Justice in the United States Legal System...Oxymoronic?

The recent execution of Tookie Williams has once again opened the flood gates to a wide assortment of debate with regard to the United States Capital Punishment Legislature. The States have long been associated with this particular form of justice. Over time we have gone from stake-burning, to lynching to electrocution, gas or lethal injection. In spite of the obvious humanitarian concerns regarding the death penalty it has a wide range of support and most states are highly conservative with carrying out this sentence. Still, the debate; the moral question continues as states like Texas continue to abuse the right of the state to execute inmates.

As of April 1, 2005 there are 3,399 men and 53 women serving time on Death Row. Since 1976 there have been 976 executions. Since 1976 the State of Texas has executed 355 inmates making them the majority leader. California has a high number of inmates on death row, approx 648, but has only performed approx 13 executions since 1976. Virginia has executed 94, Oklahoma 79, Missouri 66 with the rest of the States falling behind these figures. New York seems to be one of the few heavily-populated states in which the death penalty is not active.

THE AGITATOR

At the above site you will find current, constantly-updated information regarding a man named Cory Maye who shot and subsequently killed a police officer during a late night raid of his home. Maye was tried and convicted of the murder and given a death sentence in spite of the grossly overlooked details of his case.

The gentleman in question is a black man living in a bad neighborhood; paying rent, for half of the duplex in which he lived, to an accused drug dealer-the man whom authorities were looking for when they raided the building. He also faced a nearly all-white juryin the state of Mississippi. Ron Jones, the officer killed wasnt just any officer but the Chief of Polices son. Ironically, Mr. Jones, an officer with the police department whose anonymous informant led to the raid, was not a member of the unit and should not have been active in the raid. If proper protocol had been followed, Ron Jones would not have been at the scene and thus would not have been gunned down.

The questions regarding this case many; most states in the country have laws that protect a citizens right to defend themselves against intruders. The evidence in the case clearly gives enough reasonable doubt to believe that Maye's shot to protect his daughter and himself. Still, amazingly but not surprisingly the man still sits on death row. It seems that there is more than enough evidence to have supported nothing more than a manslaughter charge if anything.

I feel for the families, friends and fellow officers of the officer who was killed. I do. However, I don't think that the young man meant to take the life of a white cop. Why aren't cops more aggressive about introducing themselves like they are on television? Had these officers been screaming 'POLICE' like they do on TV would the officer still be alive? Would that child still have a father? Would our judicial system have one less man awaiting lethal injection?

This case is especially unnerving when you take into account the fact that the man had a perfectly clean record prior to this incident and aside from the butt of a joint, there were no drugs found on his premises; though the cops were raiding the place on suspicion of distribution. His daughter now lives without a father; possibly with the knowledge that he will rot on death row or die at the hands of a government that was supposed to be protecting them, because of a late-night, forced-entry raid that had little to do with him. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Ironically, law enforcement officers on the other side of the barrel do not receive the same injustice and scrutiny. On September 13, 2000 in Modesto California, Local police officers and federal drug enforcement agencies raided the home of the Sepulveda family on a tip that Moises Sepulveda was involved in a methamphetamine ring.

The raid occurred a little after six a.m. as Mr. Sepulveda was getting ready for work. Officers busted through the door and ordered all three children and both parents to the ground. The raid turned to tragedy when 11 year old Albert Sepulveda was shot in the back of the head while lying prone on the ground as instructed by officers. A three month investigation ensued. During this time Officer David Hawn, a 21 year veteran of the police force and the man responsible for the death of the young man was put on leave pending an outcome.

At the conclusion of the investigation the shooting was found to be accidental discharge of a weapon and Officer Hawn was returned to duty, in spite of an investigation of the same man approximately a year prior; for another accidental shooting in which the Officer was also cleared of any wrong doing.

My first question is what was the Officers loaded, police issue weapon doing trained on an unarmed 11 year old child's head in the first place? My second question is why wasnt the officer charged with something CRIMINAL in this case? Murder is still murder, badge or not. A civilian can be charged with involuntary manslaughter for an accident and serve jail time but an officer gets a 3 month vacation for accidentally shooting a child in the back of the head?

