26 Years A Slave.

       It is impossible to imagine how you would feel if at the age of twenty you were incarcerated in a hellhole of a prison for a crime you did not commit and then spend the next 26 years locked away from public view, proclaiming your innocence, lots of that time in solitary confinement. However, in this state controlled world we live in, these things do happen, sometimes the person never manages to prove their innocence serves their full term, or worse ends their days under the shackles of state incarceration.
       Lots of individuals who do leave prison, are often broken and damaged after their experience, some with that wonderful human resolve, fight to maintain their humanity and succeed, we should honour them and support them all. One day, when we become a civilised species, prisons will be a horrible memory from the distant past.

FROM LACINO HAMILTON:

         My life changed in an instant on September 30, 2020 when a Wayne County circuit court judge apologized for 26 years of wrongful incarceration, and then released me from prison.
         I walked out of the Michigan prison and into a crowd that worked years to prove my innocence. But that was a beginning of sorts. The challenges have been both small and big.
       The small challenges have been things like never having used a cellphone and not knowing what I’m doing. The bigger ones have been things such as re-entry during COVID-19 – with so much shut down or slow or not working.
       While incarcerated, I painfully self-educated and became a social justice activist, organizer and critical thinker. And in between starting life completely over at 46, I’m searching for ways to do the same on this side of the wall.
       I want to continue to be an advocate for justice.
       I’ve come a long way in less than two months due to the assistance of RootsAction and others. But I have so far to go, and counting on the support of the broader community.

Thank you,
Lacino Hamilton

P.S. from the RootsAction Education Fund:

     Through all those years in prison, many of them in solitary, Lacino never gave up or gave in. Now that he’s freed, we need to help amplify his voice so he can educate his fellow citizens about the evils of mass incarceration.
     You can help make that happen with a U.S.-tax-deductible donation of any amount. Please do what you can to support Lacino Hamilton’s advocacy.

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Background:
  Truthout columns by Lacino Hamilton

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