Taking the Plea and how the Criminal Justice System denies Justice for the Hood

When you are young and you are arrested and charged with a crime, you sit in jail and since you can only afford an Public Defender you are often offered a plea bargain.  When your young and scared or even old and someone who doesn't know your rights that Prosecutors who have enough evidence to send you to prison for a long time do not make you plea bargains for any reason. They got you dead to right, but when they do not have anything on you they will lie and manipulate you to get you to take their plea so they can close the case. Their careers are dependent on you not knowing this.  Trust and believe, that if they did this to other classes the defense attorney will force them to reveal some of the evidence. With a Public defender, you only serve more time than you would have if you had gone to trail. People don't take the plea because they are guilty but because they are terrified. The Prosecutors are only trying to win cases. The Public Defenders are only there until they get better pay.  I am not sure what part judges play but since most of them Sentence on income level its hard for people who live in our neighborhoods believe in them either.

My nephew is in the Allegheny County Jail on serious charges involving my great nephew. He was not at home when the incident took place and the guilty person admitted that he wasn't at home. The only witness who said he was there was a three year old trying to please the CYF worker. A real attorney would have brought him home a long time ago but he comes from a poor family from the hood who cannot afford one.  He is serving a three to six year sentence and waiting to go upstate.  While there he was stabbed by an inmate who had issues with what neighborhood my nephew comes from and he was stabbed 7 times all over his face.  The Jailers weren't watching the assailant an then threw my nephew in the hole.  Recently, when the jail found out that the family was planning on suing the Jail for not protecting him and for throwing him into the hole. They retaliated by throwing him into General Population.  Maybe some will say he should die because of his charges, only he is innocent and took a plea because of the ISMs in this case its Racism and Classism. I told my friend Carol that there wasn't much I can do about him because he is now owned by the Government but he doesn't own me.  I wonder how you would feel if the law lied and manipulated you into giving up your right to a fair trail.  I wonder how you would feel if your nephew's life was in danger for a crime that he didn't commit.  I am not owned by anyone I am a free woman and I can fight for him to be treated fairly.

We don't trust the Government, the American People, or the Criminal Justice System because of the way we are treated. People say "Our President" and I say "We are not American's we are from the Hood that means we have no Country.  We believe the system is out to get us and so we do not trust them. The Plea Bargain is a way for the Lazy Prosecutors and police to do their job.  They have also brainwashed the American people into thinking if they do not plead guilty they are liars and if they demand their right to a free trail they are hiding something. No they just know your lazy and don't want to work so you want it easy.  The Judges are on the take as are the Police yet you put these folks in charge of the Criminal Justice system.


I'm going to do a blog on the Innocence Project which has released a lot of men from Prison based on DNA were eliminated.  These men were victims of the Plea Bargain or of false witness statements. They need to eliminate the Plea Bargain and force the lazy police and Prosecutors to do their jobs and stop taking the lazy way out.

Shooting up the Community Center

Aleara age 7

Last night I called my daughter to ask her if my granddaughter had a field trip with "the Center". My daughter informed me that the Center is closed because someone shot the Center. I was horrified because my granddaughter is my heart. She is seven and loves to talk but she is also shy with people she doesn't know.

After the initial shock wore off I got angry. None of the children who go there could have any enemies because they are from age 5 until 12. Since the workers all live in the public Housing Community of Hawkins Village no one would have risked the execution that would have happened by the gangs and drug dealers if someone had shot one or more of those babies, which means the intended target was not a worker. So it could have been a young person who can't fight with his/her fists so they took the cowards way out and took shots at their victims and missed. Young people must learn how to lose fights and get up and take the temporary teasing for the day or so until the next fight. They should never get a gun and shoot at the people. Back in my day we faught each other and it was over both people walked away alive to fight another day. Of course we did not have the guns that were every where and  we also had a respect for guns. Yes people in the hood were murdered but not every day.

Every child in the hood knows someone who were murdered some know multiple people including one of their parents especially their fathers. Kids in the hood grow up thinking I'm going to die before I'm 21 and I'm going to be murdered. I felt that way and until I was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis, I believed that I would die from homicide.

What saved the kids is all of them know what to do when shots are fired its a part of life in the hood because of all the shootings that happen here.

We have to put the guns down and stop shooting one another. I want my grandchildren to grow up.

Urban Violence In the United States is ignored by UN. Why the UN ignores problems in United States concerning the poor.

                                         Police trying to investigate a shooting in Chicago




I am doing research into Urban Violence in America.  I found a lot of information from the UN report on Urban Violence.  They talked about the drug trade in all these third world Country but ignored the United States. This is not surprising to me because this isn't the first time that the UN ignored problems that plague the United States.  I get that they can not afford to piss off the United States but they need to be held accountable. They are to blame for the racism, sexism, and the failed war on drugs and oppressive laws that have destroyed the Urban communities in the United States.


