them to join his army along with other treacherous things such as killing their parents and participating in rape.  Some people are describing this Kony character as a modern day Hitler.  I know you are probably wondering why it is such a big fuss now if this has been going on for so long.  The Invisible Children organization says,

  "The LRA has not been active in Uganda since 2006, but they are    currently carrying out attacks in DR Congo, Central African Republic, and South Sudan.1,012 people have been murdered and 2,224 people abducted since 1 December 2009.45 people were abducted in February 2012."

         
  The Invisible Children organization claim they have known about this for a while now but our United States government does not want anything to do with it.  They composed a video of the steps they have been taking to get Kony and how they have been trying to get our government involved.  If you have not viewed the video you can see it here:  http://www.invisiblechildren.com/  .  Their whole goal is to gain awareness and "Make Kony famous".  Visiting the site you are also able to sign a pledge and order an action kit for thirty dollars.  The action kit consists of two bracelets and posters for the national awareness day which is April 20th 2012.
            There are so many skeptical things going on with this whole campaign.  When the video first aired it appealed to the emotions of a lot of people so there was a lot donations sent and a lot of kits ordered.  The money is said to be needed so that the Ugandan Army will have the right technology to find Kony.  That is where some criticism comes in.  People are curios as to why it is taking so much to find one man.  Reports have said that Invisible Children is one organization that refuses to have their organization funds audited.  It is also said that only 31% of the donations they are receiving are actually going towards the cause, the rest going towards traveling fees and the productions.

A survivor of Kony's brutal assault

          Personally I'm all in for the cause that they are going for but do I think our government is going to make it a main priority? NO! The thing about America is that as long as it is not beneficial to us we will not get involved. I read a blog written by Chris Blattman on his thoughts concerning the whole Kony situation.  He simply stated that,"Whats new and amazing is that, with the direction that coverage has taken, the average high school activist, donor and Congressman might just understand a little better what separates advocacy from badvocacy, and demand better in the future."  I definitely agree. I feel as if this whole movement displayed that the people of this country do have a voice and are able to get things done without being affiliated with the "superior power".  I hope this awareness can bring a solution to this epidemic because where you live definitely should not determine whether you live.