Raymond Writes

JUST A LITTLE MERCY By Raymond L. Carr Jr., author & incarcerated citizen I just watched the movie "Just Mercy", I feel encouraged and inspired, I also feel saddened because I know how it feels to fight for your life, to only be told "No" when you should be getting relief from an unjust conviction. I don't know what its like to be on Death Row, however, being sentenced to Life without the possibility for parole is equivalent to being on Death Row. Instead of getting a date to die, they are waiting for me to die, death by incarceration. Over the years I can't help but to think about all the cases I read about or witness firsthand, of how misconducts took place to obtain convictions and how people didn't receive a fair trial. I think about the Central Park Five (aka Exonerated Five) and all of those who are actual innocent. In the movie it was said, "It is better to be rich and guilty, than to be poor and innocent." I thought about a ca

VOTING POWER By Raymond L. Carr Jr. Knowing our voting rights is important, especially when Black people fought and died for our right to vote. I remember when I became eligible to vote, my grandmother was so happy that I would be voting for the first time. All I knew about voting was, people before me marched and protested to vote. But, I didn't really understand the power of voting or how my vote counted. The first time I actually voted, I didn't know who to vote for, so if the name sounded familiar I voted for them. I knew nothing about the candidates, I knew nothing about the issues and to say I was uneducated to the voting process was an understatement. Unfortunately, too many people of color feel disenfranchised from the voting process. One reason people feel their vote doesn't count is because, some candidates turn into celebrities after they are elected, they stop taking phone calls and disappear until its time for reelection. This is the reason we have to keep our