The Politicians in the United States usually ignore the poor people in this Country both Urban and Rural because they usually do a good job of making the poor seem stupid, trashy, or violent.  The Middle class throughout my life time have always screamed and  yelled about various issues that resulted in outrageous laws regarding sentencing.  The Republicans can bare some of the blame but the Democrats really can't call them out because the most oppressive, racist laws are those in Blue States like California with its three strikes your out laws and New York's Rockefeller law that tripled the time served for selling crack rather than cocaine. There are literally people spending life in prison for pick pocketing. Then they want to know why their damn taxes are so high. Your paying to house and feed people for picking pockets instead of giving them maybe a year or two. New York's Rockefeller laws put mainly black and brown men in prison for 30 years even though the most you got for the same amount of Cocaine was 5 years. You would think Politicians would learn right? Nope they did the same thing to poor whites with Crystal Meth, mainly used by Poor Rural Whites.
Heroin used to be a biggie but since Middle class whites are now the Primary users of Heroin now they get rehab.  What is the difference between an addict hooked on Crack, Crystal Meth, or heroin.? There is no difference at all.

A ritual done every day in the hood for someone we lost to homicide

Marijuana, which has a lot of medical uses is a Class One Drug, that is appalling and needs to change but the screamers and snowflakes continue to cause people to be forced to take poison into your body such as Chemo, because they are so holier than thou. I bet the majority of people who bitch about weed are those that drink wine. What is the difference? Your still getting high. The next Federal vs States rights is going on now with a half dozen or more states making Marijuana legal and will not cooperate with the Feds with arresting people.


Why does the UN refuse to believe all the legitimate claims that the hood has against the United States for unjust and illegal laws? Because they are afraid of the United States and Russia. Those two counties and commit Genocide on their people and the UN will ignore it and pretend it is not their business.  How ever let some despot in Africa try doing that and watch what happens.  They can do something. Shame the Middle class who actually with all their crying and screaming and being the snow flakes they are so that they at least try to find out what is going on before they start screaming and yelling and crying.  Then people wonder why we look at the Middle Class like they are dangerous its because to us they are.

A Street gang hanging on the Corner

People in the hood would not sell drugs if they had jobs but no one will give them a job especially if he did time.  A person convicted of selling drugs is not likely to steal from your store any more than any one else and with the job you give him/her maybe he or she can actually remain out of trouble because you took a chance on them and gave them a job. Who knows they may turn out to be your best employees.   No one dreams of becoming a Drug dealer but if no one gives them a chance then they have no choice but to sell drugs.

A gang member holding his gun

Now of course not all Middle Class people are snowflakes, most men are but most women aren't. Yes Middle Class men you really are the biggest snow flakes white and black..


So UN if you are allowing The United States and Russia to get away with things that you are not allowing Africa or North Korea to get away with then what good are you. Remember something Africa and the rest of the third world countries can not do without sanctions. then perhaps you should disband because you are not helping anyone. 

Tired of loosing our babies.

Yesterday a young man lost his life he was 12 years old, a baby, really but someone murdered that young man shot him cold and left him to die all alone. This time it was a 12 year old boy. Last week it was a 7 year old girl and next week it may be a toddler. This happens so much that the community that these children reside in are shedding so many tears when we lose so many young people that its starting to destroy our community. 


So many people who live here are shell shocked and along with the sadness and heart break is anger and fear. When a neighbor across the street or next door to you is having a party you think to yourself "Will I get shot if someone starts shooting because they have beef with another party guest. 

Back in the day, gangs began to limit who got shot, because women and little kids brought heat to the gang and they were arrested or it interfered with the drug trade. Now the major gangs, like the CRIPs or BLOODS are not generally shooting each other. Small gangs and people who have an axe to grind or someone who lost a fight to someone else gets angry and shoots someone.  The little kids and women get killed because someone started shooting and can't shoot.  They may shoot up the house and a stray bullet kills them through their window.  


Most people that I know living in the hood has had their house shot up either because someone went to the wrong house or because the bullets went other places because the person couldn't shoot.


How do you explain to small children that a 7 year old girl was shot while sleeping in her bed? How do you explain to 12 year olds that the Quarterback on their football team was shot and killed while he was playing in the park?  Children in the hood are more familiar with homicide because most kids know someone in their family that got shot and killed. Its part of life that children do not even need adults to help them memorialize people who were killed in their neighborhoods this is something they see a lot especially in the Spring and Summer.

Our children are very resourceful but they are also afraid. The times, as a parent, that were the hardest is explaining to your teenager or pre teen why they had to live in a place where so many people were murdered.  I didn't have the answers then and I still do not have the answers. Now it is up to them to explain it to their kids and like me they do not have any answers.  The cycle of violence continues.

What to do when its 90 degrees and you have no AC

Yesterday, I had to go to Urgent Care,  a walk in clinic, I had heat exhaustion and I was dehydrated.  The vomiting wasn't helping.  They advised me to cool off my house as best I can and go to the cooling center like the library if I needed too.  I was to sick to go to the Library so I just took showers and used the fans.
"I only have one more day then I won't have to worry about this anymore." I was getting an air conditioner from a program called Breathe Air they give low income people with breathing problems get air conditioners.  My social worker and nurse helped me apply and I had to wait for approval that I received on Wednesday.

