A more perfect Union
Confronting the tyranny that our founding fathers were all too familiar with when they drafted our Constitution
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Thank you and I hope you enjoy today’s post.
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By this point you are most likely familiar with my writing, the kinds of topics I touch upon, and the underlying reasons that propel my efforts onward. Obviously it's impossible for me to be familiar with or know the circumstances of all my readers. Some of you I follow on Twitter, others learned about me or I them through social media, a friend, or someone maybe referred one of us to the other because they thought we would enjoy reading what the other had to say. And regardless of how it came about that our lives have touched, the ideas we share are a form of dialogue that has greatly enriched my life.
Many of you are writers and activists, justice-minded individuals who like myself push for more inclusive dialogue and evidence-based reforms in our justice system. Others are educators, students, legal professionals of some sort, entrepreneurs, and in some instances you may even find yourself incarcerated or formally incarcerated. Some of you are the friends and family of the too many wrongfully convicted that occupy space and resources in our jails and prisons nationwide. And whatever your story or situation may be, I am grateful for what you continue to teach me, and likewise find myself constantly humbled by your ongoing kindness that has manifested itself through the re-tweets, emojis, likes, and the occasional comment of encouragement that I have received on various platforms. To all of you, thank you.
I am addressing you now because we need your help. My legal team, my family, and myself included are going up against the very tyranny that the founding fathers of this nation were all too familiar with when they drafted our Constitution.
Many of you have visited my website where you've reviewed some of the recent legal briefs filed on my behalf, or you've listened to my podcast, or any of the interviews I've given related to my wrongful conviction, which is to say, that most of you have an understanding of what drives me. Yet, to the surprise of many, I don't get out of bed in the morning in pursuit of a different or better life. I have a life, and in this life I am committed and married to the cause of reinventing criminal justice.
Because the truth that is both as infuriating as it is unnecessary is that victims don't have to be victims. Most crime can be prevented. And the only reason it's not, has more to do with political ideology and convenient profits from some at the expense of the many, than it does with actual circumstances. A truth that I find maddening on so many levels because it negates the opening lines of a very dear document that once defined who we are as a nation.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
It occurs to me that all the things that could've been mentioned first after forming a more perfect Union, what's mentioned is to establish Justice. Which shows us the urgency with which our founding fathers perceived the need to protect ourselves from tyranny. Because without justice there is no Tranquility, Welfare, or Blessings of Liberty for us or our Posterity.
Recently, I had a dream that I was standing on the edge of a blue abyss and all that was before me was the clear blue sky. The ground beneath my feet was as firm as a steel bridge, but as I looked down I realized that it wasn't asphalt or steel, in all actuality it was made up of white pages – neatly typed documents that were essentially the bricks beneath my feet. As I kneeled down to get a better look at what I was standing on, I realized that the brick-like documents paving my path over a blue abyss were the very articles and commentary that I publish on Substack. In other words, there I was standing on my own written words and somehow they were keeping me from falling into whatever the blue abyss was.
I share this dream with you because it helps bring into context the urgency of this struggle as it relates to my life, and the lives of the many who are silenced by the walls of prisons across this nation. Even before the dream I have often felt that I am hanging over an abyss of some sort, and the only way to not fall is to not fail. Which accurately describes where we are – in a position where failure isn't an option.
Judge Kea W. Riggs Source: Firstliberty.org
As it stands we are waiting for a decision from the Hon. Kea W. Riggs in the federal district court on the merits of my federal habeas corpus petition. A petition that outlines the very clear constitutional violations that directly led to my wrongful conviction. If you’ve read the briefs then you're probably thinking – this is a no-brainer, you've got this. Your Sixth Amendment right to confront your accuser was obviously violated so, what's the problem?
The problem is, as more lawyers in this state than not have admitted to me, the question of justice in New Mexico is not so much a question of what the law says or how it's interpreted by jurists. Here, justice is dictated by who you are, who you know, and most importantly who would be affected by the ruling. In other words, for justice to be granted in my case, and life, it would require a judge to not only adhere to the law but be willing to expose law-enforcement and colleagues in the legal profession to an enormous amount of scrutiny from the public, and potentially from future legal inquiries, as well. Because people will want to know how it was possible for detectives, their supervisors, prosecutors, an elected DA, an experienced judge, and the list goes on, to all have managed to close their eyes at the same time to avoid seeing the blatant and intentional injustice taking place before them.
You don't hear about this case in the mainstream media because most editorial boards are too conservative to call into question the legitimacy of literally dozens, if not hundreds, of investigations handled by these same actors. It's much easier to believe the noble lie than to accept the harsh truth. The noble lie being that it's better to ignore my wrongful conviction if it means that people will continue to believe in the lie that our judicial system is fair and just.
When the truth is, prosecutors regularly sign off on whatever or whoever the detectives put in front of them as a guilty party for whatever crime, unless said individual has strong legal representation and the resources to contradict their groupthink and presumptions of guilt.
And the powers that be don't think we could handle this truth.
I am quoting many attorneys who have all told me the same thing when I presented to them over the years the intentional, constitutional violations that led to my wrongful conviction. “New Mexico is a small legal community.” The translation, for those of us who might not be fluent in the language of graft and corruption: for a lawyer to fight for the merits of my innocence and constitutional claims is for a lawyer to willingly burn bridges of etiquette in a legal community capable of turning on outliers and destroying careers.
Which brings us to a doorway of a very sad truth: justice isn't just a question of having the law on your side; it's a question of being before a jurist who is brave enough to do the right thing and adhere to that law. And yet, we are cautiously optimistic precisely because we are no longer in the state courts.
We also have no cause to believe that the Hon. Kea W. Riggs is anything other than an “honorable,” shining star of jurisprudence. If we're cautious it's only because the record clearly shows us nearly two decades of juriscorruption in New Mexico courts, and at the end of the day, we are still in New Mexico.
Which brings us to why we need your support. The more resources we have, the louder and more difficult it becomes for courts to ignore the legitimacy of our claims. If you read something I write that you like, please, by all means, share it with as many people as you can. And, if you feel like my writing brings value to our societal dialogue on the need for criminal justice reform, then please don't hesitate to make a onetime donation on my FundRazr page. Because the minimum donation amount ($2) makes a world of difference. We the People can never be defeated so long as we never lose sight of what it means to pursue a more perfect Union. And Justice is the crucial element in determining just how perfect our Union is.
I appreciate you all, thank you.
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