Reply ID AMC 2012

To all who will be reading this I thank you for your interest in making the problem of mass incarceration go away or at least trying to find ways to slow the process down. It is my opinion that the most pressing issue is community; the majority of African-American prisoners come from a place where drugs, death, and violence is rampant, not only that but the drugs, violence, and death spread like a deadly cancer, and the outcome for those who are lucky enough to survive is prison. We don't have the proper funding in the most hard hit communities to build, promote, or keep positive clubs, job programs, etc. open, so in turn we have individuals who fall into the trap of trying to fit in with the "street thugs" and in turn they to selling drugs, robbery, and other crimes. It is a chain reaction that causes the mass incarcerations, overcrowding, etc. If any organization wants to end mass incarceration, my advice would be go into the heart of the problem - the lack of resources in the community and the people who suffer because of it. Do real surveys, ask what they think they could use to become better people, build better communities and avoid prison. As far as myself the support that I need is more of a mental companionship, because in prison people lose friends, family, etc. over time. The most important thing for me is education, communication and preparation for the outside world, because without that I have no chance of remaining free. I hope that this blog post will open the door for individuals to get to know the people that they are advocating for as more than prisoners, statistics, or a cause - the cause of the moment; take time to learn about us, read our blogs, contact us, our families, etc.

Respectfully,
[Amondo Duckworth's signature]
Amondo Duckworth

blogsite: http://betweenthebars.org/blogs/466/
Amondo Duckworth