Contribution by Jr. McPherson DOC# 100786

[Dear Reader: Bryan (elite|fitrea) solicits contributions from inmates and interested others to spread the word and continue the story. This is one.]

“Rules of Engagement”

By: Jr. McPherson

D.O.C. #100786

Saturday

7.16.2011

11:12 a.m.

Life is a conglomerate of choices. Some good, some bad, and always made during the waterfall of trials and stresses we all face each and every day. Choices on a circuitous path that ultimately lead us into the valley of wisdom. Each choice is yours to make and it only takes one to change your life forever. I’m living proof of this.

I chose to engage myself in a jewelry heist at only seventeen years of age. I now write this at 32 with these same walls of steel as a witness to a shattered life. Yet, through all the years, toils, darkness and fears there is always hope. Allow me to take your into the world of prison. Over the last decade it has become the new cattle industry – “human cattle industry”. Lock everyone up and never let them out. No money? Well, take it from the schools and education budget so we can maintain these “gated-communities” so we don’t have to let them out. Pun intended.

This spike in prison population is so bad that 2 out of every 5 people are related to or know someone who is locked up. No one really gets the benefit of parole, just years of 6 month to 5 year setbacks, or the parole you to your M.R.D. (mandatory release date). So on paper it looks like they’ve paroled people but in reality they haven’t. No one wants that liability if a guy gets out and commits another crime. The parole board “pencil-whips” up these statistics to appease anyone who starts asking questions.

One of our major advocates is the CCJRC (Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition) www.ccjrc.org who can verify the looking glass of lies the penal system is based on. I love Colorado, but the justice system is corrupt and they hand out time like it’s water. Colorado has over 25 prisons with a population of over 25,000 inmates. Let out 1,000 and that literally saves tens of millions of dollars every fiscal year. That’s just a few facts.

Let us take a ride to the beginning. I’m a born Colorado native, 1979 in Salida Colorado. I grew up in a middle class family with excellent values and way of life. Everything outdoors was our playground. This included fishing, hunting, camping, skiing, rafting, and so much more. I had a 4.0 GPA; I was an athlete, and had aspirations of going to the Air Force Academy. Know this, the way you were raised, whether good or bad, does not affect your choices unless you allow it to. We all make mistakes but you don’t ever have to let them define who you are. I had a good life and chose to steal. Surviving on impulse is a deadly snare.

A friend and I robbed a jewelry store during the night in 1997 that led to the slaying of the night watchman.... For the rest of the story go to: http://gov-out-of-control.blogspot.com/2011/08/rules-of-engagement-by-jr-mcpherson-doc.html

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