ConComCorp.com Blog

I start by apologizing for the long period of time that has elapsed between the last posting and this one. Unfortunately we’ve suffered some real life threatening illness in our family, and there just weren’t sufficient hours in the day to keep up with the Blog.  Happily the situation has resolved to the point where we can now continue with weekly postings.

The newest and best thing that has happeend over the past two months is the formation of a not for profit corporation…New Hope Scholarships, Inc. (Web Site www.newhopescholarships.org). Through New Hope, and with the help of inmates, their families and friends, and those in the community who care, we plan to provide educational assistance, both academic and technical to freedom challenged persons. The answer to the high recidivism rates lies not in building more prisons, but rather in educating prison populations so that when they are released, they will be possessed with marketable skills, and  finding decent employment won’t be as much of a chore. Next week we’ll tell you how you canhelp us help them.

     As I sat in the holding cell I was shaking.  My breath labored in gasps as the marshall called my name.  “Zoukis”‘ he called.  I stood up and followed him into the courtroom where my fate would be sealed.  Although it wasn’t a courtroom, but an auditorium of sorts, who was on the menu?  Me, that’s who.  Who was the entertainment?  Me, just me.

     As I walked to the table where both of my lawyers sat, I saw the audience.  Twenty-five or so of my closest friends and family.  They sat in the chairs behind me, just twenty feet away; so close, but so far.  To my right sat my adversary, the prosecutor.  Funny if you think about it, the one who persecutes.  Saul must of been like this before he became Paul.

     I sat in my chair with my back to my family.  The court jester stands and calls all to rise.  His majesty, the judge hobbles in and slumps down into his large, black leather chair.  In his old age the chair just about swallows him whole.  The court is in session.

     My name is spoken, the charges too.  By now I am in a cold sweat.  My knees tremble, my breath catches in my throat.  Over my shoulder I see my aunt crying.  The tears well up in my eyes and the speaking begins.

     I am accused of this and that.  I am torn apart.  I have been reduced to a dog.  As they kick me time and time again, I sink deeper and deeper into my chair.  My leg cuffs feel sharp on my ankles.  Now it is our turn.

     Strong and tall my lawyers do battle.  They hold their own; blow for blow.  It’s my turn now.  I slide forward.  I speak the words I’ve spoken for months now.  My memory kicks in.  I am so sorry, I have learned from the errors of my ways.  My actions were stupid, not criminal.  I shuffle my pages through one by one until I am done with the fifth.

     Words are spoken, my fate is sealed; one hundred and fifty one months, no light.  One hundred and fifty months; now there is no fight.  My breathing is labored, my hands are shaking.  I am held by the arms and stumble away to my dungeon; the holding cell.

     A day of days.

The above was written by Christopher Zoukis, an inmate at FCI Petersburg Med, in Petersburg, VA 23804.

     This is a subject that seriously merits consideration and attention.  As parents, uncles, brothers, sisters, aunts, cousings and grandparents, the responsibility for our children and their future is ours.  It seems that somewhere in between the generations something went terribly wrong!  The order and structure in the urban household diminished and we as parents as a consequence lost our control.  Most of we men were either incarcerated or murdered, living “The Life”, leaving our women to fend for one, two, maybe three or many more children as well as herself.  Sure we all know that for hundreds of years our women have truly been the strength of creation, raising and nurturing our nations.  Some of us so-called men have even put hands on to see just how strong these precious gems were.  I don’t speak as a matter of condoning this action, I’m simply stating a fact and touching upon topics that most don’t care to address.  No one wants to expose their faults and weaknesses, therefore I’ve decided to break the silence once and for all.

