AllHipHop.com: Mandatory sentencing disparities recently changed under President Obama. Any thoughts?
Big Meech: (LOL) Yeah, they changed the crack law twice in 24 years, and it still only helped a few people. We are grateful for the ones that it has helped, but all of the drug laws need to be changed, especially for first-time, non-violent offenders. Everyone deserves a second chance in life. Powder and crack are the same drug in different form. You put 15 grams of baking soda on 35 grams of powder cocaine, then cook the 15 grams of baking soda off to bring it to a rock form of 35 grams or less, depending on how you cook. So, whats the difference besides the thousand years the judge is going to sentence you to in court for the crack instead of powder? The government knows that crack is sold in predominately Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, so thats who their targets are to keep the incarceration rate up.
AllHipHop.com: What are your thoughts on the president?
Big Meech: First, Im thankful that God blessed me to live and see our first Black president. I feel that the president before him made one big mess of America that it is impossible for Obama to clean it up, even if he gets a second term. I feel that all the stimulus packages in the world wont revamp our economy, if we cant create new jobs or new ways to make money. Violence is high in most of our Black cities and communities because our children have no guidance or people that they respect enough to listen to at home or in the community.
Hopefully, President Obama will take the time to look out for his people before he leaves office. Bush pardoned the most people ever before he left office, which included John Forte who did seven years of a 14-year prison sentence. Im not looking for a pardon, although I would take it if he did it for me. I would love to see him change all the drug laws which are too severe and extreme for this day and age. If you look at all the fathers and mothers serving lengthy prison sentences, elderly grandparents are raising their young children. The gap between the children and their grandparents is so far apart that communication and understanding between them is almost impossible. So, theres a lot of hostility and disrespect between young people and elderly people. Other than that, I think President Obama and his family handle being in the spotlight and the scrutiny that comes with that office very well.
AllHipHop.com: What are your thoughts on prisons in America?
Big Meech: We have the highest incarceration rate in the entire world, over three million people and counting. America is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. Prison is nowhere near the rehabilitation place the justice system claims it is. They mix nonviolent inmates with violent inmates. Some people come in with three or four years, and end up with 20 or more years, or a life sentence simply because they had to protect themselves. Any and everything can send you to jail or prison in America, and thats not always the right answer. They need to bring back 65 percent (time served of time sentenced) and parole for federal inmates. In the state of Georgia, you do 35 percent of your time if your crime is non-iolent or drug related. The feds are taking over so many state cases, that people who wouldve gotten probation or county jail time are now getting six years or more.
AllHipHop.com: Describe what your day is like?
Big Meech: (LMFAO). I have to laugh at this question to keep from crying, but trust me, Im crying inside. Ive been in the hold on 23 and 1′ [23 hours in cell and one hour out per day] since June 2011. This SMU sh*t is like a torture camp for real. First, showers are only on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Both me and my celly have to cuff up whether one of us is leaving to go to rec, shower, or medical, or if both of us are leaving. Everywhere we go, our hands are in black box handcuffs behind our back with a C.O. holding our cuffs, walking with us. Im always trying to get out of my handcuffs first because you never know when your celly may have a bad day and jump you while you still have your cuffs on.
Theres three or four fights or stabbings daily, especially since its hot. If you disobey them, youll get a heavy dose of tear gas, which has the whole building choking and coughing, eyes burning. Then theyll put you in restraints handcuffed extra tight with a chain around your waist, shackled. Ive heard grown men cry crocodile tears from their hands swelling and nerve damage from the cuffs. If thats not enough, they have another form of punishment called Four Points where they put you on your back chained around both ankles and wrists in a very cold room with the lights on. Everyone who reads this should look up Lewisburg SMU online and read about the deaths, disfigurements, and inhumane conditions and brutality that goes on in here. So, my days are like a living hell.
AllHipHop.com: How is your family coping?
Big Meech: My family is handling my incarceration the best way that they can, but its very hard on my mother and father. My father went to prison for 18 months for money laundering, and both their sons got 30-year sentences which, at their age, seem like life sentences. Ive been in the worst mood of my bid because my father is in a lot of pain due to diabetes and may have to have both of his legs cut off. I cant even make a phone call to speak to him or anyone for that matter. I get so frustrated and agitated at times. I have a really strong family bond, so when one of us is going through it, its like all of us is going through it.
