Come through Today! Ya boy will hit the stage @ Noon-ish! Thank you @werisemedia @321stopbullying for having me! 🙏🏾 #2Time #IIAAwardsWinner #BreakoutArtistoftheYear #BestMaleSoloArtist #NewMusicAlert #NewSongRelease #SITMF #artist #ascensionofthesaint #yearofthesaint #saintcollegechronicles #kennesawstateuniversity #rapper #lyricist #hiphop #atlanta #media repost via @instarepost20 from @werisemedia Will the Kings and Queens come out on July 14, 2018 and help 321 Stop Bullying and WE RISE Media and Consulting Services put a Stop to senseless Bullying. Join us by simply registering at www.321StopBullyingMarch.live check in with the #Squad #MENergy #Man #Men #Kings #ReturningCitizens #RecoveringAddicts #ManRiseUp #ReJoinTheGAME #RISE #StopRecidivism #KeepEmHome #321StopBullying @321stopbullying @richboijup1 @joycefulthougts247 @speak2success @klarquegarrison @elambking @terrance1745 @renaultlifestrategist @brother_king_james @projectexecute @vspeaklife @vlademirmckeithen
If we can break the cycle of recidivism and poverty, then these people can rebuild their own lives, redeem themselves. Then they are better off, society is better off—and oh, by the way, the taxpayer is better off at the end of the day. ~House Speaker Paul Ryan #stoprecidivism #jobs #careerready #watwbroward #NewWoman #womenempowered (at Broward County, Florida)
When the judge sentenced me to 12 1/2 years in federal prison, I felt like I was watching the preacher close the casket at my own funeral. So many thoughts raced through my mind. Instantly I experienced regret.
As the casket was being lowered into the ground, and I was handcuffed and escorted out of the courtroom, my spirit shouted. "No, please no! I have so much I want to accomplish. There are so many things I want to do. Please sir, please, give me another chance!" Unfortunately, my cry for help would go unanswered.
Trapped behind bars for close to a decade, I watched endless opportunities pass me by. As this gruesome journey comes to a close, I vowed to never live with any more regrets. Therefore, every dream I have, I will pursue it. When good opportunities come my way, I will take them. With every breath I have left in me, I'll recapture my destiny and make it back to the top! I'm living this time around with no more regrets!
This message is written for those in the free-world who have allowed fear or uncertainty to hinder you from achieving your goals. Let my picture be a reminder that time is precious, and tomorrow is not promised to any of us. Therefore, live life to the fullest and always put your best foot forward. Most importantly, live life with no regrets!
Give a Beat Explores the Four California Ballot Initiatives on Criminal Justice
Give a Beat Looks Into How Each Criminal Justice Ballot Initiative Addresses Social Injustice within the Criminal Justice System and How Voters May Help Create a Better Outcome for all on November 8th
By Celine West, Give A Beat Social Media Team Member
With a little more than a week to go before we exercise our right to vote and help create change in areas within in our reach, Give a Beat has been looking into the current issues that most deeply resonate with our core values.
We have learned so much about human nature through our social justice work and have come to understand that circumstance often plays a role in determining the outcome for a person. There are four ballot initiatives in California that deal with criminal justice issues and Give a Beat explores each one.
Yes on Prop 57
Formerly incarcerated individuals have expressed to us in the past that if they had previously been given an outlet they would have been able to succeed in their lives and would not have gone to prison in the first place. Proposition 57 encourages the development of critical social and life skills that non-violent offenders can utilize for a more successful transition if reintegrated back into society. This initiative supports the implementation of a rehabilitation program for non-violent offenders who wish to earn their way out of prison through following rules, working, and receiving an education.
While proposition 57 does not automatically grant parole, it ensures they pass a strict review of the parole board. Under the current system, inmates are released on a fixed date regardless of behavior and with the absence of incentives for rehabilitation. This current model of a fixed system has sharply increased California’s prison population while doubling the recidivism rate.
Yes on Prop 64
Electronic dance music culture is known for creating a safe haven for people of all different backgrounds and styles to come together and enjoy each other’s company and common humanity. This shared passion lends itself to an inherent set of standards and subsequently a space for unity. Proposition 64 was created as a starting point in replacing the often chaotic, lawless cultivation and distribution of marijuana while addressing an ongoing imbalance in the justice system. This initiative proposes tough regulations on the distribution of marijuana and aims to reduce crowding our over-burdened courts through the prosecution of marijuana violations.
In addition to the implementation of safeguards such as strict distribution through licensed marijuana businesses and the banning of any marketing and advertising directed toward children, the majority of the tax revenue generated by Proposition 64 will fund drug education, prevention and treatment programs for teens as well as afterschool programs. Overall, the initiative is designed to build standards for an already common practice where there previously were none, decriminalize standardized uses of marijuana, and increase drug education and treatment programs for teens.
Yes on Prop 62
It has become increasingly difficult to look away from many of the injustices and, often times, the nonsense embedded in the justice system. While many inmates on death row are there for crimes they committed, there are an extensive number of prisoners –150 around the country and 66 in California—who have been proven innocent due to DNA technology and new evidence.
With a lengthy appeals process, the death penalty is, overall, more expensive to operate than life in prison without parole. Inmates who are on death row are more likely to die of natural causes than by the implementation of capital punishment. With hearings and appeals that last for 20 to 30 years, the death penalty still places an enormous expense on taxpayers with a cost of $384 million per execution.
Proposition 62 repeals the death penalty in California, saving taxpayers on expenses that go into a system that fluctuates between a state of slow-functioning to malfunctioning and replaces it with life imprisonment without parole.
No on Prop 66
Proposition 66 was created in an attempt to streamline the death penalty instead of repealing it. This proposition would require appeals in state courts to be completed within five years and the state corrections system to develop a legal method of execution within 90 days of the planned method being found illegal.
If fully implemented, this would theoretically be a feasible plan, although the initiative would require extensive funding while wading through a backlog of appeals for many years to come. It will also run the unavoidable risk of taking the lives of innocent people wrongfully convicted of crimes they never committed.
Former death row inmate, Juan Melendez, who was wrongfully convicted of murder in New York, and was later exonerated, said, “You can always release someone from jail, but you can’t release someone from the grave.” The Proposition 66 initiative aims to hasten and repair a system that has had a history of problems from demoralizing innocent people and destroying lives to a perpetual reduction of the meaning it was designed to instill. It remains interesting that there has never been any evidence that the death penalty reduces crime.
As electronic dance music culture embraces values inherent in love for music, acceptance of others and forgiveness, it also instills an obligation to help those less fortunate. With this in mind, we will aim to do what we can to uphold our commitment in helping to create the best possible outcome for all on November 8th.
For more information, check out the work of some of the organizations working on these issues including Drug Policy Alliance, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Equal Justice Initiative, Homeboy Industries and countless others. For a full overview of each measure, you can refer to Ballotpedia.
