IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE
In this New Year we face 237 new laws created by the Illinois lawmakers, with the bulk of the new laws dealing with business, health, government, and family. Very few of these 237 Laws are criminal in nature, but a few stand out. Two in particular merit mentioning here.
The first is Public Act 99-352: Body Cameras. It creates rules and outlines the prohibition of the police use of the chokehold, except when deadly force is justified. This seems to be an escape clause for the police when citizens suffer abuse at the hands of officers because when minorities are involved, deadly force is almost always justified. # ICan’tBreathe.
The Body Camera Act requires independent review of officer-involved-deaths, and makes the investigation report public record, but only it the officer is not charged. This is significant because the recent events that unfolded in Chicago— when the State Attorney Anita Alvarez did not charge the officer until the video of the incident was ordered released shows that under the threat of wide-spread scrutiny, officials will act. However, body camera regulations do not require the police to use them. It mandates that if they do choose to do so, officers are required to keep them on when performing law enforcement duties. They can only turn them off when talking to confidential informants, or at the request of victims or witnesses. They also must inform people that they ace being recorded when entering a home. This law is significant, although it still needs work, it is a step in the right direction.
The second is Public Act 99-69: Lifetime Sentences for Juveniles. It gives judges the discretion to not sentence those under the age of 18 at the time of their crime to a mandatory natural life sentence enhancements for commission of a crime with a weapon. This is significant because the prison system is full of juveniles who committed their crimes at the age of 16 or 17 years old and have no background but the court is forced to end their lives with lengthy sentences because of these mandatory sentencing components. Although this law stops snort of barring life sentences, it is a starting point.
As a community we face a different array of challenges when it comes to the way the laws are enforced and enacted. It is because of this that we need to be aware of all the laws that affect us. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. If history is our guide, and it should be, when citizens become aware of the laws and begin to use them to their advantage there are those that will come along and change them, as shown in the documentary by Stanley Nelson, “Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution.” In it he shows how the Panthers became aware that they could carry firearms openly. When then Gov. Ronald Reagan became aware of this, he introduced gun legislation banning this open carry law.
This leads me to the recent decision in Johnson v. U.S. where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Armed Career Criminal Act violated the Constitution. This is important because the Illinois law that borrows from this law uses language very similar to that is still being used to incarcerate people in Illinois. The Armed Habitual Criminal Act punishes people the same way that the Armed Career Criminal Act does; and since the Act itself has been deemed to be unconstitutional, it would seem that the law in Illinois should be held unconstitutional as well because it criminalizes the same actions. So, be mindful that anyone in Illinois who has been convicted of two or more felonies (forcible felonies), and is caught and charged with a gun will be treated as an Armed Habitual Criminal which qualifies for truth-in-sentencing. Also, keep in mind that burglary is considered a forcible felony in Illinois.
Illinois courts have been slow to act in their rulings pertaining to this unconstitutional statute. Lawmakers have also been equally slow to act to correct this injustice. That is why it is imperative that we put away the guns and find alternative ways of dealing with our conflicts. We must learn to use our words to get to the root of our issues, which almost always find their roots in economic and educational dysfunction and dissatisfaction. When we find ourselves this dissatisfied, it has to do with the people we entrusted to have our best interests, such as our elected political leaders. Now it is time to use your vote to get people into office that will get what you want done, to relieve us of some of the things with which we are dissatisfied. It is wise to be involved and knowledgeable about the laws and issues we are facing, laws that overwhelmingly affect African Americans, Hispanics, and those in communities that are economically and educationally depressed.
In the coming months I will discuss these issues, and more,in a way that is informative and thought-provoking so as to spur a conversation.
Curtis “Delayahu” Ferdinand
Special thanks and honorable mention of our brother and good companion, Yaphet Davis, for his input and editorial capabilities with many of the works posted here on prisonerexchange.com
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