VOICES FROM THE DUNGEON

He came into this world an innocent child. Didn't ask to be here, had no care in the world. Loved and admired by everyone as he grew. Reached the age of accountability and then things changed...

She was adorable. Born to wealthy parents, she grew up in the lap of luxury. She had everything she needed. Across the tracks, while being driven to private school by her personal chauffeur, she could see the stark difference between children walking to their school and the children on her side. Even their behavior amongst themselves was appalling to her. She never dreamed she could ever one day be in the same place with such people. But it happened! You see when incarcerated it doesn't matter your class on the social ladder. It doesn't matter the color of your skin, or your status (what society club or fraternity or sorority or university you're affiliated with), you all live in the same place until a decision is made whether you go "up the river" or go back to your home. Either way a lifelong battle for reinstatement in society begins.

Let's name our boy Daniel, and name our girl Dalia. Daniel belongs to a middle class hard working family the parents of which made serious sacrifices for Daniel to have a successful life. Dalia had it all. She was born with that proverbial gold spoon in her mouth. She didn't have to worry about a bright future she had everything planned for her and money was no object. But something happened. Something serious happened which her parents were never aware of. Her parents never saw it coming...

Daniel was three years older than Dalia and was in an ivy league college struggling to keep up with his class in which he was a year older than the average class age. At his age he should be a junior but was a sophomore. His parents put together his trust fund plus their life saving and this still was not enough. Daniel worked in the main office as a recruiter to supplement his college expenses. Dalia was just entering the same college all expenses taken care of and some. It was Daniel who recruited her.

Daniel and Dalia soon became friends. Daniel from the "wrong" side of the tracks had seen Dalia on occasions among the children elite of society. Her father head of the hospital not far from where they lived, her mother a partner in a well known law firm. Daniel knew Dalia had it all. Dalia had seen Daniel too and where exactly he was from. His father was the janitor at the same hospital her father worked at and his mother was a homemaker who had retired early from being an early childhood educator because of a heart condition.

Daniel had friends from his past which were childhood friends who were always getting into trouble of one sort or another. He also had an older brother who kept getting into trouble. While growing up Daniel hardly saw his older brother Johnny. He was either in juvenile detention when young enough to be or the penitentiary when old enough.

Danny (pet name for Daniel) had a nice peasant personality and soon won the friendship of Dalia. She admired Danny so much that whatever he wanted she would let him have it. Danny boy won her trust so deeply that he began to take her to his home town and introduced her to all his "friends" in the neighborhood. They got adventureous to the extent that they were spending more time off campus than on with company they had no business being with.

Dalia had a BMW 5 series which her parents gave her upon entering college. If that BMW could talk it would reveal secrets Dalia's parents would never dream of. Their reaction would definitely be, "Not our Dalia." It started with drinking alcoholic beverages and smoking cigarettes then graduated to hard liquor and marijuana. Then hard drugs like cocaine, crack, meth etc. Soon Dalia was spending thousands of dollars from her trust fund on drugs and alcohol and when that ran low, in order to not alert her parents, Daniel and Dalia thought of the ultimate cardinal sin. They thought of robbing a bank.

Daniel got his brother and two other friends in on the deal and Dalia was to be the getaway driver. Daniel's brother Johnny or Big John as he was now known all over town was to prvide the guns and the fool-proof plan. They got to the bank a few minutes after opening. They busted through the doors stockings over their faces and guns in hand. Demanded cash and got all they could carry in the duffle bags they brought with them. Exit the bank in three minutes and got in their getaway car and sped off.

They didn't count on one thing though, banks have unseen eyes inside and out. Dalia was seen on camera and her BMW and license plate was captured. Voice recognition monitors recorded the shouting during the robbery and Big John was quickly identified. It didn't take long for the rest of the bank robbers to be picked up. They each had several charges ranging from possession of firearms to attempted murder during commission of a felony(the robbery)  as guns were discharged to intimidate customers and workers at the bank.

They were all convicted of the crimes and Big John received the harshest punishment being a repeat offender and believed to be the ringleader. He received 25 years to life. Dalia got the lightest punishment of five years for her part in the crimes committed. Sentence ranged from 5-25years with Daniel getting 10 years for his role.

Everyone served their time and was released into society on parole. It was then that their eyes were open to see that serving time in a penitentiary is a Alice in wonderland experience compared to life after. They realized that there's one sentence in prison but another out on the streets as an ex-convict.