Police Officers are supposed to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. In quite a few cases officers don't always act appropriately when raiding a residence. The body count of innocent people in the war on drugs is rising at an astronomical rate. This alone is sad but its made worse by the lack of reform in these departments, the lack of attention and legal action in these cases and the serious lack of regulations with regard to these activities. If an eye-for-an-eye is our country's stance on justice it should be so across the board. Whether you are rich or poor, white or black, Government or civilian; if you take a life, we will take yours. Otherwise, the only just thing to do would be to abolish Capital Punishment altogether.

For more information regarding these innocent civilian casualties:

INJUSTICE LINE

STOP THE DRUG WAR

CATO

~Originally appears in the New Years 2006 Edition of the Street Voice Newsletter.

Metamorphosis

The artist paints a design for discovery, for the absence of reason in the chaos and folds himself to sleep in the ages of whims. A state of calm in the restlessness? A ceaseless bounty of gauche inertness taints the world the scent of tar and the flavor of acid. I find myself crawling into the shallow seas of regret and back once more to the place where sleeping dogs were a fantastical faery-tale told to diligent children with big weepy eyes. Is it so hard to imagine a drifter that stays grounded, if only for a moment, to leave behind just a hint of distinction before casting his breath into the marble endeavors of bitterness ravaging? Fortune never smiles on the weak, it is but the gold of an age that existed only in the minds of the rotting asylum-ites and I found myself shedding more than a tear for the tireless genius of a wandering wit. My tasteless cynicism gives way to a new wave of likeness and I am haunted evermore by the sleepy dreariness that wakes in my dreams, like a serpent squeezing from me the last tangled gasp of heaven that never reaches my lung. A scarlet letter kiss and a falling fancy and still I sing with angels that are not bred here. There is much to be intrigued in the dark and even less to be tampered with by the light of the ever changing sun who grows weary and closer to defeat...to elevation. I am free only in my nightmares. I have come to find them the safest scheme in which to bask in the glow of the fiendish plague of laudable stoicism of which my disposition reeks. Tickled pink and then red but my eyes are a never-ending stream of cold; polar ice caps like that of the father that came before me and the mother who lost her soul in hopes of release. Perched upon my throne in this hallowed ground I've made my abode I relinquish myself to the metamorphosis of a soul that permeates in the desolation; twisting between the lies, not yet free, not yet known and not ever loved...but I think I came close once.

Vagrant Whispers

Shards of dreams pepper my eyes the scent of dusk
as I wade through the vast thicket of longing drenched
tainted a bit by desire for that which cannot be consumed
forgotten images of stolen pasts whose stories are not mine to tell
broken inside a vivid catalyst, sweet-tasting forgery of nothing
though I once thought of something better to give to the gods
silver haired giants mounted on peaking thrones of stone
fortune smiles in some desolate field but the farmer hears it moving
and I watch with my stained glass smile and straight glare
what is it about this time, this pleasant unpleasantness
but my wine tastes better after I'm spent and soaked
the steady sound of falling rain like pin-pricks in the distance
and I swear there's the faintest sound of laughter amidst the hum
fallen but in no way dead though i hear they do rise again
open-mind, gentle ramblings walking a finite line between
all that is, all that could and all that should be but isn't
tracing the moments like epiphanies till I see those eyes
those beautuful haunting eyes and I know I am free.

Chewed Gum

The flood reaches it's plateau before I reach shelter and I drown in the sorrow of it all. No longer safe in the arms of the forever that expands beyond the earth, beyond reason. You were the gift from a god I couldn't hold onto and though I tried, I could never bring you into me, rather onto my like a switchblade hacksawing through my rotting corpse. So clever were you in all your usual ways that I didn't see it coming until it came like a shotgun blast right into my chest and out of my heart. Falling into a canyon seems easier than this, this begging for forgivemess for sins that were not my own still it's my fault anyhow. At least that's what you said when I let you go, let you be, now watch me bleed. Say your prayers , I'm done, for I cannot be this for you-to you anymore. Yes, tonight with this ring I thee cast aside for something a little more stable..a little brighter. More so than the sun that you mourn the passing of like time infinitely wise in it's wisdom, infinitely slow in it's..what's that you say? I can't hear you over the rain, can't see you through the fog and here we go blessed be you are beautiful but wasteful and I am done with this game. The strumming of my heart has ceased to be, yes I know you don't care now and I don't want to but i do. G'nite!

