By Adriana R., Age 17
My name is Adriana, and I am a 17-year-old African American child from Riverside County, California. I have never seen my father face to face… When I was still in my mother’s belly, my father was arrested for a case that would forever impact my life and upbringing.
On December 18, 2005, my father, then just 23, got into an altercation with another man at a liquor store. While the facts of the case are sketchy, an argument ensued, which resulted in him shooting at the victim. He didn’t injure him, but the incident left 4 bullet holes in the victim’s car. The judge then sentenced my father to a lifetime in prison. This was only his second strike.
He’s served 18 years so far… in a crime that was indeed deserving of punishment and rehabilitation, yet not for as long as he has been gone. My whole entire life. And he killed no one, injured no one. I officially turn 18 in late August. Instead of having personal memories of my father being at my birthdays, graduations, and holidays, all I have are pictures and letters from various addresses and state prisons.
Although he’s been in prison my whole life, I’m proud of my father. He overcame his addiction and immaturity and now stands as a pillar of his prison community. In college, he created and facilitated programs, mentored youth, and worked with administrators as part of the advisory council. How am I to understand or believe in justice?
It’s sad for me to think that if only my father were a white man, he would have been treated so differently. I’m puzzled by how my father is serving 55 years to life. Most white people who commit similar crimes can get plea agreements for reduced charges and far less time with a guaranteed release date rather than “life” on the end of their sentence.
This has personally impacted my family and me, by forcing us to see that we are not all created equal and to embrace the reality that racism still exists. I am also afraid that my father may die in prison.
I hope with the passage of RJA that the disparities in my father’s sentence can be examined, and my father be granted a similar sentence of those whose offenses had a similar impact. This will bring me an opportunity to know my father outside the confines of prison, and finally allow me to hug him for the very first time.
