Commentary
Woman Writes Open Letter to Judge Who Sentenced Her Father to 15 Life Sentences for a Non-Violent First Offense
The “Honorable” Judge Marvin E. Aspen
Dear Judge Marvin E. Aspen:
It took me some time to address you because I didn’t know you were the source of my anger until recently. In case you care to know who I am, I’m Maria Lloyd- the daughter of Mario Lloyd, the non-violent, first-time offender from Chicago. You sentenced him to 15 life sentences without parole on May 11, 1989. He has been incarcerated since I was the age of two. In addition to sending my father to prison, you also sentenced my grandmother, my aunt, and my uncle. You basically incarcerated my entire family.
I’m not one to make excuses for anyone’s poor decisions, including those of my own family. They broke the law, so they deserved punishment. I get it. I also get the point you were proving in punishing them: Drug trafficking is not tolerated in the state of Illinois. It’s quite obvious you were taking a very personal stand against the War on Drugs. Well, as you can imagine, I have too, but I’m sure our views differ.
Even if one argues that my family deserved to go to prison for the distribution of drugs, does my father deserve to be incarcerated for life? Do you really think he deserves to die in prison? My four siblings and I have literally faced hell because of our father’s incarceration. I truly believe my eldest brother, who is now deceased, wouldn’t have died at the hands of violence if my father wasn’t incarcerated.
You have no idea how much embarrassment, confusion, and heartache a child faces when handed an Emergency Contact Form requesting contact information for mom and dad. For years, I’d write my father’s name and ask my mom if I could write the prison’s information on the lines requesting his address and phone number. “Daddy-Daughter” socials were the worst. Instead of enjoying the festivities, I would stay home in shame because of my father’s incarceration. I’m still haunted by those experiences to this very day, and I have yet to recover emotionally.
I can’t believe the word “Honorable” is placed before your name and title. What’s honorable about your work? Nothing. Because of you, I haven’t recited the Pledge of Allegiance in years. Liberty and justice aren’t for “all”, it’s reserved exclusively for the wealthy which are generally of European descent.
I know my dad deserved to be punished for his crimes- I accept that. But, for a non-violent, first time offense, 15 life sentences is far too harsh. By giving a life sentence to my father, you also sentenced me to a lifetime of misery that comes from losing the man I’ve loved since birth. My father has spent 23 years of my life in prison. Now, I pray that men like you will never be allowed to ruin a family again. To be honest, I don’t wish hardship upon you but I definitely don’t wish you well.
Sincerely,
Maria Lloyd
Mario Lloyd Smiling with 3 out of 4 of His Living Children “We smile just to fight through the pain.” – Maria Lloyd
Karl
June 25, 2018 at 1:40 pm
Very well written and touching letter….For what it’s worth the Judge is moron!
BigWill
April 12, 2019 at 2:17 am
As I’m watching the show “American Greed” last night it profiled a caucasian woman in up_state NY who embezzled $45 Million dollars from multiple unions over many years. The caucasian judge sentenced her to only SIX years in prison although she ruined the retirement funds of thousands of city and state workers. Caucasians will continue to treat black ppl as slaves as long as black ppl insist on praying to a white male as his/her god. Wake_Up black People.
J. D. Hill
May 25, 2020 at 11:04 pm
Wake up, Black people, and do what? Give us specifics! We Blacks have a lot more power than we realize. We just allow some of it to lie dormant and we give the rest of it away!
In America, power has two forms: money and the vote. We Black people give our billions of community dollars to Whites, Asians, Latinos, and to others who don’t even grin very much in our faces anymore. We have to be begged to register to vote and begged to go to the polls every election day. Others know that we have no power because we are ignorant of the fact that, collectively, we have enough to help put in and to put out of office any
mayor, governor, sheriff, and certainly any judge.
Caucasians treat Black people as slaves? What if we stopped acting and conducting our personal and business, and financial affairs like slaves!
