NEW YORK, NY – In an Opinion piece published in The New York Times, Joseph Sanchez, an incarcerated writer, writes about, after being incarcerated for 17 years, whether cases like his deserve a second look.
The Op-Ed states, “At 21, I was a full-time college student. I also sold drugs and carried guns. In the early-morning hours of April 7, 2007, I was shot on a Bronx street, along with two other people. I survived. One person didn’t. The third, who was badly injured, gave testimony at trial that suggested I shot everyone, including myself. Based on that, I was convicted of all charges.”
Sanchez adds, “I maintain my innocence, but I am not here to convince you of that. Innocent-man narratives often discount the need for reforms to help all people, including guilty people. I want to tell you instead about the person I have become over the past 17 years in prison and the people I have met here.”
Sanchez then, in the NY Times Op-Ed, discusses his circumstances at Sullivan Correctional Facility in New York with maximum security.
Sanchez discloses, “I’m incarcerated with men who have earned college degrees while incarcerated and who fill their days with volunteer work. Despite bettering our lives — or aging out of criminal behavior — we have no opportunity to demonstrate our rehabilitation outside of parole hearings that may come decades in the future.”
The Times Op-Ed notes so-called “Second Look laws” that would help benefit those incarcerated with situations similar to Sanchez.
Sanchez writes that, in New York, “The state’s Second Look legislation would allow judges to weigh factors like victim impact statements, age, whether the prisoners were penalized for bringing their cases to trial (instead of accepting a plea bargain) and participation in rehabilitation programming when considering sentence reductions.”
He shares “After I was arrested in 2007, I waited on Rikers Island for four years before my case went to trial,” noting delayed justice.
However, “When my case finally went to trial, it took just six days,” Sanchez shares.
Sanchez closes his Times Op-Ed by disclosing, “It seemed as though it wasn’t just my freedom on the table. They also judged my humanity and foreclosed anything I would ever become. I was sentenced to the maximum: 50 years to life.”