BDSM...Huh?

BDSM is an acronym for Bondage-Discipline, Domination-Submission and Sadism-Masochism. The implications of these terms seem fairly obvious but can be entirely misleading and are often times misinterpreted. Truthfully, the specifics could be translated in so many different ways that I could be writing for days just on their complexities. So, without being too generalizing--in terms of vanilla relations (vanilla- meaning non-lifestyle, because these practices are lifestyles unto themselves) they mean whatever you want them to mean. If you like the idea of your partner tying you to the bed and having their way with you-you are engaging in bondage and possibly in a power dynamic not unlike that found in a Dominant-Submissive relationship. If you enjoy a good smack on the ass during intercourse that isn't as different from a sado-masochistic encounter as you'd like to believe. But let me break it down a little.

First, I would like to state for the record that in almost all arrangements inside these lifestyles and/or practices all parties involved SHOULD have three things in common. Trust, communication and consent! All three are VITAL to these practices. If you don't trust the person you're engaging in these activities with and if you cannot communicate honestly with each other-or--you have not consented to the activities taking place--it has the potential to be extremely dangerous, if not fatal. Anyone who knows anything about these ideas will tell you the same. After all, would you really want someone having power over you that you couldn't trust to use it wisely and with your best interests in mind? That being said...

Bondage-Discipline: Bondage refers to the use of rope, chains, and cuffs--anything that limits mobility. The idea is to be rendered (or to render) into a state of helplessness which can lend a very erotic pleasure to the act of fornication. I mean, orgasm is the epitomy of "letting go". Being helpless to stop the onslaught of pleasure can be very liberating and exciting. Discipline, in a vanilla setting is most likely used in role-play. You know, dirty catholic girl and daddy...or whatever. In terms of lifestyle, it is most often a companion to Dominant-Submissive relationships but can, in some instances, stand on it's own or in conjuction with any of the other practices. The idea is complex and hard to put into words but basically the disciplinee wants to be corrected, reprimanded etc... they want to be punished for doing something wrong. I heard the best story based on this idea years ago.

I was talking to a woman about this particular practice one day after she admitted to being a practitioner and she very plainly put it to me like this: it used to be, when she did something that hurt or upset her husband, he'd get mad-blow up-and they'd fight. Sometimes the fights would go on for days. It was horrible. Then they went to therapy and the therapist asked if they had ever considered alternatives to the fighting. She gave them some terms to look up and one of them was BDSM most specifically she wanted them to look into the discipline practices. At first it was wierd and sometimes they chose to fight instead but after a while it just became their only way of dealing. Instead of fighting and all the guilt and frustration that came with it; when he'd get upset about something they'd sit down and discuss precisely what he wanted to make him feel better about the situation. She'd take the punishment which usually ended in wild make-up sex anyway and all was forgiven. His temperament had never gone to that horrible place since and sometimes she even got to turn the tables on him.

Domination-Submission: The trickiest of the terms due to its complexities and society's overall views on "equality" in a relationship. To simplify it a bit this involves a power exchange. The submissive person(s) gives the Dominant(s) person control over themselves in one sense or another. In vanilla relations--one partner takes the role of aggressor (dominant) and one takes on the role of the submissive. This dynamic is quite familiar in most sexual relations anyhow but in this case, the power exchange is acknowledged on a conscious level. It is usually in this exchange that "dirty talk", kinky actions and flat out hormone-driven fucking like bunnies takes place.