Tawanda
July 15, 2021 at 4:03 pm
Well said.
altha
July 15, 2021 at 11:39 pm
@J.D. Hill, maybe you need to WAKE-UP you can’t tire ALL blacks with you. You might not know this but if you get out and vote even in mid-term you have done your part don’t say all blacks because you have no idea what you’re talking about. Yes, I have no ideal how whites treats blacks I know how I am treated believe me it’s not a slave. I wouldn’t sit back like you, and be treated like NOTHING! and put ALL blacks in the same bed with me being treat any-kind-of way by whites I would DIE first. @J.D.Hill wake up!!
Telliacnaxor
July 15, 2021 at 4:59 pm
What white god are you referring to that Black people pray to? The God I pray to is a Spirit (they that worship Him, must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth!) and the Savior I pray to, Jesus Christ, an African, born in Bethlehem, hidden in Egypt and raised in Nazareth was of a dark skinned man born as the only begotten Son of God. So, once you can tell me who the white god that Black people pray to, then I can understand better who you are referring to. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Will
July 15, 2021 at 5:57 pm
Well said.
Why color always play a part?
Magi
July 17, 2021 at 9:16 am
His name couldn’t be jesus. God is a 500 year old word. It’s a deviation of good. Devil is the deviation of evil. We’re living in hell because we do not honor thy mother & father. They did not worship any jesus.
Sonja
July 15, 2021 at 7:54 pm
and you would be correct. The blacks are the Biblical Hebrews. Look it up Deut 28:68 who else went into slavery by cargo slave ships other than the blacks, Native Americans and Hispanics? These are the 12 Tribes of Israel. This is why you are oppressed, hated and murdered?
Crystal
July 15, 2021 at 12:15 pm
you should be able to fight this now……….I would get in touch with a lawyer that does these kinds of cases of setting people that got unfair sentences free……….
John Quaye Quao
September 2, 2021 at 5:44 pm
Of course even one life sentence for a first offender is just too harsh and heartless. This would NEVER happen in the UK and other western European countries. Also black people in the United States must be much more United and participate fully in the electoral system
eric
December 24, 2021 at 8:32 pm
CAN SOMEONE BURY THIS RACIST JUDGE.. BECAUSE HE RUINE ALOT OF BLACK LIVES.. NO WONDER THERE ARE MORE BLACK PEOPLE IN PRISON THAN ANY OTHER RACE, BECAUSE OF IGNORANT RACIST WHITE PIECE OF SHIT JUDGES LIKE MARVIN ASPEN WHO SHOULD BE DEAD.
Sheila
June 25, 2018 at 1:49 pm
I agree with you wholeheartedly, and what a beautiful and well-written letter. I commend you! Hang in there, and do try to get him released. His sentence makes no sense to me.
TJ
June 25, 2018 at 2:02 pm
Very well written letter Maria I hope the judge see it personally and it softens his heart. What a heartbreaking story. It seems to me that when a person of color commits a crime society wants to punish them with a fury like no other. 15 life sentences for drug trafficking, first time offender…pure hatred, foolishness and total abuse of power on the part of the judge.
christine
June 25, 2018 at 2:05 pm
I don’t even know where to start. With tears in my eyes, My heart goes out to this young lady. What angers me the most is reading story after story of how our people have Been beaten, killed, given harsh sentences, then seeing whites committing the same offense or worse only to get a slap on the wrist. Seeing a white woman escaped any jail time because she’s to pretty! White woman plows down little black Kids walking home, a hit and run…she goes free. Way to many stories, no one can argue that the white man is sending our black men and woman to jail, and its just another form of slavery
linda
June 26, 2018 at 12:45 am
I hate to say it hun, but if you see what I see you will know that its not only meted out to blacks,and also the majority of whites who are meting out this type of ridiculous punishment for such a crime to a first offender is usually the type of wealthy power wielding white man who has no inkling of what it is to grow up with the inner city blues of the impoverished or less privelleged…if you let you self get too bogged down on the colour thing,you gonna end up thinking just like dirty old judge dread getting away with this type of sentancing….,indeed today I wrote a reply to larryj here saying oddly enough its the 2nd mad sentence thing I came accross today,the other was a couple of young men from the uk who had travelled to the Arab Emirates and got caught selling a little bit of hash for personal consumption to an undercover cop..the 2 guys responsible have apparently been sentanced to DEATH!! get that!!! so the fight is not against flesh and blood madam but against principalities and powers no matter what colour–just saying hun -feel no way-by the way- I dont think if I was Maria shoes I would have been so spot on dignified or tame…bless!!
