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Not in Our Back Yard - Marsha Banks Responds

12/26/2010

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In November, 2010, this sign was posted by certain residents of Manheim Township, in Lancaster County.  It is a reaction to plans for building a transitional housing corrections facility in the area.  Inasmuch as Marsha Banks lives in Manheim Twp., and that is the headquarters of AMiracle4Sure, the photo was sent to Marsha to investigate what was going on.  On December 26, 2010, Marsha published the following editorial in the Lancaster Sunday paper.

Give Ex-Offenders a Second Chance


I entered this world with absent parents, but was raised by a loving and caring grandmother. At a very young age, I was a single mother caught up in cocaine addiction. In those horrific times, I was raped, molested, shot at, abused, battered and left to die in the street. I had no sense of self-worth and saw myself as a hopeless case. I had mothered six children as I bounced from one rehabilitation center to another. Something was missing; I thought I was losing my mind. I just wanted to die, but for some reason, some unknown being kept waking me up.

On the day this roller coaster stopped, I was facing criminal charges for neglect and all my children were being placed in foster care. I dared to take my life because there was nothing else worth living for. A neighbor called the police station in an attempt to save my life — a kind act that seemed unwelcome at the time. As I watched the car pull away, the stare of my children is a memory that will last a lifetime.

I had never been in the prison system before. While completing my intake and physical, I learned that I was pregnant with my seventh child. Four months later, I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy, baby boy at Lancaster General Hospital, where I was shackled to a bedpost with a correctional officer at my bedside and another outside my door. This was truly a mother's nightmare. Twenty-four hours later I was transported back to the correctional facility where I spent another year.

Who would imagine with all those tragedies that success could be possible? How does a stranger to a new community find a new direction? Does re-entry work? How will society embrace this newly released parolee? Has she changed? What effect will she have on her community?

I can sum up the answer to all those questions this way: a miracle, for sure.

My life changed in prison, I found hope and healing in the Lord. I was released, and within my first year I regained custody of my six children. I found support in a local church, where folks were willing to mentor me and help me learn the skills I needed to be a good mother. I didn't do everything perfectly, but with the help of the caring individuals in my community, I was a success.

Today, I enjoy life as a human being, not as an inmate. I am a former offender, but my life has been transformed. I reside in Manheim, where I am constantly reminded that I am different. There is clearly opposition to bringing transitional housing to our community.

And I agree that the proposed location for a Minsec community corrections center on East Stiegel Street is not appropriate, especially with its close proximity to an elementary school. But I believe we deserve a chance to recover from our past mistakes. Who are we to judge? We, as Christians, are called to seek out the lost, the hopeless and those who are in prison. We are to assist with directing them to a new way of life.

Communities like Manheim and other small towns across Lancaster County offer an environment of comfort and peace. I embrace that every time I come home at the end of a busy workday. I don't hang a sign outside my door saying I am an ex-offender, and it makes my heart heavy when I travel throughout the borough to see signs posted referencing the very thing that saved my life.

I am a success story, and there are many like me. I am the proud mother of six adult children and two adolescents. I have a college graduate who works in the social service field, a junior marketing major, a manager of a local grocery store, and two young men in technical school. I am Nana to four of the greatest grandchildren you'll ever know. I hold not one but three degrees in social services. I graduated at the top of my class and earned a full scholarship to Lebanon Valley College.

My professional experiences encompass educating and empowering men, women and children to overcome the challenges we experience in life. I am proud of who I am, and I feel that my past has shaped me to be the role model, the educator, the mother, the mentor, the therapist, and (I hope) the community leader that I am today.

As we continue this debate on where to put facilities designed to help transform lives of former offenders, perhaps a change in our lenses is necessary. I challenge you to think outside the box, and perhaps one day that may in fact save a life.

I am drawn to Lancaster County because I believe there is a great need here. I want to be a resource for those who feel there is no hope. Will you consider helping? It works with simply helping one person ... one situation ... one day at a time.

Marsha Banks is president of Amiracle4sure, which helps individuals find strength and support as they transition back to the community. Visit amiracle4sureministries.com.

Read more: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/328603#ixzz19HAdf4QA

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Kemba Smith Pradia Story and the Fair Sentencing Act

12/22/2010

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Kemba Smith Pradia served 7 years of a 24 year sentence for crack cocaine before receiving clemency from President Bill Clinton.  As it turns out, she was incidentally involved in her boyfriend's crack dealership.  The facts of the case suggest that her sentence was unusually harsh.  Prosecutors acknowledged that she never sold, used, or handled drugs.  This year, the Congress passed, and President Obama signed, the Fair Sentencing Act, to limit harsh mandatory sentences and the unfair sentencing practices regarding powder cocaine vs. crack cocaine.  Kemba has gone on to complete a college education, raise her son and daughter, and establish her own foundation.  She points out that during the past 10 years over 5,000 men and women have gone to federal prison for crack cocaine offenses and were subject to the unfair sentencing structure.  There's more.  See the full story on CNN Opinion.


Thanks to Robert Belle for bringing this story to our attention



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"I'm Going to Die Today"

12/16/2010

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That’s what Clay Duke said on Tuesday after he pulled out his handgun at a school board meeting in Panama City, Florida.  In front of a live TV camera, he fired 10 shots at the board members from point-blank range -- and then turned the gun on himself.

Thankfully, no one but the shooter was harmed. But as a convicted felon with a history of violent crime and mental illness, Duke should never have been able to get a gun.

This incident is the latest example of why America needs a top cop to get tough on illegal guns and stop criminals like Duke from putting our families in danger.


