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Criminal defense attorney Bryan G. Hershman is featured in a recently-released powerful documentary that focuses on how the infamous ‘Three Strikes’ rule in the 1990s laid waste to a generation of Black and Latino children in Tacoma – and their battle for hope.
For more information please visit http://bryanhershman.com
Dr Gilda Sheppard’s documentary ‘Since I Been Down’ was filmed over 12 years, featuring Kimonti Carter, who was imprisoned for a drive-by shooting in 1997, when he was 18, for killing college student Corey Pittman.
His sentencing was a result of the Clinton-era Three Strikes policy, which mandates life in prison without parole for people three times convicted of offenses from robbery to assault to murder.
By 2020, Black people, representing 4% of Washington’s population, accounted for 38% of those sentenced under the law.
However, Since I Been Down offers a look at how the likes of Carter are now trying to rebuild their lives, even though they remain behind bars, and provide hope to others. Carter became part of the Black Prisoners’ Caucus and founded Taking Education and Creating History.
In the 1990s, Carter’s neighborhood was Hilltop in Tacoma, the target of gang violence, and suffering from a lack of housing and education investment.
Tacoma is where Criminal Defense Attorney Bryan G. Hershman is based and has a unique perspective on things. He has been operating his practice since late 1985.
In the documentary, Hershman, along with Social Activist Mary Flowers, breaks down the statistics of mass incarceration and the policy implemented in the 1990s.
During Since I Been Down, Hershman reflects: “We have a greater percentage of our population in prison right now than any society in the history of Western civilization.''
“We have this high and mighty attitude about ourselves. In my county, for example, as much as 60-70 percent out of every tax dollar goes to the Criminal Justice System. If you don’t care about people, it is a horrendous waste of resources.”
Yet, while the U.S. justice system has shown little interest in rehabilitation, these former criminals have educated themselves and can become productive members of society – only that society threw away the key to their lives decades ago.
‘Since I Been Down’ is now on general release.
Source: http://RecommendedExperts.biz
Contact Info:
Name: Bryan Hershman
Email: Send Email
Organization: Bryan G. Hershman, Attorney At Law
Address: 1105 Tacoma Ave. S, Tacoma, WA 98402
Phone: 253-405-4360
Website: http://bryanhershman.com
Release ID: 89082393
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