     ATTENTION PEOPLE!!!  I’m speaking to all people, not just one culture.  The problems and blatant disrespect we’re experiencing in our beloved communities is sickening and we have the power to change this dilemma and reclaim our just authority within our own households and beyond.  Why I speak of the household so much is because as I reflect back to my childhood, I remember the first lessons in authority I witnessed were there.  My mother was a no nonesense woman, my grandfather was the same as was my grandmother.  What brings me to this subject now is the fact that so many, too many households are over-ruled by the children.  Sure when I grew up Dad wasn’t around, but that didn’t mean a damn thing because Mom made up the difference.  She took on dual roles in our household and for the most part it worked.  Granted though there’s nothing like having your dad there to guide you through the tough times and to teach you the way to go.  That is what brings me to this point.

     To those of whom this applies, you have to stop being the thorough-ass parents, and or grandparents.  There’s no time to be friends to our babies before we teach them that we’re most importantly the authority of the household; the person that is in control.  They need to know that above all else.  We are first and foremost the parents who love and protect them endlessly.  This way they aren’t growing up believing that we’re these so-called laid back careless people.  Our daughters are the most precious because it’s through them that the future will exist.  Our boys are just as significantly valuable because they will have to protect our girls, and the babies that come after.  You can’t continue to allow the influence of the outside to take hold of our babies people!!!  Can’t you see that these law makers and court systems are desisgned to tear families apart with incarceration just the way the “Slave Masters” did our ancestors back in the days?!  They would have their “Auctions” and sell our great-grandfathers off to slave owners way across the map so that they could have their way with our women.  There’s an old quote that says “If you sever the head the body will fall flat.”  This is the case with us people, we need to open our eyes and realize that these people are building these new prisons for the future warehousing of our babies, and their babies; especially here in Pennsylvania where there are a huge number of prisoners throughout the state. 

Some of today young parents may not know the right ways to reach the babies because they’re considered too far gone.  It’s not rocket science people!!  These are the same precious babies that come from us.  We can’t allow them too much room to do as they please because this gives them too much room to quote, unquote “Do Them”.  This is a recipe for diaster, nothing more, nothing less.  There’s no way our children should be afraid of expressing themselves for fear of being lashed with a belt, or cursed out as if they are grown.  Our young boys should be involved in sports and recreational programs to exert most of this energy they are filled with.  They shouldn’t be exposed to the vulgar language that is so commonly used in our homes.  It’s sad to say but most of us take better care of the things that we acquire materialistically than we do our own precious babies.  Think about it!!  I’m not telling any lies.  We value our shoes, clothes, jewels, cars, etc. more than the seeds that exist through our DNA!  How real is that?  People…if we don’t get our priorities in order then we might as well get our affairs right with the insurance company.  Put some lawyer and commisary money up because the inevitable will be knocking on your door and smacking you in the face as you sleep.  If you treat a twelve year old as you would a twenty year old, then you’re establishing a friendship and not a parental foundation.  Please people, let’s get ourselves in order and take back our responsibility in the household so that we can keep our children safe and out of these modern day plantations.  Instead let’s invest our greatest energy into our babies because they are our future.  It is through them that we will live on!

A. Try talking with them and not at them.

B. You have to listem to them with your heart.

C. Don’t instill fear in them, they will hate you for it.

D.  Most importantly show them that they can trust you and that you love them unconditionally.

     Remember communication is essential.  They’re our babies but they’ll grow up to have an opinion a lot sooner than you might think, and you have to respect that.

     Come on people…let’s keep our children safe!!!

                                    Raheem “Pete” Shackelford, father, son, brother, uncle, leader!!!

The above was written by an inmate from the Smithfield SCI, P. O. Box 999, 1120 Pike Street, Huntingdon, PA 16652.  Inmate number EC-1500.

I asked people to imagine the slow tormenting pain of waiting for death in a ready made tomb, called a prison cell.  I also understand that hurt people tend to hurt people as a means of dealing with their own pain.  So naturally there will be some who feel with everything inside them that those convicted of the act in taking anothers’ life deserves all the pain they’re getting.  Even without knowing how or why certain events took place, people still feel as though someone must pay for the crime committed.  By paying for the crime, I mean someone must suffer.Is this rational thinking or a reactionary surge of emotions caused by the pain of loss??  If it is rational then could it be said to be a premeditated thought waiting to be engaged??  Where is the humanity in that!?!  Of course if it is reactionary, then some time to forgive the act is needed, but the event is never forgotten.  RIGHT??

