Throughout my decades long incarceration, I have heard the following words countless times: “It don’t matter who wins the election,” “politics ain’t got nothing to do with us,” and my personal favorite, “Obama ain’t going to do shit for us.” I could go on and on quoting different variations of the same sentiments, but that would be redundant. The gist is clear — many of the incarcerated do not realize why, or even how much, elections matter.
Elections matter because almost every aspect of our incarceration is controlled by elected officials — from the local State’s Attorney to the President. And our continued lack of understanding in that regard only serves to perpetuate the never-ending cycle of that proverbial revolving door. And, in the worst case scenarios, the door doesn’t even revolve. It just remains shut.
To pry open that door we must first pry open our minds — to some hard realities and some difficult truths — beginning with an understanding that our collective fates are determined by those black robe wearing appointees, and those who appoint them. I’m speaking of the federal judiciary, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the President of the United States. Those Supreme Court Justices interpret, and some would argue make, the laws that control our collective fates. And, yes, that includes on the state level. You’ve heard of trickle down economics? Well, there is also trickle down justice. In other words, the decisions that the Supreme Court makes trickle down to every court in the land.
So, the next time you are pissed off or feeling hopeless because the state supreme court denied your appeal, or the federal district court denied your habeas corpus petition, remember these names: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. Those six U.S. Supreme Court Justices are six of the nine justices that make up the Supreme Court. They are the so-called “conservative majority.” And if some of their recent rulings are any indication, the rights of the incarcerated isn’t high on their list of priorities, and they all just happen to be appointed by republican presidents. Now, I’m not trying to tell you what your political affliation should be, but the empirical evidence strongly supports the proposition that when it comes to the appointment judges, what side of the political aisle that the (elected) president is sitting on matters.
I’ll close with this, and no, it isn’t prison or prison-related, but it is a powerful statement on why elections matter — to everyone.
Love her or hate her — do you think that 10 year old girls impregnated by their rapist would have to flee to another state to have that pregnancy terminated if Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 presidential election? Well, Trump did….Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Coney Barrett…. Elections matter — to all of us.
Tony Enis N82931, P.O. Box 1000, Menard, IL 62259
Website: freetonyenis.com
Facebook: freetonyenis
