August 20, 2013<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t Stop Believing In Justice?\u00a0 The Case of Rodney K. Stanberry<\/strong><\/p>\n I recently had a conversation with someone I knew while we were in a store.\u00a0 We briefly got caught up on life.\u00a0 She informed me that while she had long wanted to go to law school, that she is no longer sure that that is the direction she wants to go.\u00a0 She said the Trayvon Martin shooting and the George Zimmerman trial had soured her on the system of justice.\u00a0 Normally, I would have jumped in and said that you can\u2019t allow one case to deter you from believing in the system and then continued with my spiel that the system responds to demands, as such, the worst you can do is to give up. But I didn\u2019t say those things this time. Instead, I said aloud what I\u2019ve been thinking about a lot lately. \u201cWhat Happens if I stopped believing in our system of justice?\u201d\u00a0 Understand, I am not na\u00efve about how justice is often administered and about how politics often trump common sense and the pursuit of justice. Nevertheless, I so believe in the system, so much so that it sometimes hurts: it breaks my heart.<\/p>\n When I said \u201cWhat Happens if I stopped believing in our system of justice,\u201d tears formed in my eyes.\u00a0 It\u2019s like telling a child that there is no Santa Claus or tooth fairy, not to equate justice with the aforementioned characters.\u00a0 I believe that activism can make a difference. But after more than 16 years of working on my cousin\u2019s, Rodney K. Stanberry, case, and facing the realization that on Wednesday, August 28th<\/sup> that he may be denied parole, the question has crept into my mind. You see, Rodney is an innocent man who remains in prison for crimes he did not commit.\u00a0 His being granted parole is not a given, in part, because he is an innocent man (see and sign this petition<\/a>).\u00a0 This reality is very difficult to accept. It may be very difficult to hang on to the belief that action and agitation in the pursuit of justice can actually do that, produce justice, if he is not granted parole.\u00a0 Again, I\u2019m not na\u00efve, I dealt with the agony of defeat in this blog (“The Pursuit of Justice and the Agony of Defeat<\/a>“)\u2026\u00a0 \u00a0One of my friends who studied Ghandi told me about a book about Ghandi entitled Ghandi: Prisoner of Hope<\/em> by Judith Brown. I liked that title because it reflects how I view and tackle my role as an advocate for my cousin and it reflects my beliefs that the system reacts when there are demands placed on it.\u00a0 We have to believe this, I say, otherwise, what purpose is there in attempting to battle against any inequality or injustice perpetuated by the system. After hearing the term \u201cprisoner of hope\u201d years ago, I wrote it on my bulletin board to see each day, and I began saying that I am a prisoner of hope, through the good, the bad and the ugly, I can\u2019t help but to hope the system would correct a wrong.<\/p>\n Injustice Anywhere, is a Threat to Justice Everywhere <\/strong><\/p>\n As mentioned, on August 28th<\/sup>, Rodney K. Stanberry will have his third parole hearing. As I mention in the introduction to this petition<\/a><\/strong>, he has had everything parole boards look for, a family plan, employment, family support, a good prison record, no criminal history prior to being convicted, programs completed while in prison, and so on.\u00a0 But he hasn\u2019t admitted to being guilty to crimes he did not commit.\u00a0 He is seen as not being rehabilitated by the system because he won\u2019t accept responsibility for a crime he did not commit and he won\u2019t express personal remorse.\u00a0 Had Rodney\u2019s words had been heeded, the crimes may not have occurred, and while he is very sorry about what happened to the victim, someone he had known, he can\u2019t express remorse for crimes he did not commit (see this blog on Gun Control and Rodney Stanberry<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>\n Rodney\u2019s parole hearing is on the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.\u00a0 This was an incredible event with people from all walks of life, from all colors of the rainbow speaking truth to power, people expressing the belief that equality, fairness, justice, and the United States Constitution apply to all, not some.\u00a0 Also written 50 years ago, a few months before the March on Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King wrote letter from a Birmingham City Jail.\u00a0 He addressed ministers who accused him to stirring up people, he was accused of being an outside agitator, he was asked why did he come to Birmingham.\u00a0 You have to read his speech to get the full impact.\u00a0 But I am going to take a moment to quote just one line that most remember from this speech.*\u00a0 I am not one who likes to remember or encourage the memory of just one line of his speeches given my personal agitation that the only line that people cite without understanding or reading the full speech and its meaning of the \u201cI Have a Dream\u201d speech is \u00a0the line about his 4 little children will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. \u00a0I am going to quote just the \u201cInjustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice\u201d\u00a0 line from the Letter from a Birmingham Jail speech because it is a line that I wish people- read prosecutors\/District Attorneys, judges, legislators and, yes, parole board members, would internalize.\u00a0 There is no justice in keeping an innocent person in prison. And when we practice injustice whether the wrongfully convicted inmate is in a prison in Alabama or in solitary confinement in Texas, as Anthony Graves was in before he was exonerated (http:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2012\/6\/22\/from_death_row_to_exoneration_fmr<\/a>), this injustice is a threat to justice for everyone.\u00a0 Rodney was a hardworking young man, who also enjoyed life. He was working when (yes, actually at the time<\/a>) these crimes took place, but he remains in prison, he is on year 17<\/a>.<\/p>\n What if Rodney K. Stanberry isn\u2019t granted parole?<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course I will continue to fight for his freedom and exoneration.\u00a0 Not believing in the system, at least for me, doesn\u2019t translate to tuning out.\u00a0 District Attorneys, including the ones who have jurisdiction over Rodney\u2019s case, John M. Tyson, Jr. (former) and Ashley Rich (current) of the Mobile District Attorney\u2019s Office, do not respond to moralsuasion (ie moral persuasion), so I will have to spend the next 16 years of my life pursuing a law degree and fighting within the system.\u00a0 What happened to get the conviction of Rodney K. Stanberry should never be sanctioned anywhere and reforms must be in place to avoid these types of convictions from happening.<\/p>\n I will not give up on his case, even if I give up believing in our system of justice. In these United States, a countless number of named and unnamed people fought against the inhuman and brutal system of slavery, the false promise and aftermath of the Reconstruction era, the Jim Crow system with its separate water fountains, burial grounds, bus seats that attempted to reinforce inferiority by virtual of birth, the modern day Civil Rights era where the children, college students, and adults said enough is enough, you will recognize our humanity, to the Dream Defenders occupying the state capitol of Florida standing up for what they believe in. So if the day ever comes that I do stop believing as a result of just one heartbreak too many, it does not mean that I would not keep fighting to correct a wrong, I would not stop fighting against an injustice, this injustice against Rodney K. Stanberry, and this injustice against the system of justice itself. Justice is not served when the wrong person is convicted. We have to keep up the fight against injustice because, after all, an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and I want to live in a place where there is justice everywhere.<\/p>\n Peace,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Artemesia Stanberry<\/p>\n Click here for the latest video<\/a> about Rodney K. Stanberry<\/p>\n You can call Mobile District Attorney Ashley Rich to ask that she reopens Rodney\u2019s case (251) 574-5000 or (251) 574-8400. You can reach her via email at ashleyrich@mobileda.org<\/a><\/p>\n