     Look in the mirror, look at who you are and think of how you’ve come to be this person.  Think of the things that transpired, the people whom you’ve encountered, and the experiences that have helped to mold and change you into who you see in that mirror.  Has there never been a time when you were in need of some one’s forgiveness??  Or placed in a position where despite the feeling you were asked to forgive someone else??  Maybe you experienced an event, or several events which changed the way you now look at people and perceive your own life??  Look into the mirror again.  This time look deep into your eyes and think of the most traumatic thing you had to endure in your life…Now thank God for His mercy in allowing you to make it through.  At the same time truly humble yourself in realizing that everyone did not make it through their traumatic experience.  For those who survived, the mental and emotional anguish may be slowly killing their souls.  Think about that for a moment as you look into the mirror.

     Again, hurt people hurt other people, so for some there will never be room in their heart for for forgiveness.  For those people I pray God’s love fully embraces their pain to free them from the prison’s of hatred and rage…That tomb is worse than the one in which I reside.  Those who look for justification to submit another to suffer for what is said to be right.  Is it really right??  We tell children that two wrongs won’t make a thing right, yet as adults we use those two wrongs to make what’s not right, feel better.  Really does it feel better and for how long??  The pain is never completely gone when dealing with the loss of a loved one.  A picture, a song on the radio, a place, a conversation, the time of year.  Almost anything can and will be a reminder.  Yet you live and love, you laugh and cry, you give and receive all the things needed to keep the pain in a dormant state.

Now , I implore you for just a moment to think about those of “US” who are too grieving but without the beauties of life to help suppress the pains. Grieving in a place where love is an after thought., that sometimes you forget exists. Where the affection is misplaced and often misconstrued by orgasm slaves who indulge in homosexual acts.  Where guards more often than not become intellectual bullies in attempts at emasculating men….their definition of respect. Where physical altercations are a right of passage, and where the weak are preyed upon with volatile acts of vengeance, because hurt people, hurt people. Where for one to grow beyond that, and having thoughts larger than the cave in which he lives is considered insanity. To humble ones self enough enough to exist amongst the masses of criminal chaos, should be commended. But the reality is that it’s not even a second or third thought in the minds of the communities some of “US” will return to. Just think about it!?!?

I’m not looking for sympathy. I am however, looking for that same forgiveness given, and The Second Chance said to be this country’s greatness. What I seek is mercy from those merciless hearts who hurt people for hurting people, and call it justice.

                                                                                      By: Aaron Major CJ-6184

                                                                                               PA. L.W.O.P.  1992-?

                                                                                                The Other Death Penalty

We are in the proces of putting together a piece about Supervised Release and Probation in the federal and state systems. Any contributions of favorable and/or horror stories is appreciated.

We have been asked numerous times why our company no longer accepts collect calls from prisons. Hopefully the following will satisfactorily resolve that question.
When we started this business, we thought of ourselves not as vendors of goods and services to those who are incarcerated, but rather advocates who have the ability to assist inmates and their families through what for most of them, is among the hardest, and most trying period of their lives. The goods and services we sell are intended to finance the other stuff we try to accomplish on behalf of our clients and their loved ones; not that we’d object to turning a bit of a profit now and then. Unfortunately, the results to date have been very disheartening. Firstly, our good nature, and attempts to provide incarcerated people with a means for reaching us quickly fell flat on its face after only a few months. Many, simply do not give a darn about their fellow inmates, or about the cost of what they do….as long as they aren’t the ones paying the tab. Until last month we accepted collect calls. The purpose of accepting collect calls was to allow inmates to get to us in emergencies when they needed to get a message to a family member quickly and/or for emergency purposes. We wouldn’t call forward nor third party a call but we’d relay and/or obtain and pass information family related information. We’d also accept collect calls for the purpose of an inmate placing an order with us. The New York and the CT inmates took our kindness for weakness, and rung up thousands of dollars in nonsense calls. We finally had to stop accepting the calls or risk going belly up as a very real possibility. Interestingly, after we stopped accepting collect calls and they were on their dime, very few of those who would call us two or three times a day found it important to call us ever again. Many thousands of dollars later we’ve stopped accepting collect calls, and these days we hardly receive prepaid calls from the NY, NJ, CT markets.
It has taken a long time for us to be accepted among our constituency as a company that is going to do what we say we are going to do, and within reason, when we say we are going to do it. Given the numbers of orders we handle every day our screw ups are few, and we really do endeavor to correct whatever mistakes we make. We really try to bend over backwards to the end of keeping our clients and their families happy with our services. If any one has any ideas with respect to how to make things better, we are always willing to listen.

