Writings posted on this page are intended to help those from the inside to have a voice on the outside, by posting their writings here for all to see. Enjoy and appreciate the struggles and difficulties those on the inside have to get a manuscript ready for publication and submission to whoever gives them an ear.
My Ears Hear Their Cries and Shouts of Joy.
Straight from the Pen
[DISCLAIMER: Views or beliefs expressed in any submission posted herein are those of the authors and not necessarily agreed with or endorsed by your host]
FELONS ARE PEOPLE, TOO
by JOSEPH R. MAYS
This is a special post for all to read that I received through www.corrlinks.com, which is the electronic system used by federal and some state prisoners to send and receive email from an approved list of contacts.
The incarcerated individual (prisoner, inmate, convict, etc.) pays to access the Corrlinks side of the computer to read, type, send messages. And if wanted, to print anything from the system. When I left the system on 08/28/2018, the rates were $0.05 per minute to use the system to read or type emails, and $0.15 per page to print.
I’m not sure about the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons now, but to send in a message to someone held by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (WDOC), now I must pay $0.15 per message to send in; however, it is free for me to read or type messages. I only pay when I click SEND. I am not sure how much WDOC prisoner pays but will report it if requested.
Here is the message as received by a man in the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons, whose contact information appears at the end of his submission.
JOSEPH RANDOLPH MAYS on 10/2/2023 11:49:24 PM wrote
To whom it may concern:
As “More Than Our Crimes” co-founder Pam Bailey, and others in society, states, “We (felons) are MORE than our crimes. They DO NOT DEFINE US.”
The message I am sending below confirms that statement and adds even more emphasis to those statements by letting all of you (felons) know that WE are STILL PEOPLE (HUMAN BEINGS) and are capable of redemption.
United States v. Davila, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147736, at *6-7, (2d Cir 2023)
B. Felons are “People.”
… In particular, the Court DOES NOT accept the Government’s assertion that felons are wholly excluded from “the people” to whom the Second Amendment speaks. See U.S. Const., amend. II (“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the PEOPLE to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”).
The Supreme Court has ALREADY HELD that “THE PEOPLE” protected by the Second Amendment – much like “THE PEOPLE”protected by the First, Fourth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments – “refers to a class of persons who are part of a national community or who have otherwise developed sufficient connection with this country to be considered part of that community.” United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U.S. 259, 265, 110 S. Ct. 1056, 108 L. Ed. 2d 222 (1990). Moreover, “the term unambiguously refers to ALL MEMBERS of the political community, not an unspecified subset.” Heller, 554 U.S. at 580. There is NO BASIS for reading “THE PEOPLE” in the text of the Second Amendment to exclude felons.
I thought people who are currently and/or formerly felons would love to hear this, especially with stigmas in our country’s laws and society about felons in general.
Please take care and have a very, very good day.
Sincerely,
Joseph R. Mays, 43487-007
FCI Victorville II Medium (D-Lower 218U)
PO BOX 3850
Adelanto, CA 92301
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