Caption: TYYA M. BARNES TO THE PEOPLE

To Those It May Concern, 

hello my name is Tyya Barnes, i am 30 years old and currently facing life without parole. it is my desire that i get enough signatures for my petition to attain my freedom, since the legal ways hasn’t helped me and so many black men like me in the past. i know in order to gain your support i have to tell you a little about me, without indulging too much into my case. but first i would like to start off with some basics facts about Pennsylvania. 

Did you know in PA, felony murder is classified as a second-degree murder trigger and an automatic sentence of life without parole. Just in case you did not know what second degree murder was, its harming someone without the intent to kill him. outdated laws like these has made so many men like me subjected to having their freedom stripped from them for a mistake that happened when our brains may have not been fully developed. now I’m not saying that everyone has the same case as me but granted i was only 19 when this crime took place, at the most i was just a boy trying to understand the world or at the very least what it meant to be a black boy in Amerika. I’m not  assata shakur or a soledad brother, or even Angela Davis. And if you are not familiar with these names. They were individuals just like me fighting the system of injustice. I  consider myself as a man fighting to attain a life like everyone else. i want to have kids some day, get married to a beautiful girl and build with my Family. An American dream that has been stripped from many men like me. my wish is to not to die in prison for something i did when i was 19. 
another fun Fact about PA is the state has the second highest number of people serving life without parole. Pa is the only state besides Louisana that mandates life without parole for harming someone without the intent to kill them. according to my case summary it says i was charged with robbery and conspiracy to commit bodily harm to an individual. this individual is Courtney Jackson. i speak of him in the present tense because I’m sure that his fellow family and friends are still being touched by his passing. as well as myself. i wont lie to myself and say that i wish i could have taken different steps went a different way and maybe that path wouldn’t have led me down the constant rabbit hole i find myself in today, But then i think who else is going to stand up to the injustice in Pa, who else is strong enough to challenge the system, or wake up the people, so that the next generation can at least get a second chance at a real life. 
i know some may say its so easy to ask for a second chance when Courtney ultimately doesn’t get one. its just that this time I’m not asking for a second chance for myself but also a second chance for Courtney. his legacy and his name will always be a part of me so i intend to make the outcome of his death something beautiful. a legacy that our black boys and men can look up to. i have so many ideas of how i want to make Harrisburg better for our youth, the only issue is that the bathroom that i live in conflicts my agenda. change first starts with myself and i believe over the years i have grown. i am not that silly 19 year old kid. I’m striving to be an honest man, first with myself and then my people. i consider all that signs this petition part of my people. 
in conclusion, in June of 2024 will mark 10 years since the conviction, and i hope that there are people out there that will forgive me for my mistakes and look past the crime but will see me as person. life in a cell has taught me many things like self discipline, self evaluation and knowledge of who i am. i am not perfect so i cant apologize for making mistakes. but i am sorry that the choices that i have made separated me from the people that love me the most. so I’m desperately fighting so hard to get back to them. i am also sorry that Courtney lost his life because of my choices.