wrongful conviction

Latent Prince

 

 

..............

 

Part I of II

 

 

This is the story of Larry Joe Prince

And the way Arizona stole his innocence.

It is written with hope that there may come a day

When a wise judge will grant him his moment to say

All the things so conveniently left out of court,

Made American “justice” look more like a sport,

With a high-priced attorney that didn’t think clear,

And the false testimony of one with much fear,

And the state prosecute thought “I’ll surely reach fame”,

He said, “Hell, I don’t care who the state wants to blame,

It’s a paycheck to me; I don’t care about truths,

It’s my ego I feed, I’m a low lying sleuth!!”

 

So they all drew their “guns” on that guy Mr. Prince,

Absolutely no shred of secure evidence,

They proceeded to send him to death row to sit,

For the murder of one that he did not commit,

And the biggest and worst sin of all that was done,

Was the way that the people held on to their “guns”,

They embraced all the lies to evade what was clear,

As revenge prevailed justice with each little tear,

And for those in the grave who just watch from above,

With no longer a voice to teach them that real love,

Is not proven by putting the blame on a man,

Just because he is there….cause the courts and you can,

 

See the proof of one’s love speaks out so very clear,

Even after the grave when one’s body’s not here,

You will hear their soul cry, and you’ll then know for sure,

If they’re resting in peace or they’re haunted some more.

 

There are families that hide from life’s reality,

The dead man in this case begs you hear his soul’s plea,

Make amends for the errors you’ve made in the past,

And put down all those stones, and those already cast,

If this dead man could speak he’d have something to say,

Of the circus that ran through the courtroom that day,

And if not for the dead man then do it for you,

Cause we all have to answer to God what is true,

Larry Prince knows he’s clear and he wins either way,

                              Cause he’s INNOCENT judge, the state’s in disarray.                                

So please read all with care on this day we implore,

Please don’t look at this life as a game where you score,

It’s integrity that is of stake in this court,

And it’s not mine or yours it’s this country’s that’s short

Of a quality no longer active today,

If it dies, it’s the lives of our loved one’s…they’ll pay.

Take your time, read it all, and be true to your heart,

And we’ll all pray it’s not too late for a new start.

 

 

Part II of II

 

 

They all loved cocaine but they hid it from Dad,

He just couldn’t believe that his kids could be “bad”,

So his eyes he did close, and they stayed tightly shut,

While his best offspring died with that stuff in his gut,

And they said, “It was murder”, and placed the blame there,

Yes, it’s true ‘bout that bullet and blood in his hair,

And the roots of that crime have been hidden so well,

By the real guilty ones with the lies they did tell,

For those self-righteous ones that just stared and stood by,

And condoned this deceit without batting an eye,

For the cowards that watched as the killers went free,

Be aware this could happen to you or to me,

And your sons or your daughters could one day be led

To a place where they wish they would rather be dead,

So now don’t be afraid to let truths in your ears

When your children are hurting with eyes full of tears,

Don’t you cower or shudder, don’t whine and don’t wince,

And remember the story of Larry Joe Prince.

 

Written in parts, from 2000-2002

Original Copyright 2002 

Registration Number / Date:

                   TXu001112792 / 2002-12-02

 

..................

 

07/21/13 ©

 

*

Author's Notes/Comments: 

The story of how justice can go awry when emotions rule instead of justice ruling.

 

http://www.postpoems.org/authors/nightlight1220/prose/953553

 

...........

Faceless Coward

Stalking The “Faceless Coward”

On that day in October on Danbury Lane,
A man’s body appeared to have suffered great pain.
The first of the “finest” that founded the corpse
Had a much different story than heard by the courts.
“The feet sticking upward with face to the floor”
Was the way Louie saw it as he opened the door.
After twisting and turning the story around,
The “12” heard that the body was found lying down.
And you’d think that a whole lot of prints would show up?
Well they did, but beats me why they only used one(?)

Then a whole ONE YEAR LATER a man “Thursty” for blood
Thought “I’d better get on this, or my name will be mud”.
So he sent “Mr. Butthead” and “Dick Tracey Ray”,
Who set out to pretend being Don Johnson for a day.
They took that one thumbprint, those two lousy spies
And they coerced some druggies to spit out the lies.
I suppose they learned all of this stuff at “spy school”….(?)
….but they SURE didn’t learn, Larry Prince is no fool.

You can lie all you want about how it was done,
And then lie a lot more about who shot what gun.
You can brag about what a great “hero” you were,
But be glad that they didn’t charge YOU with murder.
Your mistakes that you made and the lies you did sow,
Almost killed a young man on Arizona’s death row.
Should we now make a law that brings “lawmen” to jail?…
When they do as you did in this sorry ass tale???
Should we hang you?.. or call in the firing squad???…..
Hmmmmm…. Maybe arrest your ass and put you in a pod!!

Do you think for one day we could stop blaming men,
Maybe just for one day we could remember when
We had something called pride in this country, so new.
We had honor and faith in the red, white and blue.
There was no fear of terrorists, we had true grit,
And the courts were not full of this silly bullshit.
If your paranoid, you know they make pills for your kind,
But don’t use laws of this country to deceive a voter’s mind.

There is just no excuse in the years now ahead,
If you think you’re so smart, share ideas in your head,
Let’s not take no more lives of an innocent one,
And if you disagree...may we first have YOUR son?
Cause you see if you like it or not the words shout,
To prove that one is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Seventeen years is a long time to sit,
In a prison while the state gets together it’s shit,
And then to hear that the state threw it all out,
Only feeds more publicity without a doubt.

Did you know it’s ok for the state to throw out,
Evidence from a crime where there’s been reasonable doubt??
So afraid to admit that they made a mistake,
Faceless cowards defending injustice’s sake.

So here’s where it stands in 8/2002
Be aware this is only one case like this too!!
If the laws of this country mean nothing to you,
Maybe YOU are the terrorist…and the courts should kill you?

 

©2002

 

 

Edited 2013 ©

 

http://afabricationofjustice.weebly.com/door-number-3.html

Author's Notes/Comments: 

This is a poem about a particular wrongful conviction that to this day, stands without justice being done. It is only one of many in the American justice system. I would write about them all, but I would not have enough days in a lifetime. I am a forgiving person who asks for little in life, but one of things I used to be very proud of was that I was taught to think America had a just system, and that even though we went to war, it balanced the scales because our system of justice was fair. I have learned otherwise first hand. My father gave his life for his country, as many men and women have...perhaps many of us here. We continue to participate in the killing of human life for the sake of what we all believe is justice. I would ask every person to view the links provided and really ask themselves a sincere question... "what really is justice?". I do know this--it cannot be bought, and it cannot be fought for. It is something much deeper. Life is test of our capacity to love, to forgive, to stand for what we see as right for us, but this does not always mean that what is right for us is right for everyone else. To feel revenge for a misfortune is not justice. To blatantly refuse to correct a error for the sake of someone's loss of life is not justice. http://www.postpoems.org/authors/nightlight1220/prose/953553

View nightlight1220's Full Portfolio