Monday, February 17, 2014

A Letter to the Parole Board



This is the victim impact letter I am sending to the Parole Board in Syracuse.  I thought I would share with you that results of lots of thinking and finally sat down last night to write it.  

Dear Parole Board,

I am writing this letter as a victim impact statement to be considered at the upcoming parole hearing of Jamie Morton, Inmate number 88C0405. On August 31, 1987 Mr. Morton stole the future I was building with my fiancĂ©, Linda Akers, when he chose to murder her in a senseless and brutal act.   

Mr. Morton violently beat and stabbed Linda for no reason except to vent his anger at a world he felt was unfair.  But more then stealing Linda and my future, he took a light out of the world.  Linda’s work with young children, especially during her time at the Bishop Foery Foundation, was focused on reaching vulnerable and at-risk children.   She wanted to make a difference in the world, especially those who were often unseen or ignored by society as a whole.  She never got the chance to make her mark.  I never saw Mr. Morton show remorse for his crime, in fact at times I felt he was proud of it.

My first reaction is that Mr. Morton should never leave prison; his crime is not one that should allow him to ever enjoy the pleasures of the world that he has made darker by his actions.  But I am torn with what to write. I believe in justice over vengeance; I believe in rehabilitation over the idea of locking people away forever, even for murder.  If Mr. Morton has served his time honorably and without incidents of violence or dangerous behavior, and if he will add to the world’s good as opposed to evil, should he not be released?  But how can we know how he will react if released?

Because of Mr. Morton’s crime, I would not consider him eligible for parole unless there is substantial evidence that he has indeed changed for the better while incarcerated.  I believe the burden of proof rests on him, and that burden is significant. 

When weighing your decision, I hope you see that Mr. Morton took the life of a woman who was dedicating her life to young children in the hope of making the world a better place.   I also hope that you honor the values of the legal system that seeks to not simply be a punishment, but also seeks rehabilitation and reform.  I have moved from Syracuse, I have built my life and while I still have a big hole created in the past, I think I have found peace in the last 2 decades.  But I am haunted by the idea that another person will be put through the same pain I have been through because of Mr. Morton’s actions.  So I hope when you decide on Mr. Morton’s future you do so with Linda’s life lost in mind and the chance that others might be at risk.  I do not envy your position in making this difficult decision. 

Thank you for taking my words into consideration while you deliberate. 

Sincerely,



George Kelley

Monday, February 3, 2014

Coke Has Always Been About America

But last night they exposed the ugly side of it.  Let me explain.  Last night, during the Superbowl, Coca-Cola had an ad in which America the Beautiful was sung in a variety of languages behind pictures of what America looks like, a variety of races, cultures, faith traditions and families.  I was stunned at the beauty of it and made a joke on Twitter taking bets on who would be the first to say something racist.  It was late in the game and since I was more interested in a Broncos win I changed the channel, turned off the computer and went to bed.  I woke to a barrage of horrible internet posts across social media from the calling for a boycott of Coke to a new push to make English the official language of the country.  Also we are being treated to a rewrite of history when it comes to the amazing rich diversity that led to the old Melting Pot idea of what it means to be a American.  

There were quotes like this:

 “What USED to make America great was that the immigrants who came here from other countries learned our language and their cultures blended into ours.  America the Beautiful should be sung in one language, and one language only, English.”

There were also many anti-Arab and anti-gay comments as there were two men looking out of a window (wearing kippot by the way) and the women wearing a hijab at a Halal food cart.  

Let's unpack this quote, first while people came here and tended to learn the language and blended into the American culture, that doesn't mean they gave up their own distinct language and culture for the most part.  We still see  Italian American festivals, Greek Fest, we celebrate St. Patrick's Day etc. etc. etc.  We have Little Italy, Little Tokyo, Chinatown, Korea town in many cities around our country.  But what is interesting as these cultures became part of the American tapestry their cultures CHANGED what it meant to be an American.  Waves of immigration redefined what it meant to be an American.  The proverbial melting pot was never an idea that cultures would disappear into a sauce of "real America" but had flavor to the ever changing American stew.  So when each group brought their cultural traditions, practices and language it influenced the American experience.  We see this in the fact the great American food product Pizza is a 19th century immigrant and many people here would know what the word schlep means even if they never met a European Jew.  American is about diversity and a blending of culture and even if you see it as assimilation as a goal it does not mean that one must completely leave behind their cultural histories and practices.  

I love New York City in part because like many major American cities you can experience so much of what makes America great, the intermix of our cultural heritage.  Jewish teens getting food at the Halal truck, a Christian Bible Study group at the 2nd street Deli, African American women doing Tae Kwon Do in a Lower East Side park are all normal parts of the city.  Our strength is that we allow for us all to be ourselves and yet all become American.  

But let's be clear, in our country the beauty of being what we want allows for the bigotry that we see in response and our valued free speech gives us the freedom to have these bigots express themselves fully.  But if their bigotry is not unanswered we give them the narrative.  What is funny is that Coke made their point of our Unity in Diversity at a truly American event, the Superbowl, an event that unites most of us in a shared story of an American tradition, an American game and an American cultural touchstone.  Let's not let it be defined by that which is the ugliest of us.  

When confronted by this today and in days to come remind people almost all of us came from somewhere else, bringing our distinctiveness to the party and in most cases making the America greater.  And when you leave, maybe say Adios.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8uSVUiniWQ

It is All a Conspiracy

 Sometimes an event could have a giant impact on the world we live in, but not have a similar cause.  A disgruntled man takes aim from a six...