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Ignorance of the Law is not a Defense

Imagine having to read for your life. In prisons across America this is exactly what hundreds of thousands of prisoners must do. with a prison system the size of a small country the cracks are bigger which means more fall through them, and more mistakes happen. It's a prisoners job to go over his/her case with a fine tooth legal comb and give his lawyer some thing to work with.

Not all prisoners know this but the ones who do are some of the most proficient legal speakers, researchers, and over all lawyers I've ever seen.

They read law codes daily or as much as they can according to the Law Library hours and prison rules. The best ones get a job in the Law Library for maximum access. I met one of these great minds in Greaterford prison in 2003. He was from my neighborhood and his name was "Pop." I never asked him his real name, because it wasn't any of my business. In prison you learn fast not to ask questions, just listen and watch. He'd been in prison for 20 years. Two thirds of my life. He was a legend in the prison system, but to a 24 year old off the street, he looked like a law library clerk. But in prison he had got at least 60 cases overturned in his 20 years, most of which were capital cases, he was a good lawyer.

He committed a murder in the early 70's in a gang war, and instead of turning his gang in he plead guilty and got natural life in prison.

He says this was his biggest mistake, pleading guilty was anyone whos ever plead guilty worst mistake, in his opinion. Since then he's been on a mission to educate all who will listen about the law(his words, not mine.) In the mean time he has become a crack pot lawyer. Long talks over longer chess games (he took, no lie 35-37 minutes to move almost every move.) During those games I learned critical thinking from a mind that I know could hold it's weight in any arena, law, business, even war strategy.

It struck me how sad it was that he would never get out of prison because "Ignorance of law is no defense" as he would say at least 16 times a day.

When I got close to coming home he started telling me more and more what my responsibility to the world was. He didn't word it like that, but that's what it amounts to. At the time I didn't understand what he meant by "You have responsibilities." He would say this followed by "learn and teach your peeps, if you don't do that your not fit to be on the outside, and you'll be back in here." I'd learned a lot in the 3 years I was in but not enough, because it wasn't my last trip to prison. I was on the same old tip only I knew I could read entire law books and connect the legal dots, something that was foreign to me before. But I didn't want to hear about responsibility, I wanted to get back home to that 8 birds that I heard through the grape vine my crew had just landed.

So, for almost 2 months I avoided him until the day before I went home when I took him a walkman I told him I would leave him. He said, "I'll hold this for you, because you'll be back." I walked away smiling trying to cover my anger. I chalked it up to an old man in prison talking just to talk. Well, hindsight is 20/20 like a mofo, and nobody knows the future, but the educated can make an educated guess and get it right. I didn't come back to that prison, I got arrested in New York a little over 1 year later.

This is my salute to one of my teachers, a great mind the world at large will probably never know... He could have been on par with Johnny Cochran if not for ignorance of law not being a defense.

Got the pic from his daughter and I promised to give it back... And I will.

Much respect O.G. Pop.