     Imagine someone you love plugged into a machine which keeps them alive.  How would that make you feel?  Imagine being the one who has to pull the plug to end their life?  Could you do it?  Would you want to do it, or would you search for some alternative?  Heartfelt decisions are hard to make and are thought out thoroughly before being acted on.

There are groups of people around the world who are against the death penalty, trying to abolish its very existence.  These people thought long and hard about the inhumanity in sentencing someone to death, considering it a merciless act.  They would rather have a person sentenced to the rest of his or her life incarcerated.  Which of course sounds better than being put to death.  However a life sentence is not a lesser evil in this scenario.  Actually it is almost exactly the same thing, give or take some fundamental differences.  Having been sentenced to L.W.O.P., which in most states is until death, I know first hand that a life sentence is merely a slow and agonizing wait to die.  Imagine being told that you have an option of being buried alive, and have to wait to die, or you could be killed now and then buried.  Which would you choose?

A life sentence is another death sentence, just worded in a fashion that sounds less horrific, but by no means is it any less stressful, tormenting, or psychologically trying.  I would never attempt to make light of being sentenced to death.  I can only imagine the spiritually depleting feeling of those faced with such an atrocity.  It is too serious a matter to ignore, yet in that same breath a life sentence is its close relative, sometimes just as inhumane, atrocious, mentally exhausting, and plain cruel.  Yet this harsh sentencing is an often ignored topic of conversation when speaking of unjust punishments.  Ultimately you are still waiting to die in a ready made tomb.  Decades pass while you’re watching life without really being a part of it.   What is worse is since there are not many activists speaking out about this  other death penalty, you can easily become lost and forgotten in the system.

Now imagine having nothing to eat and slowly starving to death, then imagine having nothing to eat and slowly starving to death while watching other people eat.  A life sentence means until death…no matter how much you’ve grown, matured, and changed for the better.  You still sit in agony waiting for death to release you from this soul crushing ordeal.  How much more inhumane is that?  Imagine what must go through one’s mind?  Counting calendars and seeing the world change around you but not being able to participate in it.  Being told indirectly that what you have to offer is not good for society, peers, friends, or family.  Imagine being put on punishment forever, watching life through a window yet never being allowed to live outside of that reality.

Again I am in no way making light of the cruelty in having a death sentence.  I could not fathom such a plight.  It is well beyond my thoughts, but close to my heart as I understand the hopeless feeling one often must fight against.  I know very personally the heart aching pain of never seeing certain loves ones again in life.  The attempts at rearing children with words of encouragment, without being present.  Being affectionately malnourished and emotionally distant from all you care about.  I also need to be reminded that my existence still matters to those who love me,  being seen as a man, a human being and not just another body to fill a bed for some financial gain.  In the midst of all that I wonder who cares for those of us serving the other death penalty????

