On December
8, 2004 I woke up at 5am to put some finishing touches on a painting
project that I had started a while ago. I hate to leave things undone.
As I walked to my studio across the path from my converted live-in
barn, something told me to check my email instead. I got into my
car and drove to an Internet café about 10 minutes from the
farm my wife and I own in the beautiful countryside outside Sao
Paulo, Brazil.
I opened
my mail and then Googled
the Rockefeller Drug Law news in New York. My eyes lit
up when I saw the many headlines out lining a tentative agreement
had been reached on Rockefeller reform. At first, I was apprehensive:
I didn't want this to be another false hope. Since my release in
1997 after
serving a 12-year sentence under these laws, I've fought
tooth and nail for repeal.
Was change
really about to occur after 31 years? Was this another "selling
of a dream" by the governor and the state legislature? For
three years in a row they had dangled reform in front of us enough
to have our mouths watering from anticipation. It was because of
this I left the city I love to pursue my career as an artist in
another country. I had to let go of the rope that was connected
to meaningful reform because of the hurt connected to the false
political promises.
As I
continued to check the news I was appalled by what I saw. Politicians
were issuing press releases disguised as congratulatory statement,
claiming credit for the victory. The politios patted themselves
on the back as they thanked the governor and the legislature for
the watered-down reform that was to be passed as law. "This
is just a start," they claimed. But it was former Federal Housing
Secretary Andrew Cuomo who had it right had it right when he issued
a statement to Newsday, saying that it is too late for legislators
in Albany to use a "half-a-loaf" reform bill as political
cover.
"This
is their attempt to alleviate the pressure. It's not going to work,"
Cuomo said. "The pressure is for Rockefeller reform and that's
not what this is. This is not judicial [sentencing] discretion.
This is not significantly reducing the burdensome length of punishment...
This is simply not what we've been working for all these years."
This
was no victory. It was a sell-out to quiet the rage that activists
have felt for many years about this issue. I urge those who have
been in the trenches many years fighting for true reform to keep
up the pressure and fight to change the power structure behind the
Rockefeller Drug Laws. Let's push harder now to give back judges
discretion and seek freedom for the 19,000 individuals and their
families that were left behind in this false victory. Lets not leave
things undone and put the finishing touch on this project before
we all pat ourselves on our backs.