Tell your Senators to step up and confirm a top cop on illegal guns.

As the federal agency responsible for keeping our communities safe from illegal guns, the ATF is doing all it can to prevent these deadly situations.  But without a director for the past 4 years, the agency has been unable to make any real progress.  

In fact, more than 50,000 people have been shot and killed in the U.S. since 2006.

The Senate has had a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in front of them for nearly two years, detailing how the lack of leadership at the ATF has made it harder to stem the flow of illegal guns.  There’s simply no excuse for more delays, as this week’s shooting makes all too clear.

President Obama has nominated a veteran ATF agent to be our top cop on illegal guns. The Senate needs to do its part and consider his appointment right now.


Make sure your Senators know that we need a top cop on illegal guns today.

The school board shooting in Florida should be a national wake-up call.  It’s time to get tough on illegal guns, and that starts with a new top cop.

Thanks for speaking out,


Mayors Against Illegal Guns


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Second Annual "Finding Your Dream" Event

12/16/2010

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In celebration of the Dr King Holiday, New Mindz, LLC and Nathaniel Gadsden’s Writer’s Wordshop will present the 2nd Annual ‘Finding Your Dream’ Event On Saturday, January 15, 2010, 10am. This free event will have a special emphasis on education and self esteem. The event will feature authors, mentors, professional panels, entertainment, vendors, music, children’s activities and the winners of the ‘Finding Your Dream’ writing competition.

Saturday, January 15, 2011 · 10:00am - 4:00pm

The State Museum of Pennsylvania
300 North St
Harrisburg, PA

Created by Jonathan & Lenia Queen, New Mintz, LLC
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Pardons Board recommends commutation for three men with life sentences

12/15/2010

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Wednesday, December 14, the Pardons Board voted unanimously on three cases, recommending a commutation of life sentences for Tyrone Werts, Keith O. Smith and William Fultz. A fourth recommendation was denied.

This is the first time since 2004 that the Pardons Board has recommended the commutation of a life sentence. That year, the Board approved one commutation of life which was granted by Governor Rendell, while three others were denied. Two further cases were denied in 2005.

Since then, no other cases for the commutation of a life sentence have been heard.

Yesterday's recommendations will go to the governor with the hope that he will grant the commutations.

Pennsylvania is one of six states where individuals can be sentenced to their natural life behind bars without the possiblity of parole. The Prison Society has been a long-time advocate for a change in this inhumane sentencing policy.

Werts, Smith and Fultz have each served 35 years, earning at the least a measure of mercy.  

The Pennsylvania Prison Society
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Lousy care in prison threatens to undermine recent wins against AIDS

12/9/2010

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The United Nations declared that the number of new HIV cases worldwide has dropped by a fifth over the past decade. A new pill has been shown to slash new infections without requiring patients to take many different pills many times a day. And the pope, shifting away from decades of harmful theology, said he could approve condom use in HIV-positive men as an act of responsible sexuality.

There is, however, a deeply troubling lag in AIDS policy in the U.S. and around the globe that might well undercut all this good news. AIDS is still rampant in prisons.

Prisons are disease incubators. They are dirty and overcrowded, hygiene is poor, drugs make their way in and risky sexual contact is common. Untreated and left to spread, HIV — along with tuberculosis and other nasty infections — mutate into forms that our current drugs may not treat.

And nearly 2 percent of those in jail or prisons are HIV positive.

This is a much higher rate than in the general population, where about 1 million Americans — or about .3 percent — are estimated to have the virus.

.Some other countries are even worse. The World Health Organization puts HIV rates among prisoners in Argentina and Brazil at over 4 percent with some prisons running close to 20. Russia, the Ukraine and Estonia have upwards of 5 percent of their inmates infected. And in some African countries, 40 percent of those in jail are HIV-positive.

So why should you care about convicts with AIDS?

Because prisons are perfect breeding grounds for new and deadlier strains of HIV. And you don't want a nastier form of AIDS let out on parole.

Prison health care in the U.S. is lousy. And HIV treatment is no exception. Consider this recent example: The prison system in Massachusetts has decided not to let inmates with HIV keep their medicine in their cells. They must now go down to the infirmary several times a day. At the infirmary, they stand in line near other prisoners who are sick thereby making it likely that, due to their weakened immune systems, they will get sick, while they get hazed for having AIDS.  A lawsuit filed last week contends that the move to require treatment at the infirmary is driven by a desire to cut costs not concern for the prisoners.

Too many Americans who are barely getting by or even swamped with medical bills think that putting the screws on prisoners with HIV is just fine. Spending money in a miserable economy to make sure rapists, robbers, murderers, molesters, and con men get medical care is not a top priority for voters or politicians. But that is incredibly short-sighted.

..The best chance to do something about AIDS in prisoners is when they are incarcerated. We can make sure they get tested for HIV, take their medicine, learn about safe sexual practices, have access to condoms and learn about the risks of dirty needles they too often use in shooting-up or in getting tattoos.


In the U.S. and in a lot of other countries around the world, prison is the only place inmates have any chance at contact with a nurse, public health official or AIDS counselor. Making sure they leave prison screened and getting treatment, whether it is in Rhode Island or Romania, is the best way to keep the rest of us healthy.

You don’t have to give a damn about prisoners to make sure that money is spent to diagnose and effectively treat their HIV. You just have to care about yourself, your family and the potential for future epidemics down the road.

Arthur Caplan is director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.

© 2010 msnbc.com.  Reprints
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40437376/ns/health-health_care/


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