How Unjust Drug Policy and Systemic Racism Created a Class of Innocent Felons
LitHub, July 22, 2022: How Unjust Drug Policy and Systemic Racism Created a Class of Innocent Felons
“The first time I met Chris Clemente was at Green Haven Correctional Facility, a maximum-security men’s prison in New York. Hours after our meeting, he wrote me this letter on February 29, 2000:
“‘A funny thing happened to me a little while ago. For the first time since I was arrested 10 years ago, two C.O.’s [Corrections Officers] came in and did a special cell search looking for some kind of specific contraband. I’m still wondering why it transpired… I hope I haven’t gotten into any trouble unawares. I’ll definitely be praying about this and asking God to see me through,’ he wrote.
“Chris didn’t need to turn to a higher power for an explanation. It was all my fault. I was the reason for the frightening and invasive cell search. While trying to tell his story, I had unintentionally put Chris Clemente—former Ivy League undergraduate turned Inmate #91-A-1577—in harm’s way. It’s been more than two decades since I received his letter and I still feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach every time I read it. How could I have made things even worse for him? The unfortunate combination of my hubris and my inexperience had put Chris in jeopardy.”
Additional reading:
The New York Times, February 27, 1991: Former College Student Sentenced in Drug Case
The Village Voice, May 12, 1998: New York’s Drug-Law Debacle