One thing the doctor suggested that made me chuckle, he suggested I spend the night with someone who has an AC.  I do not know anyone who owns an AC or at least anywhere I could go.  Most people who have fans only and open windows. We also sit out at night on our porches but during a heat wave that doesn't help.

I live in Pittsburgh, that means it gets cold in the winter and hot in the Summer.  Pittsburgh, is on the Mason-Dixson line. I like to tease that we have the cold from the North and the heat from the South.
This is not a political post but a window into what my life is like. I had an air conditioner last year but when I lost everything the air conditioner is one of the things I lost. This will also help my daughter who is nine months pregnant.

I'm thankful for my medical insurance who gave me a nurse, a social worker,  and a peer specialist to help me.  I have them because I have to a disease that usually ends in death.  I have Sarcoidosis, which is an autoimmune disease that causes lesions on my skin and my organs to fail or not work correctly. I was diagnosed in 2010 when it attacked my spleen.

I am looking forward to having an AC because we have a lot of hot days. It's hard to do simple things like cleaning when your house is 90 degrees.

Why poverty never changes? No one living in poverty is asked about poverty.

I was watching PBS and the TV show was talking about how to eliminate poverty or make it better. The people who were interviewed meant well but they didn't know what the hell they were talking about. Everyone was discussing the best ways to deal with the poor except for the poor. They were not asked.  Maybe because we did not finish school or we only have a high school education. No one thinks we know anything but when it comes to Poverty its the poor who are the experts.


I wonder how people would feel if only poor people made policies affecting the lives of the Middle Class or the Wealthy based on assumptions that they just assumed middle class or wealthy experienced. The middle class and wealthy communities would be outraged.  This is how we feel when only middle class and wealthy people discuss our problems. Did you ever  once think that we might want to be part of the discussion.

I'm about to "drop some knowledge" on you. Guess what the information that most researchers receive from poor people is unreliable because people lie to the Researchers and tell them whatever they want to hear.  What people actually think of the Researchers is that they are like every other middle class people they had ever seen all up in the business and dangerous. They are not to be trusted.  Researchers, can live among out people for  years  and still  be seen as an outsider.


We see most middle class white women as social workers that are trying to rip our families apart and who will remove our children at the drop of a hat. This, of course, is not true but that doesn't mean the feelings of mistrust is not there. This is what we are used to White middle class people coming into our homes and removing children because they didn't like the fact that we disciplined our children by spanking.  Children and Youth Service in PA used to be this bad. They would remove your kid first and ask questions later even if no clear and present danger existed. They changed their names to Children Youth and Families and they will only remove the children in an emergency or where the children are not safe. Then you have the Caseworkers for Welfare or other social service agencies talking to you like you have no sense.  Do Gooders who think their very presence is a blessing and oh how the poor are so blessed to have my help.  We don't need your help we really don't care if you come to our neighborhoods or not.  What we hate the most is people that tell other middle class or wealthy people how they are heroes because they work with the poor give me a break.


We actually have some good ideas but no one ever asks us and until they do then your going to continue to have one poor bad policy after another.  Maybe if Congress would invite actual poor people from the hood or from the trailer parks maybe they could help. Oh and by the way, the poor black woman from the projects and the poor white woman from the trailer park  have discussed this either while sitting in some Social Services office waiting room waiting to be called or on the bus going to work.

What the Hood needs? Job training in the trades and programs for the youth

What the hood needs is job training programs in the trades and positive programs for the youth. Braddock has a program run by AmeriCorps that gives young people jobs in the summer and also year round jobs for young people who started out as youths to become mentors. Kids who have money of their own is less likely to sell drugs on the street. Dealing drugs is easier than getting up everyday and going to work, but every kid in the ghetto knows that dealing drugs in not only dangerous it also can result in going to prison.  Most young people in the ghetto have a moral compass, even those who have parents who are either selling drugs or gangbanging or both. My nephew Dario and nieces Monica and Autumn were involved with the Braddock Youth Project since they were teens. This program has had a tremendous effect on 15104 and the kids learn skills.


Several of the trades will often offer job training to disadvantaged young people even those who are convicted felons. This is good because these men and women have difficulty getting jobs because they have a conviction.  It also helps the young men who would like to improve their skills so they can leave the Fast Food industry and make a livable wage. Men, who cannot get jobs turn to crime out of desperation. They need a first chance to make the money they need to support their families. People in the ghetto start their families younger than those in the middle class and they know that Welfare for families help temporary but they want and need more than welfare.

Plumbers, electricians, Construction workers, Nurses Aides, Nurses, and Technicians all make decent money and people can get ahead.  No they may not be rich they may end up the working poor, which is a whole lot better than being dirt poor or having to resort to crime. 


Any training should include how to get a job: Resumes, interview skills, cover letters, and how to locate and apply for positions is one of the most important skills you can teach the hood. I went to a training program where I learned clerical skills. I was also taught how to interview properly and how to dress properly for the interview. I have gotten every job I have ever applied to.