Sentencing Day- Tomorrow
OUR DAY IN COURT
I am screaming from the inside out,
I want to tell you all what it’s about.
I saw this woman stand before you for dealing cocaine,
But you let her walk- what a shame!
You have my child before you this day,
You don’t even know how hard I have prayed.
Your honor, with all due respect- I know it’s your court,
But this is a circus of sorts.
The cocaine dealer walks probation free,
The meth manufacturer gets a drug court key,
My son- he goes to prison for a D felony.
Is this justice I ask you sir?
Do you think this is the cure?
Judge, you can’t possibly know my son,
Mr. Prosecutor- do you think you’ve won?
See, this PSI you ordered is fill in the blank,
It tells you nothing- you can take that to the bank!
It’s killing me to sit and be still,
I know the road is going down hill.
You should be ashamed of the sentence you hand down,
It’s all about whose who in this fucking town!
I will never forget this day,
Thank you so much for making my son pay!
His price is too high for the crime,
Do you ever even consider the time?
Let’s talk about victims, I’m one you see,
I didn’t do this, it was done to me.
I know we have a long road ahead,
But your words will be the last that will be said.
See the guy across the room,
That’s his dad- don’t assume.
He has not been there with me through this,
So, let’s take a second and reminisce,
I’ve stood beside my kid in every way,
Now, all I have to look forward to is his release day.
I’ve spent countless hours waiting for a 15 minute call,
See, I’m in this for the long haul.
I know we will survive this DOC time,
Sometimes, one minute at a time.
So- Fuck you for your thoughts and sentence this day,
I’ll spend the next 18 months, while we pray.
He will come out a better man,
But your honor- it had nothing to do with your plan.
He will do this because he can,
and with God’s help he will be a wise man.
You’ve taught me just one thing today,
All you do is put the good people away.
I’ll think of you just once more,
And sadly remember what you stand for.
You took that bench to put people away-
But in 18 months it will be our day!
I am screaming from the inside out,
I want to tell you all what it’s about.
I saw this woman stand before you for dealing cocaine,
But you let her walk- what a shame!
You have my child before you this day,
You don’t even know how hard I have prayed.
Your honor, with all due respect- I know it’s your court,
But this is a circus of sorts.
The cocaine dealer walks probation free,
The meth manufacturer gets a drug court key,
My son- he goes to prison for a D felony.
Is this justice I ask you sir?
Do you think this is the cure?
Judge, you can’t possibly know my son,
Mr. Prosecutor- do you think you’ve won?
See, this PSI you ordered is fill in the blank,
It tells you nothing- you can take that to the bank!
It’s killing me to sit and be still,
I know the road is going down hill.
You should be ashamed of the sentence you hand down,
It’s all about whose who in this fucking town!
I will never forget this day,
Thank you so much for making my son pay!
His price is too high for the crime,
Do you ever even consider the time?
Let’s talk about victims, I’m one you see,
I didn’t do this, it was done to me.
I know we have a long road ahead,
But your words will be the last that will be said.
See the guy across the room,
That’s his dad- don’t assume.
He has not been there with me through this,
So, let’s take a second and reminisce,
I’ve stood beside my kid in every way,
Now, all I have to look forward to is his release day.
I’ve spent countless hours waiting for a 15 minute call,
See, I’m in this for the long haul.
I know we will survive this DOC time,
Sometimes, one minute at a time.
So- Fuck you for your thoughts and sentence this day,
I’ll spend the next 18 months, while we pray.
He will come out a better man,
But your honor- it had nothing to do with your plan.
He will do this because he can,
and with God’s help he will be a wise man.
You’ve taught me just one thing today,
All you do is put the good people away.
I’ll think of you just once more,
And sadly remember what you stand for.
You took that bench to put people away-
But in 18 months it will be our day!
Replies
You really hit the nail on the head with this poem.
Judges have sentencing guidelines to go by, but as I learned in my classes, they don\'t have to use them. The have \" discretion\" as to what they deem appropriate. I also was told years ago by a lawyer that for a \" price\" he could pick the DA, pick the judge, and get everything dropped. FOR A PRICE. That\'s our justice system.
I saw a woman walk out of the courthouse laughing. Her son had murdered someone, out on a busy street, with tons of witnesses, but she had the best two lawyers in town. He got off, while ours with a public pretender went to prison for something small in comparison.
My classes actually stated that the justice system is flawed and needs to be changed, but they haven\'t in years.
Prison does not rehabilitate people. Prison does not take into consideration that this person may be a good person who made a small mistake. The courts don\'t care either. Prison is a money making industry. That is stated in books too.
Our country is messed up because of how the justice and corrections systems are run. Until that changes, everything will get worse. People will suffer. Our society, and those of us waiting at home, losing our faith in our government..
My fiance has had several drunk driving charges. Only ONCE did they put him in treatment. THEY KNOW that prison does not fix that. They don\'t care.
Prisons are overcrowded they say, yet they don\'t do anything to make sure that the people that could benefit from an alternative sentence get those sentences. Community supervision, community service, treatment, counseling. Those are all proven ways to help \" rehabilitate\", and save the taxpayers money, but those are not used as widely as prison sentences are.
All putting people in prison does is assure the employees of the corrections and justice systems that their jobs are secure.
You are right! THEY DON\'T CARE. It\'s just a paycheck to those in the big chair behind the desk, wearing the robe. BUT..stop thinking and release your worries. This is all GOD\'s plan. Remember the one man that didn\'t go to work the day that the World Trade center went down. We don\'t know WHY God has this plan for our loved ones. We have to believe that this is his plan. All in time; if you understand and love God; it will all work out. Am I happy that my son is in prison? NO - but this is God\'s way so I must accept. SOMETHING GOOD is going to come out of this.
What a great poem! you sure did capture my feelings on the subject but so did vckmag42. I copied the poem and I am going to send it to my son. Try to keep your chin up. Remember things weren\'t fair for JOB in the Bible either but even in the face of Hell He came through it and so will your Family, no matter what they throw at you! I care very deeply for your family and you are in my prayers. Cindy
Amen! and ihatewisc is right..everything is \"for a price\"
Years ago, my son was in prison. I was sad all of the time. Then he said something that hit me. He said, \" mom, it\'s a good thing that I am here. If I had continued on the path I was going, I would have done something worse, or I would have been killed, so this is where I need to be\". He survived prison, and now for the most part he is a good guy. He has been out about 3 years, has a good job, nice home, and is a good daddy. So he did learn from it.
I may have hated that he was in there, but he was a drug dealer. He was playing a dangerous game. He had come close to being shot many times, and he had done horrible things. Some I know, some I don\'t want to ever know. But he turned his life around.
Just thought that might help some of you.