Bernard
December 25, 2019 at 1:59 am
Wow…this looks like an old article but this is so sad. I hate her and her siblings went through this. I’m trying to teach my son now to think and make sound decisions. You are at the mercy of the system when you don’t make good decisions.
Wanda
June 25, 2018 at 2:09 pm
This is heart wrenching. Now the next step is to express our thoughts when he try’s to get re-elected as a judge. We as a people MUST express ourselves when the elections come. A lot of people won’t go out to vote in all of the elections and this is the result. Show these people that we are NOT going to stand for the double standard BS. I know this is a different State, but here it is Zimmerman was able to get out of jail on a 15k bond for murdering a child. Folks, we must vote these people out who don’t give a damn about our interest. I cannot not emphasize the 3B’s enough (BALLOTS, BOOKS, BUCKS), in other words (VOTES, EDUCATION, AND MONEY). People, know what’s going on. If you don’t like reading, tune in to MSNBC and stop spending your dollars with people who don’t give a DAMN about you and your welfare. Our community have so much money, which can be recycled among ourselves. LASTLY, GET YOUR ASS OUT THERE AND VOTE. VOTE, VOTE! STOP destroying each other! Stop the “crab in the bucket” mentality. We’re destroying each other……teach your children the right way to live. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH US! WE BUILT THIS COUNTRY AND DON’T HAVE A DAMN THING TO SHOW FOR IT. WHY?!
radiah
June 25, 2018 at 4:28 pm
You are so right People don’t. vote! And BLACK PEOPLE need to wake up out of their integrated la-la land! We have been shone what is thought of us! Look at the dogging of President. Obama. What lawmakers can help this family? This is tragic!
Elizabeth
June 25, 2018 at 9:00 pm
First, I wish we would all use African-American instead of “black” because it reduces us to a color below human status.
Second, this has nothing to do with President Obama, he was not the cause of this man’s crime and he is not at fault for this ridiculous sentence.
Third, we have over 1 million African-American males in jail between the age of 18-40, Why? We need to look in the mirror because that is where we will find the problem.
As long as we have drop out pregnant teen girls and incarcerated males we are doomed as a people…I am tired of excuses and the blaming of ALL except US.
JamCanSense
June 25, 2018 at 11:39 pm
Ummm…Elizabeth? What the hell are u saying???
First, I am African-Canadian only because my father is African as in from AFRICA. A lot of American BLACKS claim the ancestry but don’t like Africans as it is, referring to their hair (tougher than Nigerian hair – lil wayne), complexions (black as…) and lifestyles in Africa (of which they are totally ignorant) in disparaging language. Please…u can’t have it both ways. Indians aren’t claiming u nor yr hair! (They don’t claim me either and I REALLY AM PART INDIAN BTW, but I digress…)
Second, one MUST highlight the negative attention given the most powerful man in the free world. Have u EVER heard of ANY candidate’s place of birth being an issue much less the entire farce being allowed to play out on the international scene? That is the most disrespectful, biggest slap in the face that I have seen played out in the media as if the argument had teeth. Who questioned Bush’s ID when many of his credentials are so questionable (that dude went to HARVARD?? GTFOH).