Everywhere they each turned it was rejection after rejection. They could hardly believe it. As soon as someone hears anyone of them had a run in with the law it was as though they had the plague. It is obvious that what they did was terrible but they knew they ha learned their lesson and just needed forgiveness and a second chance knowing they would never make such a mistake again. Every time they got rejection after rejection they kept thinking... Where is that saying that everybody deserves a second chance in life, doesn't that apply to people like myself?

WHAT DO YOU THINK? DO YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW (PROBABLY RELATED TO YOU) HAVE A SIMILAR STORY TO TELL? IS SOMEONE YOU KNOW CRYING OUT BUT NOT GETTING ANY ATTENTION FROM ANYONE IN SOCIETY? HAVE YOU TURN YOUR CRIES AND YOUR PAIN INSIDE? SEND YOUR STORY AND LET IT BE HEARD!  SEND TO EMAIL: eldermoses.johnsonsr6@gmail.com. THERE IT WILL BE READ BY OTHERS WHO FEEL YOUR PAIN AND CAN IDENTIFY WITH YOU AND HELP AND SUPPORT YOU. YOU MAY BE REJECTED BY MANY, BUT YOU'RE NOT FORGOTTEN NOR FORSAKEN BY ALL.

YOUR VOICE WILL BE HEARD FROM THE DUNGEON!!!!!




LIFE OF STEPHEN HILTON

The 8th grade teacher called his name so loud even children walking the hallway could hear her, "Stephen Hilton!" Stevie answered, "Present Miss!" Stevie didn't know yet but he would hear his name shouted even louder down the hall of a court building and it wouldn't be appreciable. He was 13 years old and the only child for his parents. His mother did days work for people who knew her in the upper middle class neighborhood and his father had the contract to do the plumbing around their neighborhood. Even though he did a "fine" job, he was often paid by residents with chicken dinners which he would take home and split 3 ways for mother, Stevie and himself. He was so good at his job that at the neighborhood Mac Donalds where  he fixed their plumbing problems regularly, he was allowed to order food for no more than $10.00 and didn't have to pay. This he was a allowed to do once daily.

Stevie was well known in his hometown by everyone. The neighborhood pimps and prostitutes, the gangbangers, the drug lords and the upstanding citizens in the neighborhood. They all showed admiration for the way this innocent young man was growing up in the neighborhood. Now he was 13. According to some, the age a Jew becomes a man. So some recognized Stevie as entering manhood. That time for Stevie to learn the "ropes" of the ghetto. Understand "ghetto life" a little better, for his own good. Because in the mind of most people in Steven's hometown, unless you get wise you don't live too long in these "parts."

It was the drug dealers who first made their move on poor, innocent, 13 year old, Steven. All the "glits" and the glamor of the trade was so irresistible for little Steven. He was promised that he would be paid so much money once he started pushing for the "ringleaders" that he could buy a house in a couple of years up on the eastside and move his parents out of the "hood" for good. The lure was too good to be true, but what did little Stevie know...  To move out of this neighborhood has been his dream and if this was a way out he was going for it.

He started right away. Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. Months turned to years. He was thirteen when he started and was now seventeen. Still he was in the hood and struggling against the other sellers. He had to make his quota which was hundreds per week. He now carried a gun wherever he went... for his safety. He had dropped out of school at 14. Thought he was a man "now" and didn't need to go to school. School in his mind, was for children not for men.

The police passed by the corners on patrol and knew who was doing what on each of these corners. They watched as "newbies" came to hangout on these corners and they did take notice of Stevie when he started. "Another one of the hopefuls lost to this unforgivable drug trade." One officer commented. They knew his parents too and many police officers would make a sweep of the corner and would warn Stevie and send him home. Stevie would return very soon after the police left with a determination to get his family out of this condemned neighborhood.

One day, at 17 years old and well seasoned in the drug trade as well as well known. Stevie, having moved up in the ranks controlling his own corner and only having to answer to the big boss now who loved Stevie, was challenged for his drug spot by a posse that had been moving in on other turfs trying to monopolize the area. Stevie wasn't having it. Having a few foot soldiers he armed all of them and had them on high alert. He sought help from the big boss Mr. Alvin but was told to handle his business as they had matters of higher concerns to deal with. The Feds were closing in on Big Alvin.

Stevie took matters in his own hands when one day he saw the number two man from the rival drug gang and pulled his gun and just started firing. The young man was hit several times but none life threatening. Not long after Steven was picked up and booked on several charges including illegal possession of a firearm, and attempted murder.  At his bail hearing Steven being known by many in the courts, was given a low bail and his parents used what they could from their life savings to bail him out. Every time he had a hearing at the court building he would hear his name called and it reminded him of his first day in 8th grade when the teacher called his name, "Stephen Hilton!"
How he wished he could go back to that time in his life. If he knew then what he knows now. How different things would have turned out for him. Now its too late...

