On May 26, 1998 during a crack deal, where the quantity and price of the drugs were in dispute, I shot and Killed a man. At the time I was a 145 lb. eighteen years old, underdeveloped male. Legally I was a man, but intellectually, psychologically, and most importantly spiritually I was immature. One could even argue that I was biologically immature. The only thing adult about me was my age. I was of legal age. And so because of that fact I was indicted on Capital Murder (facing execution), convicted of 2nd degree Murder, and sentenced to 53 years in prison without the possibility of parole. As it stands I am scheduled to be released when I am between 64 & 66 years old. Today (2018) I am a 38 years old man whose spent the last 20 years of his life in prison. I've spent more time in cells than I have in houses or bedrooms for that matter. When I committed this violent offense I wasn't a person "prone" to violence. I had my little 25 automatic pistol with me because during that time selling crack was dangerous and so it was sort of an occupational tool, if you will. Everyone around me owned a gun. You were considered "green" (naive) and a potential "Vic" (slang for victim) without one. Think of it in the same vein as the Baker's Cake Pan, the Doctor's Stethoscope, The Farmer's Plow etc. In the same way the aforementioned tools are essential to those "professions" so too was the gun in the drug trade. It was just apart of the process. However the fact that you are carrying a gun, contrary to "legal" interpretation doesn't make you a violent person. It may make you a violent criminal, and even more likely to commit a violent act, but not necessarily a violent person. Now once someone uses this weapon the question of their nature can & should be drawn. We can ask "Is this just a violent criminal or are they also a violent person?" In fact, the problem with our society is, at this moment, that this question isn't asked enough. People more often than note assume that a violent criminal is also violent person. Yet a lot of times this isn't the case. I know this because I personally have "never" been a violent person -- in the sense that I enjoy violence or am quick to use it as a means of resolving conflict.
Askari Danos, #VAPOC, Sussex I State Prison