In a lifestyle sense--the Dominant partner takes control of any and/or ALL aspects of the submissives life. For these people--it goes way beyond sex. This isn't to say that the submissive partner is treated like a lowly human being or an animal although there are alternative lifestylers that engage willingly in humilation as part of their submission. This simply means that the submissive partner has made a consious decision to give this control to her Dominant partner with the understanding that the partner can be trusted to guide them with love, understanding and responsibility. The submissive partner believes that the Dominant partner is fully capable of making decisions that are in the submissives best interest. This releases the submissive from making those decisions for themselves. This arrangement is called 24/7 Total Power Exchange. Notably, this exchange is where the "collar" comes from and yes, quite literally, the Dominant partner places a collar (or something symbolizing a collar) around the neck of their submissive partner. There are 2 very beautiful ceremonies regarding this particular ritual.

Dom-sub relationships can borrow practices and actions from Bondage-Discipline and Sadism-Masochism or it can exist without those practices...but where's the kink in that?!! LOL. It is a lifestyle all its own (and probably the most complex) due to the magnitude and impact of the power exchange involved. The important thing to remember about this type of relationships is that both parties CHOSE their roles. The submissive negotiates and agrees to her position and her lose of power. It is not taken.

That kind of situation is something else entirely.

Sadism-Masochism: probably the most mis-understood and highly criticized practices in the entire acronym. Whenever these words are mentioned people almost automatically get the imagery of leather daddies/momma's wielding whips and canes and implimenting various torture techniques on some poor schmuck. Okay these things do exist in this particular lifestyle. However, the Sadist is not some evil hellian on a rampage pummelling some poor unsuspecting creature for no reason. The Sadist (top) is engaging in an activity that the masochist (bottom) openly wants. Consider this: Scientist or should I say psychologists and behavioral analysts have proven that there is a very blurred line between pleasure and pain; both are incredibly intense. Add one to the other in a consentual environment that's twice the intensity at one time. For example; if someone were to walk by and pull your hair-it would hurt however, if your partner were to pull your hair during intercourse it probably wouldn't bother you and in some cases it could even heighten the experience. Biting is another great example. You are more apt to enjoy a painful nibble during the act of sex than outside that act.

The tools of this trade are more aptly what causes alarm. Whips...gasp...paddles...oh my! Rest assured! If the sadist has any clue what they're doing these tools are used with extreme caution and control; to maximize the experience for both their bottom and themselves. Sure a whip sounds pretty serious but I've heard the adrenaline rush is amazing. Personally, I could ignore most of the tools but some I find rather intriguing. A few I find incredibly fucking hot for instance, the flail. The professionally made (not the cheap-break-on-the-first-try kind) ones are composed of long strips of leather, rubber, latex, etc, (my preference is deer hide) that is braided into a handle and then the remaining length provides the tails. Imagine 12-36 leather strips, 12-18 inches long, flung with perfect accuracy down your back. I get wet just thinking about how that leather would feel against my skin.

Now, the Sado-Masochistic scenario does not necessarily require sex. Yes, both partners get off on what they are doing but that does not mean that they have to engage in sexual activities. The same could be said for any of these practices really. They are not bound to sex and can all stand intact on their own without either partner engaging in any form of sexual activity. The acts themselves create their own forms of pleasure for some. I know that may be a bit to wrap your head around but it's true. In fact, most professional Dominatrix' or Dominants (male) do NOT engage in sexual activities with their clients. They simply give them the treatment that they ask for.

Tragically, society has force-fed its public notions that folks who participate in this type of behavior are not only sexual deviants but social deviants as well. They are freaks-abnormal and psychologically ill. In fact at one time these behaviors were considered psychotic by mental health care professionals.

However, I would like to draw some attention to the positive aspects of these relationships. While the rest of us flounder through our relationships without any concept of how to ask for what we want/need from our partners, these people are very clear and concise from the get-go. In Dominant and Submissive relationships especially there is often a contract by both parties detailing the ins and out, do's and don't of the relationship. In sometimes graphic detail these partners spell out in no uncertain terms what they desire and expect from their partners. The results are healthy, long-lasting relationships with an astonishing amount of trust and intimacy. Sounds pretty deviant, eh?

For more information including safety, techniques, ideas, links and accessories please take a virtual trip to CASTLE REALM.

~Originally featured in the Christmas, 2005 Edition of the Street Voice Newsletter.