Alternative sentencing for shooting survivor rapper 'Keak Da Sneak'
Alternative sentencing for shooting survivor rapper 'Keak Da Sneak'
The Issue
Keak Da Sneak nearly lost his life in January 2017 after several men attempted to rob him in Oakland. After the altercation, the assailants started firing their guns. The Bay Area staple was sitting passenger side and came extremely close to getting hit. Following the incident, he decided to get a gun despite being a convicted felon.
But according to KQED, he’s been the target of multiple violent attacks and felt he had to have a way to defend himself. On Monday (January 28), Keak attended a hearing and learned he will begin serving his 16-month sentence for one count of possession of a firearm as a felon on February 7.
Keak was originally supposed to start his sentence following the hearing, but Amador County Superior Court Judge J.S. Hermanson gave him additional time to complete a medical procedure.
In March 2017, Keak was caught with the weapon while coming home from a night of gambling at a casino in Amador County, a rural area east of Sacramento. The latest census report says the population is 89 percent white.
“It was really racial profiling at an all-time high,” he said.
A police officer ran his license plate at a gas station and discovered he was on probation because of a prior firearm charge. That’s when the officer decided to search his car where he discovered the gun.
Consequently, the Amador County district attorney charged Keak with possession of a firearm as a felon, possession of ammunition as a felon, receiving stolen property, driving with a suspended or revoked license and possession of a controlled substance.
Shortly after the criminal case began, Keak was involved in another shooting in August 2017 outside of a Richmond gas station. Much like the shooting in Oakland, he was the victim of another attempted robbery.
“The first bullet busted the window and hit me in the face, grazed my face,” he said. “It made me put my arms up and guard my head, so I got shot all in my side, abdomen, my elbows, my sides. When the gunfire stopped, I couldn’t feel my legs.”
Keak woke up two days later at Oakland’s Highland Hospital. He now has to use a wheelchair full-time, see a nurse three times a week and use a colostomy bag. Although he put up a legal battle for two years, prosecutors refused to consider house arrest as a part of his plea bargain.
“It feels like they had no compassion,” he said. “My health is not good. I know they’re not gonna give me the treatment I need in prison. I’ve been to jail before, and once you get behind these walls, they have no compassion. You have to be on your dying bed for them to give you some assistance.
“Am I gonna get the treatment I’m getting out here? I don’t think so. I’ve been to jail with people who were sick and really doing bad, and the guards and deputies didn’t care about them at all. They came and beat on them because they were pushing the button like, ‘I need help, I need help.'”
I'm starting this petition because I think its disgusting the people in charge of sentencing in this case and any case similar ( this isn't just for keak this is for anyone fallen victim to the system when their particular situations deserve a level of compasion and empathy ) before hearing about Keak's situation I never thought about these kinds of scenarios because I personally haven't experienced it.
To potentially strip a man of his ability to walk again is not only just a question of morality but begs the question, "How many more people are out there that are being forced to experience extreme cruel and unusual punishment similar to this?" , how many have been victims of circumstances.
I get we have laws and they should be followed but I do not get how we give the power of judgement in cases like this where there are extremely rare circumstances that deserve consideration to people who lack empathy. Any reasonable person in that situation should first put themselves in the person's shoes before making judgement. It's obvious this wasn't the case for Keak da Sneak and its brought my attention to the fact this definitely isn't the first time and won't be the last time such decisions will be made that lack basic human compassion and empathy.
I also get its a hard job to hand judgement but I do not get how any reasonable person in such a high level of power can sit there in judgement of a man without considering what its like to live a life in a wheel chair in the prison system for one but secondly decide a year and some change sentence that very likely will result in a permanent parallelization is a justifiable action.
I ask Xavier Becerra Attorney General of California to please override the sentencing and give Keak da Sneak a more reasonable sentencing whether it be House arrest , or just putting a stay on his turn in date to at least give him a chance to heal from the brutal attack he miraculously survived. I'm a big fan of his music and I have a ton of respect and admiration for this man hes a legend and hes brought to light a very serious problem with our prison system.
If you feel this is a unjustifiable sentencing please sign and share this petition we only have a week to make a difference but I believe in the Bay Area and the entire music industry to stand with Keak. Lets work towards making prison about rehabilitation so we can get our citizens in this country after they pay their debts to society back into society as productive members of it. There is a long running abuse of judgement in our state and our country its about time we talked about it and made some changes. I'm a voter, I'm a tax payer, I'm an American citizen , but above all else titles I'm a human and a human with empathy and compassion for a father and a bay area legend and potentially a future victim of a failed system but not if Mr.Becerra steps in.
If you are disappointed in how you are being represented you can voice your opinions to the Attorney General
Xavier Becerra
@
Department of justice
Voice: (916) 210-6276 or
(Toll-free in California)
(800) 952-5225
Fax: (916) 323-5341
heres a link to multiple numbers of the service departments of the attorney general
https://oag.ca.gov/services-info#require
More numbers to call
Attorney General's Office. To contact our office by phone, please call one of our hotlines: General Helpline: 1-800-771-7755. TDD/TTY Toll Free Line: 1-800-788-9898.
