SLAM protests highlight need for prison reform

EUGENE WONG/YH

"There's a reason why Oscar Meyer doesn't tell you what goes into its hot dogs," Larry Marshall, law professor at Northwestern University, joked. "And there's a reason proponents of the death penalty don't show what goes into writing a death warrant."

According to Marshall, who spoke on Thurs., Apr. 12 at a lecture sponsored by the Student Legal Action Movement (SLAM), the institution of capital punishment is "classist, hideously racist, and arbitrary in its application. Capital punishment is such that if you have the capital, you don't get the punishment."

The ineffectiveness of underpaid public counsel at defending clients in death penalty cases is one of many reasons why Marshall calls for an immediate moratorium on executions. Marshall has personally played a critical role in exonerating seven death row inmates who were found innocent. He cites Anthony Porter, a convicted murder who was 48 hours from execution and "already measured for his coffin" as an example of a criminal justice system gone awry. Porter's life was spared by a serendipitous chain of events that eventually led to proof of his innocence and subsequent release.

When asked why he has chosen to attack the death penalty in terms of its possibilities for error instead of as a broader moral affront, Marshall says that while he is absolutely against capital punishment on moral grounds, he chooses to focus on the possibility of innocence because he feels the American public is most prone to pressure on that front. "Bottom line is that I'm a lawyer and I like to win. I guess you have to size up your jury like in court," he said.

While Marshall spoke more specifically in adamant opposition to the death penalty, the talk followed an early afternoon protest organized by SLAM on Beinecke Plaza whose purpose was to pressure the Yale Administration on a broader swath of issues ranging from financial aid to University investment policy—all relating directly to criminal justice reform. Currently, an amendment to the Higher Education Act makes it impossible for students who have been convicted of a drug-related crime—including the possession of marijuana—to receive loans and grants from the federal government. Other convicted felons, such as murders and rapists, would have their financial aid package left untouched. SLAM hopes to pressure Yale into reimbursing students for such loans rescinded by the amendment.

The rally, consisting of no more than 50 students, left Beinecke and spontaneously began moving north on Wall Street. Jonathan Scolnik, DC '03, bellowed from the bullhorn, "Financial aid is our right!" to which protestors responded, "Here at Yale we must fight!" While most pedestrians simply took pause to observe the spectacle, some of the more inquisitive onlookers approached marchers and joined the protest rally.

As the number of marchers blocked sidewalks, the rally spilled into the streets and caused a sizable traffic jam at the intersection of York and Elm Streets. After completing a loop around campus, the marchers headed back toward Beinecke, where the group dispersed.

Upon their return, protest organizers were surprised to find three police officers and a squad car waiting in front of Woodbridge Hall.

"Enlighten me on the discussion," Officer Allen asked SLAM member Andrew Cantor, DC '02, one of the organizers of the protest. Allen had received a report of an unauthorized parade and was forced to take down contact information for Cantor, who had assumed responsibility for the rally and concomitant march. Cantor and others engaged the police officer in a discussion of the ideas communicated by the rally, one of which called for the reallocation of funds from prisons to schools.

As he scribbled down his report, Allen glanced up and noted, "I think more prisons are ridiculous." According to Chief Sergeant Nettleton, the police will take no action.

As if to add to the headache of SLAM's leaders, two students were littering the rally site with inflammatory signs while the police dealt with Cantor. Conway Carter, ES '03, and Derek Lomas, PC '03, scrawled what they claimed to be "post-modern" placards and dropped them on Beinecke Plaza. One message read: "Attn: Marijuana makes children gay." Another one read: "Opium = Orientalism = White Slavery."

Carter responded to claims that African Americans are unfairly targeted by the criminal justice system for drug offenses; "Black people smoke pot too," he said. Lomas added, "rallies tend to be simple-minded and focused on a mob mentality."

Chesa Boudin, TC '03, a member of SLAM, simply wanted to make it clear that the placards did not represent the voice of his organization. "They are talking about theoretical things while we are talking about more practical matters," he said. The police took down Lomas's information as well.

While the rally addressed broad social issues that predominantly affect ethnic minorities, Irene Garza, SM '02, pointed out that the protest consisted almost exclusively of white students. "For every black and Latino face here at Yale, our brothers, our cousins and families are in prison," Garza said. According to Anita Seth, GRD '05, as 13 percent of the population, African Americans constitute 13 percent of the nation's monthly drug users but represent 74 percent of those sentenced to prison for drug possession.

While Garza speaks for the minority community when she said, "We are disillusioned with white activism," in an attempt to explain the dearth of non-white faces at the rally, she pointed out that SLAM is in a unique position to potentially "bridge the gap" between ethnic minorities and whites on campus. 

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