And third, u may have over 1 million black people in jail in the US, but how many ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THERE?
Here in Canada, there is a similar issue. For example, my daughter’s button popped off of her pants above the fly. She was subsequently suspended for a week for gang activity as the gangster chicks had a way of rolling the tops of their pants down to show the tops of their panties…like the boys. I was told she did NOT roll down her pants, nor did she associate with these gang ppl but they had to be “fair”. In the mean time, her white classmate set a large garbage bin on fire INSIDE the school DURING school hours. The police and fire departments both came. He was not charged, but had an in-school psychologist for a month.
What is the correlation? As black people, we are PRE-judged to be IRREPARABLY DAMAGED, IRREVOCABLY NON-HUMAN ENTITIES AND THEREFORE UNWORTHY. Therefore, if u make a mistake, they come down on u to the fullest extent of the law criminalizing u and putting into the system when u don’t need to be. White people are given RESOURCES and offered a way of staying out of the criminal system (privatized care).
Out here in Canada, we have ghettoes, we have crackheads, we have most of the same issues across the board so I know of what I speak. There are MORE white people on welfare, incarcerated, rapists on the loose, leading otherwise, f*d up lives, etc. than black. But due to the white-owned media, who spins corporate/gov’t greed, u BELIEVE these demographics are draining the budget when it’s CORPORATIONS that are costing us ALL on BOTH sides of the border.
Stop watching CNN (largest purveyor of propaganda) and go feed some kids who didn’t have breakfast this morning, it will strengthen them and they will learn compassion and community. Ask a single mom if there is something u can do to lighten her load…there’s that word again…Community. Pay the extra dollar that an item costs in a black-owned store instead of demanding a freebie…Hello! What’s that? Oh yeah, COMMUNITY!!
Unfortunately for us all, but especially for yourself, u don’t even realise that it is YOUR very MENTALITY that is at the ROOT of the “African-American Problem”. What have u done to open the eyes of our children at a grass-roots, community level? What have u given of your time, resources not $$$ to leave a positive yet indelible mark on our “African” community in diaspora?
I’m not here to disparage u, but please tell me u don’t talk about black people in front of whites. That would make u the worst kind of N-word there is…
No disrespect to u personally, but it is what it is…
#stop-drinking-the-koolaid-it-causes-self-loathing
Lissette
November 29, 2018 at 9:13 am
Beautifully written! Absolutely Correct!
BigWill
April 12, 2019 at 2:30 am
As I’m watching the show “American Greed” last night it profiled a caucasian woman in up_state NY who embezzled $45 Million dollars from multiple unions over many years. The caucasian judge sentenced her to only SIX years in prison although she ruined the retirement funds of thousands of city and state workers. Caucasians will continue to treat black ppl as slaves as long as black ppl worldwide insist on praying to a white male as his/her god. Wake_Up black People.
cheche
December 25, 2019 at 6:55 am
I don’t know why anyone would listen to anything lil wayne has to say or most rappers for that matter! most of the rappers don’t even acknowledge dark skinned black women with natural hair! If their not light skin with “good hair”, or weave then they are considered unattractive! So please don’t base any of your opinions on these rappers!!!!
J. D. Hill
May 25, 2020 at 11:19 pm
A Black friend of mine has an Asian sister-in-law who shops primarily in Asians stores and pays a few cents or dollars more for her goods and services – all because of her sense of COMMUNITY. Nobody doesn’t want to deal with their own people, except Black people! Yet we dare to complain about what White folk ain’t doing!
Yes, we point that accusatory index finger at others, but there are at least three fingers pointing right back ourselves!
Tasha
June 25, 2018 at 2:16 pm
This was a very well written letter and the truth. Maria I agree with you this punishment was harsh and unexceptable. How can you give a first time offender this type of punishment. The laws are definitely not for us. I hope some one hears your cry and your father gets released. God Bless you.
James A.