761
The Issue
Keak Da Sneak nearly lost his life in January 2017 after several men attempted to rob him in Oakland. After the altercation, the assailants started firing their guns. The Bay Area staple was sitting passenger side and came extremely close to getting hit. Following the incident, he decided to get a gun despite being a convicted felon.
But according to KQED, he’s been the target of multiple violent attacks and felt he had to have a way to defend himself. On Monday (January 28), Keak attended a hearing and learned he will begin serving his 16-month sentence for one count of possession of a firearm as a felon on February 7.
Keak was originally supposed to start his sentence following the hearing, but Amador County Superior Court Judge J.S. Hermanson gave him additional time to complete a medical procedure.
In March 2017, Keak was caught with the weapon while coming home from a night of gambling at a casino in Amador County, a rural area east of Sacramento. The latest census report says the population is 89 percent white.
“It was really racial profiling at an all-time high,” he said.
A police officer ran his license plate at a gas station and discovered he was on probation because of a prior firearm charge. That’s when the officer decided to search his car where he discovered the gun.
Consequently, the Amador County district attorney charged Keak with possession of a firearm as a felon, possession of ammunition as a felon, receiving stolen property, driving with a suspended or revoked license and possession of a controlled substance.
Shortly after the criminal case began, Keak was involved in another shooting in August 2017 outside of a Richmond gas station. Much like the shooting in Oakland, he was the victim of another attempted robbery.
“The first bullet busted the window and hit me in the face, grazed my face,” he said. “It made me put my arms up and guard my head, so I got shot all in my side, abdomen, my elbows, my sides. When the gunfire stopped, I couldn’t feel my legs.”
Keak woke up two days later at Oakland’s Highland Hospital. He now has to use a wheelchair full-time, see a nurse three times a week and use a colostomy bag. Although he put up a legal battle for two years, prosecutors refused to consider house arrest as a part of his plea bargain.
“It feels like they had no compassion,” he said. “My health is not good. I know they’re not gonna give me the treatment I need in prison. I’ve been to jail before, and once you get behind these walls, they have no compassion. You have to be on your dying bed for them to give you some assistance.
“Am I gonna get the treatment I’m getting out here? I don’t think so. I’ve been to jail with people who were sick and really doing bad, and the guards and deputies didn’t care about them at all. They came and beat on them because they were pushing the button like, ‘I need help, I need help.'”
I'm starting this petition because I think its disgusting the people in charge of sentencing in this case and any case similar ( this isn't just for keak this is for anyone fallen victim to the system when their particular situations deserve a level of compasion and empathy ) before hearing about Keak's situation I never thought about these kinds of scenarios because I personally haven't experienced it.
To potentially strip a man of his ability to walk again is not only just a question of morality but begs the question, "How many more people are out there that are being forced to experience extreme cruel and unusual punishment similar to this?" , how many have been victims of circumstances.
I get we have laws and they should be followed but I do not get how we give the power of judgement in cases like this where there are extremely rare circumstances that deserve consideration to people who lack empathy. Any reasonable person in that situation should first put themselves in the person's shoes before making judgement. It's obvious this wasn't the case for Keak da Sneak and its brought my attention to the fact this definitely isn't the first time and won't be the last time such decisions will be made that lack basic human compassion and empathy.
I also get its a hard job to hand judgement but I do not get how any reasonable person in such a high level of power can sit there in judgement of a man without considering what its like to live a life in a wheel chair in the prison system for one but secondly decide a year and some change sentence that very likely will result in a permanent parallelization is a justifiable action.
I ask Xavier Becerra Attorney General of California to please override the sentencing and give Keak da Sneak a more reasonable sentencing whether it be House arrest , or just putting a stay on his turn in date to at least give him a chance to heal from the brutal attack he miraculously survived. I'm a big fan of his music and I have a ton of respect and admiration for this man hes a legend and hes brought to light a very serious problem with our prison system.
If you feel this is a unjustifiable sentencing please sign and share this petition we only have a week to make a difference but I believe in the Bay Area and the entire music industry to stand with Keak. Lets work towards making prison about rehabilitation so we can get our citizens in this country after they pay their debts to society back into society as productive members of it. There is a long running abuse of judgement in our state and our country its about time we talked about it and made some changes. I'm a voter, I'm a tax payer, I'm an American citizen , but above all else titles I'm a human and a human with empathy and compassion for a father and a bay area legend and potentially a future victim of a failed system but not if Mr.Becerra steps in.
If you are disappointed in how you are being represented you can voice your opinions to the Attorney General
Xavier Becerra
@
Department of justice
Voice: (916) 210-6276 or
(Toll-free in California)
(800) 952-5225
Fax: (916) 323-5341
heres a link to multiple numbers of the service departments of the attorney general
https://oag.ca.gov/services-info#require
More numbers to call
Attorney General's Office. To contact our office by phone, please call one of our hotlines: General Helpline: 1-800-771-7755. TDD/TTY Toll Free Line: 1-800-788-9898.
761
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on January 31, 2019