Stephen did five years in prison. The judge was "easy" on him because it was his first offence but he was sternly warned not to come before the judge again.  Released from prison, Stephen, now 22 years old with a GED from the penitentiary needed a job. Everywhere he turned every application he filled out had the same dreaded clause questions... Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a crime? Being honest he would put down the answer: YES.  Then, if yes, please state the nature of the crime: and Stephen with outline the charges he was convicted of.

Then would come the inevitable... We're sorry to inform you... Tis went on for quite some time until Stephen began to lie on his applications. He would sometime gain employment only to be fired after awhile when the results of a background check returned to the company. One issue Stephen could not understand was after being given the opportunity at employment he would do his very best at the job which was sometimes very impressive to his employers I such a brief period of time... but as soon as the results were in from the background check it was always the same outcome.

In the streets it was no different. This boy who was admired by all in his neighborhood growing up was now looked on by everyone as a failure. A reject. Neighborhood parents held their children close to them when passing by Stephen. Some children would whisper under their breath what they heard from their parents when passing Stephen. "Murderer, Gunman, Monster, Criminal, Drug dealer, Gangster." They didn't hide anything from him concerning the way they felt. The police didn't make life any easier for Stephen, He was watched every time he was out in public. And if he was just nearby one of those so called notorious drug spot, he would be accosted, searched and released with no explanation. Life and the outside seemed many times more oppressive than on the inside to Stephen now 22 years old.                     

DO YOU HAVE A STORY SIMILAR TO THAT OF STEPHEN'S? HIS WAS PUT MILDLY. IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW YOUR'S SOUND TO YOU. THERE'S ALWAYS HELP AND SUPPORT IN NUMBERS. LET US COME TOGETHER AND HEAR EACH OTHER'S STORIES. IT'S TIME FOR OUR VOICES TO BE HEARD. THERE ARE MANY OUT THERE WHO WANTS TO HELP BUT YOU MUST MAKE THE FIRST STEP. TELL YOUR STORY, SEND TO EMAIL:eldermoses.johnsonsr6@gmail.com OR preacher506@yahoo.com.

BE ONE OF THE FIRST VOICES FROM THE DUNGEON TO CLIMB OUT.



ONCE IS ENOUGH

He was given the birth name Richard Jeraldo Boper. He got the alias Billy Bop at some point while growing up, he can't remember when. He'd done 20 years hard time for a crime he did not commit. Until this day everyone who knows Billy Bop is convinced he's guilty. You see, Billy Bop was always getting into trouble though they seemed minor. When this crime took place Billy Bop was right there but can't seem to remember anything and since he was seen as a trouble maker it only seemed right to put the blame on him.

So here's Billy Bop trying to re-integrate with his community hoping for forgiveness and understanding and acceptance even though he knows he didn't commit this heinous crime and worst yet the perpetrator may still be in the neighborhood and no one except him knows this. He had no ill feelings against anyone, he just needed to get on with his life. This wasn't going to be as easy as Billy Bop thought though.

Billy Bop tried to get a job so he could obtain some honest wage at least to buy food but no one would offer him employment. He tried to be polite to everyone around but when he politely greeted anyone he only got a shrug of the shoulders as acknowledgement or a grunt from some. It was really unbelievable that this was the same neighborhood he grew up in. He tried every kind thing he knew to get through to even his peers he grew up with but no success. He tried for days which turned into weeks, which turned into months which in turn became years. Because he had no money to pay rent or buy food, Billy Bop now lived under the Main Street bridge just outside of town and looked for any leftovers someone might throw out after eating or hung around the rear door to the well known restaurant just on the edge of town. There he would sometimes be given a box dinner which was actually what patrons had left over at their tables.

Billy Bop sometimes thought of turning to a life of crime just robbing people and places but never followed through on those thoughts. He just was not that type of person and besides he knew and respected everyone in this town. Life was really hard. He had been dealt a bad blow. He could not believe that these were the people in whose hands he grew up. He had nowhere or no one to turn to. One night Billy Bop decided to seek relief. He made up his mind and did what he thought was the only way out for him.

The next morning a passerby found Billy Bop hanging from the bridge. He had taken his pants and twisted it making a noose at one end and tied it to a column on the bridge. Placing the noose around his neck he jumped to his death. As the news spread crowds gathered to observe Billy Bops body just hanging there under the bridge. One voice in the crowd uttered, "It didn't have to be like this."