By Mr. Aaron Major #CJ-6184, Pa. L.W.O.P.  1992-?, The Other Death Penalty

There truly is no excuse for not posting a Blog for what is now over one month. By way of explaination however, I’d like you to know that my husband had been quite ill. He required surgery to remove a Cacerous Tumor, and he will require some further surgery down the road, both for his Heart and the Cancer. In the interim, we temporarily lost our number one office assistant. Our daughter, Mare left to have her baby. We are now the proud garndparents of little Jada…maybe not so little..she weighted in at 9 pounds, two ounces. It has taken all my time and then some just to keep up, or at least not fall too far behind the Con Communications business mail. We receive about 20 to 50 e-mails a day, and approximately 50 pieces of mail. All require some action. In the  past we’ve tried to respond within 24 hours. I’m now running about a week or so behind. Hopefully that situation will soon change for the better.

                                                                        Reform Ecstasy Sentencing Now

If you or someone you know has been sentenced (or will be) under the federal guidelines, there is important information available regarding the disproportional sentences MDMA offenders receive compared to other more harmful drugs. The circumstances surrounding MDMA sentencing are similar to reasons that compelled the Sentencing Commission to amend guidelines on four previous occasions. ( Most recently, the crack cocaine amendment 2007).

MDMA (ecstasy) Sentencing Information:

MDMA has fewer related fatalities than nearly all the other drugs on the equivilency table, with MDMA having less than .50 of 1% of drug abuse fatalities and 2% to 3% of what is attributed to cocaine. (As reported the the Government’s foremost reporting agency DAWN – Drug Abuse Warning Network) There is also a  recent report by the British Government’s, Advisory Counsel on the Misuse of Drugs, affirming these facts.

Yet , MDMA sentences are calculated at (2 1/2 ) times that of cocaine at the gram level and five times on a dose comparative basis.  Even heroin, has a lower dose to dose ratio. This contravenes the sole purpose of the equivilancy table…to provide proportionate ratios based on a harm compatrative basis.  The empirical (medical/scientific) data proves categorically that MDMA is not as harmful as cocaine and heroin.

In plain language the guidelines are flawed; the marijuana equivilant used to calculate MDMA sentences is disproportionate to its proven harm and creates the very disparity the guidelines were established to correct.

There is a current proposal being drafted to the Sentencing Commission to amend the guidelines back to the original ratio (35 to 1, from the current 500 to 10).  We are in discussions with a former US Attorney and a former

“A Man Working Hard To Maintain His Sanity”

I am not quite sure how I should introduce myself. I understand the value of first impressions. Do allow me to give u a brief summary of the darkness that has surrounded my state of being over the years.

I will commence by stating my name is: Johnny Jahya Harris and I am currently serving a sentence at SCI-Forest. I am engaged in a battle to overcome this sentence, that was imposed upon me by this bloodthirsty state of Pennsylvania.  I was convicted without any physical evidence linking me to this crime. This state, through zealous prosecution and persecution, managed to attain a conviction on their third try; two prior trials resulted in Hung Juries/mistrials. As well as, a part of this sentence being vacated and another unjust sentence being imposed.

When dealing with an unjust and wicked system of oppression, you are faced with many evils that will not stop until they have you imprisoned.

It’s an ongoing struggle for life each day in this environment, as it was, when I was a free young man on the streets of Philadelphia (Philly). However, I offer these words because a human heart can only be torn asunder for so long, before it’s hardened and the fighting positive spirit deteriorates to the point where a human being becomes, someone other than himself.

The psychological torture I’m forced to endure, can only be sustained but for so long before it starts taking me under.

As a man working hard to maintain his sanity, I’m reaching out to you (those who are caring and willing to help save a good heart) for whatever support that can be given, to a man in my position!

I must keep fighting against this system, in order to maintain a sense of balance in life. This way, I won’t fall victim to this diabolical place. I don’t want to fall into the deep dark waters of (hatred, ignorance, and deceit) that besiege my vitality. This is why I am extending my hand out to you, in order to keep my mind where it should be, on productive matters.

It’s my sincere hope that you will take the time to engage me in some serious dialogue. These words are not sent to garner sympathy, because the light of truth shall shine over my head one day.

                Submitted By Inmate:

                                                  Johnny Yahya Harris CF-5206

                                                                       SCI Forest, Box 945, Marienville, PA 

                                                                         16239