During SJS's event with Shyer Maguire about her experience with the criminal justice system, it was evidently clear that this system is in desperate need for change in many ways. Shyer’s son, Zeph, who she calls “the poster child for mass incarceration” is currently serving a fifteen-year-long sentence for being in possession of a firearm after being previously convicted for drug possession twice.
Through her son’s various encounters with the criminal justice system, she has been experienced firsthand what is wrong with the system and needs to be fixed. From sentencing to federal prisons to policies, she talked to us about the current system and how she and her son feel it should be improved.
Zeph inherited his father’s gun collection and had two guns stolen while trying to move them out of his possession. He called the police and was arrested, along with the person who stole the guns, since it was a violation of a previous probation. During his trial, he was told his sentence wouldn’t include the Armed Criminal Career Act if he pled guilty, which would have made the sentence longer.
However, he was still charged using this law, making his sentence fifteen years in federal prison. The Armed Criminal Career Act gives the authority to enhance a sentence to fifteen years if a previous offender has been found in possession of a weapon. In order to do this, the criminal must have had three prior convictions that were either serious drug offenses or violent felonies with a punishment of ten or more years. Since Zeph had previous drug offenses, he qualified for the requirements for his sentence to be enhanced through this Act. The Armed Criminal Career Act is just one example of policies which facilitate and encourage mass incarceration and recidivism in the United States.
After Zeph’s sentence was enhanced, he tried to submit a motion to withdraw his plea. However, Shyer explained that this is a difficult and long process, taking thirteen months for his attorney to even receive a copy of the sentencing hearing transcript he needed to write the appeal. After this, it took a full year for the court to hear oral arguments. As of the writing of this blog post, it has been over a year and a half since those arguments, and the court still has not made a decision.
Shyer asks for everyone to call 202-353-1555 and press the number 9 in order for his appeal to get heard. When you reach the voicemail box, you can say: “I am calling on behalf of Zeph Pitt, Case C293361. Based on the facts of his case, his sentence should be commuted so that he can return home safely to his family where he belongs. Thank you.” Press # when you have finished recording the message. Shyer explained that only high-profile cases are heard and decided, so if more people call, there is a higher chance for his case to come to a decision soon.
Zeph is currently serving his fifteen-year sentence in a federal prison in Texas, which Shyer mentioned is the third most violent in the country. When describing her son’s experience, she recounted his words: “it is hard to be human” in prison. Shyer detailed a conversation with her son in which he had to hang up due to “too many people running around with knives.” She talked about the food he is given, which mostly consists of canned and boxed items.
Given her description of Zeph’s experience, it is evident that prisons don’t treat incarcerated individuals as people worthy of dignity and respect. Shyer even compares the mentality and punishments used in our prisons today to those used in the 17th century, drawing similarities from their harshness. She detailed how Zeph believes that the criminal justice system doesn’t want to reduce crime or rehabilitate convicts, they want to add up convictions and keep prisons full. Both her and Zeph, who has experienced it firsthand, believe the system needs to be more focused on rehabilitation rather than incarcerating as many individuals as possible.
Zeph’s experience with the criminal justice system shows us a small window to everything that needs to be reformed within the U.S. system. Hearing from Shyer was definitely an eye-opening experience and, personally, made me realize how much work still has to be done. There are many more people who suffer as a consequence of the criminal justice system’s wrongdoings, the same way Zeph and his family are suffering. Whether it be sentencing issues or conditions inside federal prisons, there is space to reform the system in some way or another in order for people like Zeph to live a better life.
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