April 11, 2019 at 2:24 pm
Would you feel this way if her father had sold one of your kids drugs, got them hooked and destroyed his or her life?
Benjamin Ilori
July 16, 2021 at 12:04 am
Fifteen live sentences without parole is just exceptionally too hash for a first offender. She said her dad deserved to be punished for what he did but the sentence given to him was just too much. Could quantify how many life the woman who embezzled $45 millions ruined? Yes I would definitely hate it if my child was sold drugs. Think about it who are the real supplier of the drugs being sold; if proper investigation is conducted we will find out the big wig supplier is probably white. If this type of situation happened to you, how would you feel? 15 life sentences is just plain ridiculous for a first offender.
jwoodlock
July 16, 2021 at 12:37 am
Read the fact’s
QUAN WEATHERS
June 25, 2018 at 2:20 pm
SHEILA U JUS SPOKE IT OUT 4 ALL OF US US AS PPL NEED 2 DO MORE N VOTE DEZ BASTARDS OUT OF OFFICE /POSITION/ W.E IT IS THEY R IN THEY NEED 2 GO
Renee
June 25, 2018 at 2:22 pm
Very good letter and I stand by you Maria. So-called “justice” is ONLY reserve for those of European descent. Lets not kid ourselves. The War On Drugs is a war on black people. Nothing more or less.
LarryJ
June 25, 2018 at 2:23 pm
Your drug dealing family got what they deserved, long prison terms. I am soory that we live in a society that do not execute low life drug dealers….!!!! You grew up without your father..??? How about the tens of thousands who lost their fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, etc,to drugs, drug related violence, sold to them by people like members of your criminal father, uncle and grandmother…!!! How many Black communities have been ravaged by drugs….How many crack addicted babies born, discarded or even killed via child abuse and neglect because of a drug addicted parent, etc,. How many young Black people influenced by easy drug selling money were killed, disabled or in prison because of drugs…..I lost many friends and family to drugs during the 1970s, 80s, 90s, etc,. Your low life drug dealing family maynot have force people to use drugs, but they were the enablers……Do I feel sorry for you..No !!! YOu should visit a ward at your local hospital where the crack addicted babies are………LarryJ
Nolove
June 25, 2018 at 3:41 pm
I really can’t understand why everyone is touched by this letter. Her family was feeding drugs to our babies and destroying our community. Who’s to say if her dad had not gone to jail that he would have mad a positive influence in her life. Maybe she needs to thank the judge that he is still alive in jail, instead of dead on these streets, ( i know thats a stretch) He chose his fate. He chose where he wanted to be. When he said yes to trafficking drugs, he said no to being a father. For every action, there’s a reaction. I’ll be glad when families can hold drug distributors civilly liable for destroying their family. There would be a lot rich black folks out there, if they started sueing drug dealer like these white folk sue these pharmacuetical companies….. #noloveforthosewhotearusdown
nedrea Scott
June 25, 2018 at 3:42 pm
LarryJ, you are the epitomy of stupid. I don’t care for drug dealers either, but I have the good sense and heart to love and care for someone outside of my own self. Her family did not and does not deserve this and I love and feel sorry for this girl’s family and herself. You are nothing more than a bitter ignorant uneducated fool, with an ice pump for a heart.
I hope her family gets out of prison and they are able to live a good life and that judge is removed from his position and never able to retain it again. You on the other hand, are a buck dancing uncle tom, you’re another Herman Caine and someone needs to sit you down and teach you the meaning of truth and love because you are supremely hateful.
Nolove
June 25, 2018 at 3:57 pm
The honest truth is if her family got out today, her dad would be right back on the streets. Unless he hit the lotto or truly reformed, the pressure of not being able to provide would find him right back on the streets. It would be very difficult for him to find a decent paying job. First fact, he got a crimminal record, second fact is he is a minority and more then likely he has no college education and no experiance. No one is going to hire him and he will be right back contributing to the problems destroying our black communities.
