Date: 6/19/2019 7:21:43 PM
Subject: tuw7
June 19, 2019

Hi, Evy.

I can understand your frustration with Senator Schnachtner's response to your overtures. They see your husband differently than you do. In their eyes, he's a pedophile who hasn't acted on his impulses yet. You see him as someone with a technology addiction.

I think the truth lies somewhere in between those two extremes. Had John merely had a technology addiction, he would be playing video games constantly or getting fixated on Google Earth or something like that. He chose to view kiddie porn. Many people believe he is just as responsible as the people who took the photos because, without people to view the photos, those children may not have been subjected to that exploitation.

Until the political climate changes, people in prison for sex crimes will get very little consideration from elected officials.

However, that does not mean that you should give up. It takes dedicated, determined people to change things. We need more people involved in the criminal justice system. For too many years, citizens have sat back and let politicians do whatever they want without holding them accountable. The Mass Incarceration Movement would not have happened had it not been for the apathy of the citizens who don't care because "It won't affect me."

I felt the same way back in 1984 because, even though I had been in prison once before, my lawbreaking days were over. Little did I suspect that I could be sent to prison for life for a crime I was not guilty of. The court system turned into a travesty while my back was turned. Right-wing ideologies hijacked the criminal justice system, and I'm still paying the price for not being a vigilant protector of rights.

And now it's too late because no one listens to a prisoner proclaiming his innocence, especially one with a prior criminal record.

Well, Evy, I hope you succeed in all you are trying to do. I haven't seen John lately. He hasn't been in the meditation group the last couple of times. I hope he's okay.

Harlan