“Some have been thought brave because they were afraid to run away.” – Thomas Fuller



Can you believe that 2007 will be over in a matter of hours? As cliche as it may sound, it really does feel like 2006 ended just yesterday.

In many ways, 2007 has been a rough year for me. Doubt, despair, disappointment, and death have all conspired against my faith and will. I have experienced a number of personal and professional setbacks that have sent me reeling. But, to quote Talib Kweli, even as I suffer losses, I choose to count the victories.

And there are many.

Over the past 12 months, I have grown as an intellectual, friend, and father. I have been able to work more closely with organizations and causes that matter to me. I have met many new people and encountered opportunities that would have been unimaginable one year ago. This blog has continued to grow in readership and allowed me to explore ideas that are outside of my normal scholarly gaze. Through a variety of outlets, I’ve been fortunate enough to have access to public conversations about critical issues in our lives. In many ways, I’m living the life I imagined. And for that, I’m grateful.

Next year, the blog will continue to grow. In the upcoming months, radical changes will be made to the site layout. Several new writers are scheduled to join the Barbershop as weekly columnists. Although I am exhausted from the rigors of daily blogging, I also promise to write original pieces more regularly.

Most importantly, I want to thank everyone for their love, support, and concern. I am consistently humbled by the beauty and grace that I see in all of you. It is my sincerest hope that 2008 provides you with everything that you deserve.

Bright Moments,

marc

Today’s “What’s the Science?” is devoted to the 2007 calendar year. By all accounts, 2007 was a fascinating year in sports, politics, and entertainment. From Paris Hilton’s incarceration to Jennifer Hudson’s Oscar, from the Don Imus controversy to Michael Vick’s dog fighting charges, there was no shortage of interesting news. What were the biggest stories of 2007? What were the biggest surprises? What were the biggest disappointments?

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE?

For those that don’t know, activist and blogger Keith Boykin has decided to discontinue his daily blog.
After years of holding down one of the best sites on the web, Keith has decided to devote more time to writing books and maintaining his considerable activist presence. While I understand his decision (after all, daily blogging can be a major pain in the ass), I’m still going to miss his brilliant and unique voice.

GOOD LUCK KEITH!!!

The U.S. has the most prisoners and the highest jailing rate of any country — the insanity must stop.

Millions in the Slammer: We Must Reverse America’s Zeal to Incarcerate
By Nomi Prins
The movie Atonement is a heart-breaking love-story, a historical WWII saga. Without giving away the ending, which must be seen to be adequately felt, it tells the tale of two lovers’ lives irrevocably changed by false testimony against one of them — for a crime he did not commit. Thus, it’s also a condemnation of unreliable witnesses, the willingness of people to believe the worst, particularly of those in a lower economic-class, and the havoc that a false accusation and conviction can wreak upon human life. It’s a film and message that every judge, jury member, and prosecutor should see and consider before convicting or sentencing anyone accused of a crime.

On December 10th, the United States Supreme Court voted 7-2 to recognize a gross injustice with respect to sentencing guidelines which disproportionately penalize those convicted of crack versus cocaine related crimes. The disparity gives equal punishment to a person caught with 5 grams of crack (a poor person’s cocaine) and one caught with 500 grams of coke (a drug dealer’s amount). In their validation of a federal district judge’s below-guideline sentence for a crack case, the Supreme Court reconfirmed the 2005 Booker ruling that federal judges could have more discretion in levying below-guideline sentences. They did not rule on the validity of the guidelines themselves.

This decision should be viewed as the tip of an iceberg. American prisons teem with non-violent prisoners. Our juries are caught between wanting to rush home for the evening and wanting to appear law-abiding. Members are too quick to bow to the loudest voice amongst them, and not necessarily in The Twelve Angry Men direction. Meanwhile, false convictions, due to witness error, prosecutorial misconduct, inferior defense lawyers or coerced “snitching,” continue to destroy multiple generations of lives. They throw the idea of “equal protection under the law” under the same bus as our Declaration of Independence mantra of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

We’ve simply got to reverse this zeal to incarcerate. The United States has more inmates and a higher incarceration rate than any other nation: more than Russia, South Africa, Mexico, Iran, India, Australia, Brazil and Canada combined. Nearly 1 in every 136 US residents is in jail or prison. That’s 2.2 million people, an amount that quadrupled from 1980 to 2005. (There were only 340,000 people incarcerated in 1972.) Adding in figures for those on probation or parole, the number reaches 7.1 million.

Over the next five years, the American prison population is projected to increase three times more quickly than our resident population. The Federal Prison system is growing at 4% per year with 55% of federal prisoners serving time for drug offenses, and only 11% for violent crimes. Women are more likely than men (29% to 19%) to serve drug sentences, dismantling thousands of families. One-third of prisoners are first time, non-violent offenders. Three-quarters are non-violent offenders with no history of violence. More than 200,000 are factually innocent. Whether our citizens are wrongly incarcerated or exaggeratedly so, our prison figures are shameful.

For the rest of the story, click here.