Connie
June 26, 2018 at 11:45 am
First of all Nolove with all due respect if you read the letter she clearly stated that she understands the punishment for her Father’s action, but you know as well as I know no one deserves 15 life sentences we only have one life to live. Sometimes when we don’t wear other ppl shoes we tend not to understand but imagine someone u love gone away forever and they are not dead how would u really feel? This man has been gone since 1989 he has well served his punishment plus more think about it if it was you then reply.
LarryJ
June 25, 2018 at 6:42 pm
Nedrea Scott, because I decided not to be a criminal, a drug dealer, a baby daddy, a welfare bum and social deviant, etc,. But worked since I was 8 years old, joined the army, fought in one big war and several small ones. Came home, worked several menial jobs while attending college parttime and graduating. While taking just about every civil service test available to me. And taking care of myself, paying my taxes, voting, serving on jury duty and I think being a role model to some Black kids……For all the postive things I have done in my life from lower than low humble beginnings, you call me a “buck dancing Uncle Tom and Herman Caine!” When I compare myself to people like Mario Lloyd, I must be in good company…..LarryJ
JamCanSense
June 26, 2018 at 12:13 am
I almost agree with u except a few basic facts. Black ppl get the chump change in profit frm the drugs. If u see a drug dealer with a BMW, do know there is a white man out there allowing him to.
The REAL profiteers are Gov’t officials, and corporate entities profiting in the billions off of the “war on drugs”. Who controls the transport systems? Not us. Who supplies the world (then the hood) with arms? Not us. Who controls the state of the schools and educational systems? We have little say. Who does most of the corporate hiring and firing? Not us. Who runs ALL the systems ALL ppl depend on? Most definitely not us.
Now, the drugs are confiscated by whom? He’s paid. Destroyed by whom? He’s paid. Who makes these arrests? He’s paid. Who profiles, shoots and kills our sons? He gets a BONUS. I’ve never seen a black man make a gun or a missile. But I’ve seen corporate greed responsible for ENTIRE TOWNS being destroyed and shut down!
In terms of strictly numbers, the gov’t is responsible for much more harm and evil than all the drug dealers put together. They disseminate false info via the media, and send the poor citizens who love their country and who bust their butts to stay OFF the streets BEING good citizens, to die by gunfire defending theft of other countries’ resources (peace?!). How many congress people (white with $$$) have family that went to war? 1…a cousin or something like that.
Why should this dude rot while the REAL drug dealers are sitting in the senate eating steak, sipping wine right now? Systematic extermination of the poor is old news. Whether via drugs, gangs, or war, my question is if the end result is the same, what’s the difference? And why should this poor fool pay the price?
LarryJ
June 26, 2018 at 1:03 am
JamCanSense, Mario is paying the price because he was a dumb drug dealer…….As you posted, the real drug dealers are the government and the corporations and their connected allies. Those people are better educated, articulate and have boundless resources with social and political influence. They are national and international and they are insulated within legitimate businesses and institutions. Hood rat drug dealers cannot think beyond a BMW, bling bling, $ 400 sneakers and designer clothes. He behaves like a thug, carry a gun and is surrounded by a brain dead posse or crew……Hood Rat drug dealers cannot maintain a low profile and make a lot of noise drawing attention from the law and other rivals. He does not know how to invest his money into legit businesses. He does not buy political influence nor pay for top police protection, etc,. And he does not know when to get out. In the end, the street drug dealers become to hot to handle and become a liability to the real big boys, and he end up dead, in prison or in a wheelchair. The big boys know that there are many more Hood Rats out there to take his place…….
jwoodlock
July 16, 2021 at 12:42 am
know the Fact’s
Christopher
June 25, 2018 at 4:30 pm
Following your penchant for inexcusable mistakes then it would lead one to believe that those very fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, sisters and brothers that lost their lives to drugs and/or drug related violence also deserved what they received, death. Drugs are poisonous and therefore ingesting, inhaling and injecting them within oneself is no less criminal than those that sell them. They didn’t have the strength to stay off the drugs so why should they not be held accountable? At least most drug dealers are not doing the drugs and therefore looking to provide a life for themselves and/or their family.
