July 29, 2015
Page 7
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O PINION
Non-violent Drug Offenders Belong at Home
Second
chances are as
American as
baseball
J OHN K IRIAKOU
I love baseball. I
have since I was a
kid. And I’m lucky to
be married to a wom-
an who loves the game as much
as I do.
We recently attended the
86th annual Major League All
Star Game in Cincinnati. As
part of the opening ceremonies,
the Cincinnati Reds honored
what they called the Franchise
Four, the four greatest players
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Bench, Joe Morgan, Barry Lar-
kin, and Pete Rose.
Bench, Morgan, and Larkin
are members of professional
baseball’s Hall of Fame. Rose,
on the other hand, is banned
from baseball for life. Despite
being one of the greatest hit-
BY
ters and toughest players in the
game’s history, he may never
get this distinction. Why?
Because he gambled. Rose
admitted in the late 1980s that
he’d bet on baseball games,
including his own. Even
though he bet on his team
to win, and never threw a
game, this broke baseball’s
rules.
The 50,000 fans in Cin-
cinnati went completely
crazy when Rose’s name was
called. Hearing them chant
“Hall of Fame! Hall of Fame!”
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I thought about second chanc-
es.
I work in Washington, D.C.
— the City of Second Chances.
Just ask any politician caught
cheating on his taxes, exposed
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busted in an affair with an in-
tern or underage page. They
usually go before the voters,
hat in hand, issue a mea culpa,
and get on with their lives.
Most of the time charges are
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cases.
Former Deputy Secretary of
State Richard Armitage, for ex-
ample, was never charged for
leaking the name of CIA op-
erative Valerie Plame, whose
husband had written a critical
commentary of the last Bush
administration.
the 3,278 Americans serving
life sentences without parole
for non-violent crimes that can
be remarkably petty — includ-
ing stealing a jacket or serving
as the middleman in a $10 mar-
ijuana transaction. Don’t they
deserve a second chance?
What about the hundreds of
thousands of people current-
What about the hundreds of
thousands of people currently
incarcerated as non-violent drug
offenders? They make up half
of all federal inmates. Shouldn’t
they get a second chance too?
Scooter Libby, a former aide
to Vice President Dick Cheney,
was convicted of four felonies
related to the case. But thanks
to President George W. Bush
commuting his sentence, Libby
didn’t serve a minute in prison.
The same can’t be said for
ly incarcerated as non-violent
drug offenders? They make
up half of all federal inmates.
Shouldn’t they get a second
chance too?
A second chance for them
might mean keeping their fam-
ilies intact, saving their jobs,
and sustaining their contribu-
tions to their communities. It
might mean allowing them to
maintain a relationship with
their children or keep employ-
ing people in their businesses.
It would also save taxpayers a
bundle instead of wasting mon-
ey to lock up people who aren’t
dangerous.
Politicians always seem to
get second chances. Just ask
David Vitter, Donald Trump,
and Mark Sanford about that.
And Pete Rose — who still
autographs baseballs with “I’m
sorry I bet on baseball” — sure
seems to have gotten a sec-
ond chance from the people of
Cincinnati, if not from Major
League Baseball.
It’s time to extend average
Americans the same courtesy.
Just as Pete Rose belongs in the
Hall of Fame, non-violent drug
offenders belong at home with
their families.
OtherWords columnist John
Kiriakou is an associate fellow
at the Institute for Policy Stud-
ies.
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What parents
must do this
summer
D R . J AWANZA K UNJUFU
There is a three
year gap between
black and white stu-
dents. Many people
love to believe it’s
due to income, fa-
therlessness, educa-
tional attainment of
the parent and lack of parental
involvement. I believe a major
reason for the gap is we con-
tinue to close schools for the
summer as if we are an agrar-
ian economy.
Very few black youth will
be farming this summer. If
you multiply three months by
12 years you will see the three
year gap. There is nothing
wrong with black youth if their
schools remained open during
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ents kept them academically
engaged.
BY
Middle-income parents who
value education enroll their
children in some type of aca-
demic experience during the
summer. They also visit librar-
ies, museums, zoos and col-
leges. Other parents allow their
children to sleep longer,
play more video games,
watch more television
and play basketball until
they can’t see the hoop.
These students will have
to review the same work
they had mastered in
May in September.
Black parents cannot allow
their child to lose three months
every year. Black parents can-
not say they cannot afford the
library. It’s free! Most muse-
ums have discounted days. A
male friend of mine shared his
experience with me when he
took his family to the museum.
He wondered why so many
people were staring at him. His
wife and children had to tell
him he was the only black man
in the building! I am appealing
to every father to take his chil-
dren this summer to the library,
museum, and the zoo. I am ap-
pealing to every mother if he
won’t, you will.
We need every parent to
make sure their child reads at
least one book per week and
to write a book report. I am
reminded of the formula Son-
ya Carson used to develop
Ben Carson to become the best
pediatric neurosurgeon. This
low-income single parent, with
a third grade education, had
enough sense to tell her sons
to turn off the television, read a
book and write a report that her
sister would grade!
I have a theory that I can
go into your house and within
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of student who lives there and
predict their future. I believe
that engineers, doctors, law-
yers, accountants etc. need
different items in their house
than ballplayers, rappers, and
criminals. I am very concerned
when I visit a house that has
more cd’s and downloads than
books.
My company African Amer-
ican Images has designed a
special collection of books
for boys. Research shows one
of the major reasons boys dis-
like reading is because of the
content. The set is titled Best
Books for Boys. We also have
one for girls, parents and teach-
ers.
Enjoy your summer. Let’s
close the gap. I look forward
to your child’s teacher asking
your child what did you do for
the summer? And your child
answering we went to the li-
brary, museum, zoo, colleges
and other great educational
places.
Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu is au-
thor of There is Nothing Wrong
With Black Students, Changing
School Culture for Black Males
and Raising Black Boys.
The Law Offices of
Patrick John Sweeney, P.C.
Patrick John Sweeney
Attorney at Law
1549 SE Ladd
Portland, Oregon
Portland:
Hillsoboro:
Facsimile:
Email:
(503) 244-2080
(503) 244-2081
(503) 244-2084
Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com