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I Know I'm Not Kim Kardashian-West...

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Raechel Gwyn

but I'm dying to help set a prisoner free and this prisoner tried to stop a crime.

Joanne Butler, inmate number 005961, is a "lifer" in a Pennsylvania penitentiary. She was put there by a judge, without a jury. She is delayed intellectually, emotionally and mentally, describes herself as such and is black. She is, fully, aware that, along with her family's inability to pay for a more thorough defense lawyer, her siblings took the worst advantage of her.

Joanne Butler was planning on a quiet evening at home, but her sister and brother showed up. They encouraged her to join them for drinks at a bar. She went with them and the evening, eventually, got steered to a nearby neighborhood, where, as they were approaching a building, a woman came running towards Joanne's sister with a knife, at which point, Joanne's sister revealed her own knife and stabbed the woman who came at her. Joanne was the tallest and strong, so she chose to step in and try to separate them. In doing so, Joanne got blood on herself, which helped her siblings succeed in pinning the blame on her. Initially, Joanne was advised to plead guilty to third-degree murder, but the judge considered her to be unfit to plead anything. The case was handed off to a judge who had a different idea. The latter judge found Joanne guilty of first-degree murder and handed her a life sentence. Joanne has spent decades in prison and just wants to go home. It is bad enough when clemency time is Christmas for those who are rich enough or have, intentionally, committed crimes but have been touched by the "good graces" of the sitting president of the United States. Joanne Butler may be, completely, innocent and all we hear are "crickets."

Kim Kardashian-West went to the president to help free an inmate who, knowingly, committed a crime and spent less time in prison than Joanne Butler has. Perhaps, Kim should be visiting with the "guardians" of systems, more notably, the Pennsylvania prison system, to convince them that "life without parole" should not be a "blanket" law. Just what kind of research does Kim do? What are her standards for "needy?" It has become, ridiculously, important to know--almost as ridiculous as Donald Trump being president of the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pVq5-12duk&index=25&list=FLeFZP_pPfSRs4fPrGfeYQjw&t=0s





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Raechel Gladstone-Gelman Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Raechel's poetry, short stories, commentary, articles and interviews have appeared in print and online. Much of her work has, previously, appeared under the name, Rachel Gladstone-Gelman.

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