I could go into the very epidemic of pharmaceutical companies doing the very same thing to the people of this country that “illegal” drugs do, but I’m pretty sure it’d be a little difficult for you to follow. Let’s not forget that Heroin was created by pharmaceuticals because morphine was addictive.
I feel sorry for the friends who lost their lives, but I pity the lack of intellect and maturity you have about this situation. Life sentence (let alone 15 life sentences) for non-violent FIRST offense… that’s harsh no matter what you say. I’ll leave it at that for now.
linda
June 26, 2018 at 12:29 am
this oddly enough is the 2nd mad sentence article I have read today,and yes drugs is an evil we can do without in a world that is so far from ideal.but if there wasnt a market for them where would the pusher be??? so the problem is deeper than so!!!This man was obviously whipped by the hand of the devil without mercy to sentence him to 15 life terms-the mere fact that someone would imagine he could serve such a sentence testifies to their own insanity -and an insatiable appetite for power wielding…..May all good people be blessed -may the reime that does devide and rule be it by colour class or religious indoctrination be toppled and die a final death so that human beings can learn to nurture and live in the brotherhood of man casting evil firmly behind them and say with one accord yes!!! Thank God Almighty Free at last Amen!!
LarryJ
June 26, 2018 at 12:29 pm
Christopher, you have a lot to say about maturity and intellect and pointing the blame to what pharmaceutical companies are creating and all that ivory tower philosophy sugar coating Black drug dealers as if they were forced to sell their destructive and deadly product via some big government and corporate conspiracy, etc,. I grew up in a household with an heroin addict. I had family members whom were drug dealers and drug addicts. I had two family members dead in their youth because illegal drug usage. And one nephew, a gifted musician attending the Staten Island Conservatory Of Music, killed during a drug deal gone bad. I grew up in a Harlem drug plagued neighborhood where big time drug dealers like Bumby Johnson, Nicky Barnes and Frank Lukcas were feared and idolized because of their fancy big cars, designer clothes, bling bling, fine women and gangster ways. One of my uncles, “Smilin Bill” was also a big time drug dealer who once owned a city block of businesses in Harlem. He ended up doing 30 yeras in prison and died a broken broke old man….I worked during a 37 year period as a social caseworker at Child Welfare investigating reports of child abuse and neglect. I worked in the criminal courts and later became and retired as a law enforcement officer. I once supervised drug dealers and drug addicts. And I arrested so many local drug dealers that I lost count. I have seen the broken homes, families, broken souls and dead bodies and crime victims all done in by drugs and drug related crimes. Drug dealing is a personal choice. No whiteman, corporation, government, CIA,etc,..can force anyone to sell drugs. Drug dealing is motivated by greed at the expense of others. I was a welfare kid and poor to the bone. Did I become a drug dealer……no. And in my poverty and depression, did I become a drug addict robbing from my family, neighbors, old people and kids to get my next fix…..no. I had no problem arresting drug dealers and criminal junkies. And if they resisted arrest, I would use my handcuff and knock their teeth out and throw their azzes down the staires. And if I heard you were selling drugs to kids……… So don`t you come here preaching to me about sensitivity, maturity and intellect. I can tell that you are one of those guttless men whom would do nothing if they see a senior citizen being mugged or a child being raped…..!! I`ll leave it at that for now…….I even doubt that you are a military vet….
Christopher
March 3, 2019 at 12:35 pm
Given you do not know me or my experiences, I will let some of your ASSumptions slide. I am not a military vet, but this does not imply any lack of guts to protect those in need of protecting.
