1st ANNUAL L.I.F.E. ASSOCIATION BANQUET AT SCI DALLAS

On October 18, the L.I.F.E. Association at SCI Dallas held its 1st annual banquet. The L.I.F.E. Association is a group comprised of men serving LWOP (life without parole) for crimes of 1st or 2nd degree murder. The purpose is to show change. This year is the first year that the prison administration has decided to refuse our family entry to this event, an event that is 100% funded by the lifers who attend.

I personally spend 2 months working on our guest list & I am so happy to say that this event went off great. Our guest list included some very influential & respected men & women in the Philadelphia area. They are as follows: Mr. Stacey Wright, Chief of Staff to State Rep. Stephen Kinsey; Phil Jones, Legislative Aide to Stephen Kinsey; Mr. Thomas Young, Chief of Staff to State Rep. Donna Bullock; Virginia Whitaker, Legislative Aide to Donna Bullock & at 71 years old, a tireless advocate for change & HB135; Mr. Christopher Phipps, Legislative Aide to State Rep. Joanna McClinton; Mr. Henry Hunter, Office Manager for Senator Sharif Street; Mrs. Claire Shubik-Richards, Attorney & Executive Director of the Pa Prison Society; Mr. Chris Covington, Executive Board Member of the Pa Prison Society; Mr. Rick Lowe, Attorney & Executive Board Member of the Pa Prison Society; Ms. Christi Charpentier, an amazing attorney who got my president, Bobby Harris, free from prison; & an advocate for anyone & everyone, Mrs. Keir Bradford-Grey, Chief Public Defender of the Defenders Association in Philadelphia. Sadly, Ms. April James, Chief of Staff for State rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown was a now show.

We had a great event, we had some great speakers. I personally was moved by them. I spent 4 hours sitting, talking & eating with Stacey, Phil, Thomas & Ms. Virginia, I truly believe I helped create an amazing event that they all were happy to be a part of. This will lead to bigger & better things. This will lead to getting politicians into the prison system to see who is begging for their help.

We ate a good lunch paid for by the lifers organization, we spent 4 hours talking, telling stories, learning about each other. Stacey is a tireless fighter for the little guy, he works to help people getting out of prison so they do not return. Thomas is a former pro basketball player who gave up a luxurious salary in order to help people, & at only 30 years old, he is an amazing guy. During Keir's speech, she told us, "I would love the chance to sit down with my Philadelphia legislators & work on solving some of the problems," At the end, I introduced her to Stacey & Thomas, 2 men who want to help & can make things happen. I felt pretty proud of myself. I wish my mom could have seen it. I had the flu that day so I barely ate but that day also marked 60 days since my mom died. How I miss my momma. Not a day goes by that I don't talk to her, remember her, as I write, my eyes tear up & I remember my moms laugh. She loved telling me stories of my niece, baby lucy, but baby lucy is 5 & she told me to stop calling her baby lucy, she said, Uncle Robby, I'm not a baby anymore, I'm 5, I'm a big girl now. My heart melted, I love that child so much. But I'll never see her again. Me & my family are done. I have my dad, my aunt cindy & my great aunt mary. I have my 20 year old daughter, after them, I'm done. I have no family. Not 1 person in my family except the ones I names even bothered to say 1 word to me after my mom died. Not 1 of them were willing to bring my mom to see me within the final 6 months of her life, not 1 of them were willing to record my moms memorial service so I could watch it & see the things that were said about my mom. That's hurt so much. My so-called sisters have all bailed on me, what's left of my so-called brothers too. My cousin James, that I barely know, sent me $50 after mom died. But I have no idea how to even send him a Thank you card, I don't know where he lives. On the day of the banquet, I asked my mom to please watch over me & I'll do everything I can to make her proud of me. I met some great men & women that day, I have nothing but respect for every one of them & I look forward to the future & getting them all back here to keep the hope alive in the men's hearts. I couldn't imagine how amazing of an event this would be, we had a vision but the prison administration kept throwing in road blocks, trying to shut it down. But we prevailed. In the history of this prison, this was the first time this has ever happened, history in the making. Now I will get State representatives here to meet with the lifers & the senators who believe in change & 2nd chances. Elizabeth, if you are reading this, your lengthy email was printed out & mailed to me, but I have not gotten it yet, I promise to respond as soon as I do. I am fighting for parole for all lifers, not just myself, everyone deserves the chance to be considered. My President, Bobby Harris, when he goes home in a few weeks, he will represent all lifers on the outside. If you have a loved one in prison serving a life sentence & you want to be connected with Bobby or any of the people I mentioned, contact me & tell me. Send me your e-mail & I will make sure you ARE contacted by whoever you want to speak with. As External Vice President, my job is to network & connect with people who have the same agenda as we do. Parole eligibility for all & prison reform. This will only happen if we work together on the same goals. If you have a loved one in prison serving a life sentence in the state of Pennsylvania, help me get them on my website, please check it out, www.fossilsandfeathers.org (fossilsandfeathers.org)

We are here to help. To every guest who shook my hand, hugged me, took the time to get to know who I am today, I thank you so very much for coming. If you have a loved one in a Pa state prison, please reach out to me. We must work together. Please email me or send me a letter at: Robert Pezzeca #DX1148; SCI Dallas; 1000 Follies Rd.; Dallas, Pa 18612. My dad is dying of cancer now, he has little time left, I'm glad my parents got to see the good man that I have grown to become. My dad made me cry for the first time in my life when he said, Mom was so proud of who you've grown to be. Losing my parents at this young age is destroying me, a part of me just wants to crawl in a hole & die but I wouldn't continue growing, my own personal transformation is not over, I have more room to grow. Please don't throw me away just yet, I am not my worst mistake, I am not my crime, I am much better that that person could ever be. I have changed, I have transformed, I am ME, NOT HIM. Get to know me, judge me for who I am today, all the good that I have done, I will be interviewed soon for a newspaper & I hope I do the movement justice. I thank everyone who continues to read what I write. It's been less as my life grows harder, losing mom, I lost a piece of my soul. Anyone who lost their mom understands this. Please keep reading, please keep commenting & if you have a loved one doing life in Pa, reach out to me. Lets get them on my site, lets get involved in this fight for the right to be considered for parole for everyone. Take care. I have given up on God, he stole everyone I loved from me. My parents deserved better, Justine deserved better, God doesn't give a crap about me, so I'll do this on my own with the hope of making my loved ones proud of me. One day, I don't know if it's possible, but I'd like to earn the forgiveness of my victims family. Maybe one day I will be worthy of that. I'm not there yet, but one day?....

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