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE SIMILAR TO BILLY? ARE YOU IN A SIMILSR SITUATION AS BILLY BOP? SEND AN EMAIL TO preacher506@yahoo.com OR eldermoses.johnsonsr6@gmail.com. YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID. LET'S START TALKING. LET'S COME TOGETHER. EACH ONE CAN HELP ONE. TOGETHER WE'LL GET SOMEWHERE. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). 


Well it seems like there's just no break for an ex-con. No respect for such an individual. Everywhere such people turn in society the verdict is condemnation. No-one seem to care. From mainstream society to the executive branch of government and every level in between. Nobody cares. Nobody wants to see the ex-convict given a chance to be reinstated in any way shape or form. Who can they turn to?

Even the very government who represent the people and are from the people, by the people for the people and should be with the people, cannot be elected by a process that includes the ex-convicts. Yet every decision made by this government elected by the people makes decisions that affects everyone including the ex-convict. shouldn't they have a say in who should make decisions at the higher levels of government too?

Everywhere one turns in society one may find an individual either volunteering in some influential position whether in the private sector or public sector whom may have a criminal background and is hoping it will never be discovered or worse disclosed. And these individuals are doing very well in their position. People are working whether voluntarily or paid positions all over this country in positions they are overqualified for just to stay under the radar. For years they will be doing very well. These examples serves to indicate that there needs to be a review of the way society views and treats individuals who have made mistakes in their lives and are asking for second chances in life not only in the job market but every sector of society where they are being treated so unfairly it's like they are worse that second class citizens. They are at the bottom of the barrel. The lowest of the lows. Something definitely needs to be done.

ARE YOU AN EX-CONVICT AND DESIRE A SECOND CHANCE IN LIFE? WE AT SHARE SOME LOVE ARE NOT EXTENDING A HAND OUT NOR ARE WE GIVING OUT JOBS BUT WHAT WE ARE DOING WILL GIVE EX-CONVICTS A NEW LIFE. WE NEED YOU TO JOIN US IN CREATING THE LARGEST VOICE IN THIS SOCIETY SO YOU CAN BE HEARD AND SOLUTIONS CAN BE MADE AND YOU CAN ONCE AGAIN BE NOT A SECOND CLASS CITIZEN BUT ONCE AGAIN A LAW ABIDING CITIZEN WITH ALL THE BENEFITS THAT COME WITH IT. YOU WILL HAVE THE SECOND CHANCE IN LIFE YOU SO DESPERATELY DESIRE. WE WILL APPROACH EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT WITH YOUR REQUESTS AND DESIRES AND WE WILL BE HEARD ONCE WE HAVE THE NUMBERS TO PRESENT THESE DESIRES AND WE'RE SURE YOUR MATTERS WILL BE ADDRESSED BUT ONLY WITH A SIZEABLE NUMBER TO REPRESENT THE NUMBER OF ALL WHO FIT THIS CATEGORY IN THE COUNTRY. SEND YOUR  CONCERNS NOW TO preacher506@yahoo.com or eldermoses.johnsonsr6@gmail.com or text info to 407-480-0303.  OR SIGN YOU NAME IN VISITORS SECTION AND BESIDE YOUR NAME ATTACH THE WORD "VOICE" SO WE CAN HAVE A LIST TO PRESENT WHEN THERE IS ENOUGH ON THE LIST. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.

This "disease" knows no boundary. Whatever color one may be, white, black, red, or yellow. Whatever level on the social ladder, the common laborer, the white collar worker, the Governor, Senator, congressman or congresswoman, the councilman or councilwoman, doctors, lawyers, judges. Someone in each of these categories has fallen victim after being convicted of a crime. Some of these positions even bring a public disgrace because the individual was a public servant. Together everyone who wishes to play a part can eradicate this "disease." Wherever you may be on the social ladder or in the ethnic class, you can change this injustice. You already paid your dues and deserve a second chance in life. God gave everyone a chance when no-one deserved it and if He can find it within Himself to forgive all of the billions of people who walked this earth as long as they'll accept it. Then who are we to condemn a fellow brother or sister. There is none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10)

As mentioned earlier, this "disease knows no boundary even gender boundary. Also doctors were mentioned above and if you are a psychologists or  psychiatrist or any medical field and you may or may not have had this issue but feel led to assist in your area of expertise we invite you to please feel free to make your input. It will be well appreciated. Thank you. This is for men and women who need it. Some people of both gender are in deep depression because of this. Some are on the brink of suicide and we cannot exclude anyone who we could have helped but didn't and will later have serious regrets when we read how they became a statistic. We are believing and praying that this matter that I believe God placed on my heart will successfully manifest which rich fruitful progression as time goes by.