Abolition for the People

Criminal Justice Reform Cost Me 21 Years of My Life

President Clinton’s infamous 1994 crime bill is just one example of why reform never goes far enough — and often only exacerbates issues it’s meant to solve

This article is part of Abolition for the People, a series brought to you by a partnership between Kaepernick Publishing and LEVEL, a Medium publication for and about the lives of Black and Brown men. The series, which comprises 30 essays and conversations over four weeks, points to the crucial conclusion that policing and prisons are not solutions for the issues and people the state deems social problems — and calls for a future that puts justice and the needs of the community first.

In 1994, New York State convicted me of a murder I didn’t commit. Like countless others, I was found guilty of causing harm, when in fact I was victimized by a system that often uses fabricated evidence to fill prison cells with Black men just like me.

For 21 years, I languished in prison, my time stolen by Bill Clinton’s infamous 1994 crime bill. The legislation was publicized as a much-needed reform to get drugs off the street — but like so many other reform efforts framed as ways to make our criminal…