T.I. told Complex he got nothing from his time in jail due to Weapons Possessions.
“When I was goin’ through it (prison stint), I really felt like it added insult to injury. The lesson had already been learned. I already understood the errors in my ways and made the adjustments necessary. It did make me worse in a sense that, before I went in, I was already on the path of positivity. Putting me in prison took me off that path a little bit, and now I’m working to get back on that path – or at least back on the path to the extent that I was before I went in. I’m still not as bad as I was before this incident, but I lost a little bit of my positive focus during that period of incarceration. Being in that environment and having those daily surroundings, it’s going to affect you.”
What do you do in a society where 60% of black men who drop out of High School end up in prison?
What do you do in a country that jails more of its per capita citizens than China? Then anywhere?
T.I. is right: jailing black men isn’t working any more. For one thing it is fucking expensive.
This has to stop now, repealing three strikes your out was a first step. “You’re either selling crack rock or you’ve got a wicked jump start” Biggie, who was shot to death, said.
It hasn’t changed.