Akili K.A. EL-AMIN
Oakhill Correctional Institution
Post Office Box 938
Oregon, Wisconsin, 53575-938
“We send
people to prison to rehabilitate them and we have to believe that process is
real and possible, for even some of the
worst offenders. Ultimately, if we don’t believe in redemption, we don’t
believe in America” —levis Smiley
To
whom it may concern,
At the age
of 16 years old, I was arrested in Racine, Wisconsin on October 5. 1989 and
charged with being Party to a crime of First Degree Intentional Homicide while
armed with a Dangerous Weapon in the shooting death of Christopher “Scogo’’
Rolle..
I was-
later convicted (under the name Akili Butler) and sentenced to Life
Imprisonment with an additional 5 year sentence by the late Honorable Dermis Barry after I
refused to cooperate with the Racine District Attorney’s Office to take a 15
year plea bargain deal to testify against my older brother (Wade A- Curtis
n/k/a Wazfr Mojahid El—Amin) who was the sole culprit who actually shot Chris.
The reason
why l am writing this letter and sending it to each of you is because I am
seeking your support in becoming an advocate for my release on discretionary
parole.
Now, I
know a lot of you may not know what discretionary parole is and I must confess,
neither did I until I had been incarcerated for a number of years. so please
bear with me as I try my best to explain it as clearly as I know how to.
Discretionary
parole means that an Offender is released from prison after serving as set
amount of time behind bars, but before an Offender’s full sentence is actually
served.
According
to the Parole Action Commission, the functtion of discretionary parole is four
fold; -
1. To assure,
in light of the nature and
severity of the crime, the early release will not depreciate the seriousness of
the offense;
2. To determine that optimum benefit
has been derived from programs of education, training, and
therapy:
3 To assess the risk to the
community of early release; and
4. To determine in each individual
case that there is a reasonable certainty of a crIme-free reintegration of the
inmate Into society.
Since I received a life plus 5-year sentence
under the Wisconsin 1983 law, I was
required to spend a mandatory 14 years
and 6 months in prison before ‘could
actually become eligible to be considered’ for release under the functions of
discretionary parole by the Wisconsin Parole commission. .
Well,
those 14 years and 6 months have come and gone, and I have now spent over 23
years incarcerated despite becoming eligible to be considered’ for release on
discretionary parole by the Wisconsin Parole commission ever since May of 2004.
I have had 10 face to
face hearings So far to no avail. Even though nothing has changed in the
negative sense with the way I have conducted myself between these hearings. I
have accepted their decisions and endured the adversity of being denied parole with great
patience and perseverance time and time again.
I will be the first to
admit that no amount of programs or time that I serve can depreciate the nature and severity of the
fact that a young roan
(Chris) senselessly lost his life and for that am truly remorseful.
Even though I am not
the one who actually shot Chris, I do except full responsibility for being
party to the crime because I know and truly believe now that I could have done
many things differently that night that would have prevented some very minute
arguments from being blown up and spun nut of control the way they were on that
dreadful night.
With that being said,
l am not that same 16-year old boy mentally, physically, and spiritually who
went along with his older brother when that crime was committed.
Back then as a wayward
youth, I often acted out of raw emotions, I had no sense of future Orientation,
purpose or direction; I lacked effective coping and decision-making skills. I
functioned on a daily basis by simply acting and reacting from an impetuous
standpoint.
As I began to make the
transition from a boy to a man, my reasoning became my greatest ally and helped
me to recognize the errors of my previous ways, to develop a sense of purpose,
and a vision for my life beyond this prison setting.
I recognize that I
cannot change and/or undo any of the events that took place that has caused so
much hurt and pain in so many people lives as a result of the decisions that
was made on that chaotic night, but I was able to change me as an individual,
the way I thought, the way I felt,, how l acted, and as I once road, ‘True
remorse prompts change’.
With the passage of
time and serious soul-searching I was able to mature and learn how to
make good, sound, and wholesome decisions on a daily basis and these are some
of the factors that I believe support why am a good candidate for release on
discretionary parole:
I have successfully
participated in and completed all of the programs of education,
training, and therapy that were required of me by the Department at
Corrections. Programs such as:
Vocational
Cabinet-making/wood Tech (1992);
High School
Equivalency Diploma (1995);
Anger Management
(1999);
AODA Residential Treatment Program (2006);
and
Reentry Pie-Release Competency Curriculum
Modules 1-9 (2008-2009).
In addition to the above
required programs that t Have completed, on my own initiative, I have
also successfully participated in and completed the following list of
programs:
Victim Impact Program (2001);
Pro-Literacy America Tutor Training
Course (2005);
The Diversity Circle on Dismantling Racism
(2008);
BVS Culinary Arts Program
(2008-2009); and
Thinking for a Change
Program (2012-2013).
Since
being incarcerated, I have received a total of 17 Minor and 3
Major Conduct Reports (write ups). My last major conduct report occurred
over 14ycars ago and my last minor conduct report occurred over 12 years
ago. I have had only I physical fight
with another inmate and that was at least 22 years ago.
My
Institution conduct and adjustment over
the years has been excellent and have bore witness to how much 1 have changed.
It has
been said that maturity can lead to remorse, renewal, and rehabilitation and
that truly has been the case for me. I have not only learned about what I
expected from life, but also about what life expected from me as well.
For me,
part of the process of remorse, renewal,
and rehabilitation is reaching back to help others that need such guidance and
although I have been striving to achieve that for years since I have been
incarcerated, I have a bigger plan and that plan has to do with my desire to
one day become an Urban Youth Counselor and implement my own non-profit program
that I have already developed entitled: “NASIHA, INC.: A Mentoring Program for
Urban Youth Development” in the Milwaukee and Racine areas of the State.
In
conclusion, I do not expect the parole commission to reward me with being
released based on the good that I had done, but do expect them to reward me
with being released for the changes that I have made and demonstrated over the years now because if
that is not the main purpose of incarceration aIong with punishment, then
what is?
Lastly,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best, “I ain’t what I ought to be, I ain’t
what I could be,I ain’t what I’m gonna be, but ‘Thank Cod’, I ain’t what
I use to be’’. With that being said, I would very much like as well as greatly
appreciate any and everybody that happens to receive and/ or read this letter
to voice their support for any release on discretionary parole by simply
sending an e-mail addressed to: Danielle LaCost at; parole.commmission@doc.state.wi.us
or writing a letter and sending it to:
The Wisconsin Parole
Commission
ATTN: Danielie LaCost
3099 East Washington
Avenue
Pt Office Box 7960.
Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7960
There is
no requirement of length or particular things that I am asking any of you to say. You have read my letter, heard what 1
had to say, so please just do as I always do, ‘speak from the heart’ because as
I once read. “words that are spoken from the heart, are words that reach the heart.”
Thank
You!
Sincerely,
Akili
K.A. El--Amin
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