Americas Prisons

The US is one of the only first world nations that uses prison as a form of punishment instead of using it for rehabilitation. Once someone has committed a crime and served their sentence in a US prison they are not helped to become supported members of society. Instead they are stuck in a never-ending cycle of reoffending due to the systems failure to rehabilitate. Millions of Americans are incarcerated in overcrowded, violent, and inhumane jails and prisons that do not provide treatment, education, or rehabilitation.

About Victor

Victors mother was victim to countless amounts of abuse from his father. Often left fighting for herself and her children’s lives at the hands of him. Some of the abuse she endured is too prolific to even write about. The situation they faced led to Victor and his siblings to be taken into care. 

Victor was in foster care from a very young age and failed by the system. After numerous cases of abusive foster carers he would run away and sleep on park benches or in abandoned houses. Victor was under the age of 6 years old when this was happening. A child who had never experienced love or care and was left with no where to go. He had faced more neglect in the first 6 years of his life than most have their entire lives. The gangs of Detroit offered him the first taste of what a "family" was and also gave him a chance to survive on the streets, but along with it came a criminal lifestyle. When Victor was 19 years old he met a group for an "exchange". Something many gangs deal with day to day. Unfortunately the exchange took a turn - the other party pulled a gun and shot at him. Victor, 19 years old at the time, shot back. This resulted in his double homicide conviction.

Victor was born into abuse, neglect and exploitation. He didn't come from a privileged lifestyle, he was fighting for his and his families life on a daily basis, in an underfunded neighbourhood surrounded by gangs and violence. He had no fighting chance to live a "normal" life. He even claims if he wasn't put in prison then he doesn't believe he would have lived past 20 years old due to his lifestyle. A lot of young children are exploited by the system and forced into a life of crime and violence as a means to survive.

Victor has been in prison since 2010, he went down at 19 years old and is now a fully grown and completely changed man. He loves to create art, write and design tattoos. He taught himself how to read and write over the past decade in prison. He has hopes and dreams to create a successful life on the outside as a tattoo artist. He wishes to be reunited with his two children. He wants to live an ordinary life as a son and father. Victor will be 43 years old when he is released from prison, for a crime he committed when he was only 19 years old.

Why vote?

I am in no way condoning his crimes, and neither is he. Victor knows he is not a victim nor innocent. He wishes he never lost his way and never reacted the way he did in the tragic situation that landed him in prison. He is extremely sorry for the crimes he committed, empathetic to the family it would have affected and spends the majority of his time tortured by what he did. However, I 100% believe he has changed and is ready to turn his entire life around and become a valued member of society. I don't believe Victor had a fighting chance at life, I believe it was inevitable that he went to prison. I also believe the prison system should be focused around rehabilitating inmates and not punishing them.

Please can we have your vote so he doesn't have to spend 24 years behind bars. Please can we come together and end this torturous unjust circle that punishes inmates instead of rehabilitating them. We are asking for as many votes possible so I can present our petition to Gretchen Whitmer, The Governor of Michigan, to grant him clemency.

What is Clemency?

Leniency or mercy. A power given to a public official, such as a governor or the president, to in some way lower or moderatethe harshness of punishment imposed upon a prisoner.

Clemency is considered to be an act of grace. It is based on the policy of fairness, justice, and forgiveness. It is not a right but rather a privilege, and one who is granted clemency does not have the crime forgotten, as in Amnesty, but is forgiven and treated more leniently for the criminal acts. Clemency is similar to pardon in as much as it is an act of grace exempting someone from punishment. 

We hope we can gain your signature for our petition.

Thank you!

Naomi & Victor