Drug dealing is not always motivated by greed nor lack of care for anyone else, but sometimes owed to the desire to provide for one’s family with other options that have been subsequently denied or removed because of the white supremacist system that has stayed in effect since the founding of this country. This is not a “blame the white man” situation, however admitting to the insulation and protection that the true “power holders” and drug dealers have within this country.
In terms of everything else, I am not making excuses for anyone’s poor choices or lack of knowledge about options in this society, however given the fact that most options aren’t always advertised in lower income neighborhoods, it leaves much to be desired for this particular situation.
Given your admission for cruel and unusual torture of those who have distributed drugs, it’s hard to believe that you have any particular sensitivity to anyone’s situation regarding a difficult time and/or tough situations. What I find truly interesting and even partially funny is that you have admitted to treating said distributors with such brutality, but what about the people who are pushing it through and killing people en masse? You’re satisfied with beating up those on the lower end of the totem pole, but not truly doing something to stem the tide of drugs into the community.
Whatever the case, the situation is truly messed up regardless of what angle is taken in terms of perspective, but I guess there’s not much that will be accomplished here in terms of progress with this argument so I’ll leave you with your mentality.
Joe
June 27, 2018 at 1:06 am
Larry, you’re a f*cking idiot. The man has been in prison for over 25 years. Why not let the older man out so that he can raise his kids and be with his family? He deserved to do time, but doesn’t deserve to die in prison, and leaving him behind bars with kids growing up without a father only makes our society worse. You’re not making any sense.
annaJ
November 29, 2018 at 3:29 pm
to: LarryJ
I have read all your comments. I commend you on your honesty and all your hard work. You are a decent man among men. There are no answers to what if’s in life. If the father had not gone to jail or served a shorter term …. there are no answers for that, could have gone many ways. One must make good choices for their selves and their families lives. Live by example. I feel bad for many situations. Sometimes people learn sometimes they don’t. Hopefully the ones who need it most will get the help they need. Perhaps some of these people with strong voices I’m reading here will stand up and ‘DO’ something in a positive way that helps. annaj
BigWill
April 12, 2019 at 2:33 am
As I’m watching the show “American Greed” last night it profiled a caucasian woman in up_state NY who embezzled $45 Million dollars from multiple unions over many years. The caucasian judge sentenced her to only SIX years in prison although she ruined the retirement funds of thousands of city and state workers. Caucasians will continue to treat black ppl as slaves as long as black ppl worldwide insist on praying to a white male as his/her god. Wake_Up black People.
muriel murphy
June 25, 2018 at 2:28 pm
where is the justice in this ~ none ! so sorry XOOOOX muriel*
Levita
June 25, 2018 at 2:39 pm
This letter truly brought tears to my eyes…. WHY do BLACK MEN always get treated so poorly!!! What part does these people not get? OUR BLACK MEN ARE LOVED,, they are our brothers, our uncles, our nephews, our cousins, OUR FATHERS! They have a mother, sisters, brothers ect…. BLACK MEN ARE LOVED SO DEEPLY BY THEIR FAMILIES!!! All I get out of these type of story is WHITE PEOPLE feel as tho the average BLACK MEN has no value in life…… WTF! I get brake da law and you get punish….. BUT BE F’n FAIR!
LarryJ
June 25, 2018 at 2:50 pm
Wanda, I first started voting back then at the legal voting age of 21. I voted for then Black Congressman, Adam Clayton Powell. After all the good he had done for Harlem, he became a crook and was kicked out of Congress. Then I started voting for Black Congressman, Charles Rangel, who sold Harlem out, became a thief, liar, did not pay his taxes for 10 years, did not pay his car parking fees for 20, had control of and rent out four rent controlled apartments at the Lenox Terence Complex, while there were hundreds of poor Black Harlem families living in public shelters waiting on affordable housing. I stopped voting for this bum 18 years ago……and he`s still in Congress…!!!! Two of my former NYS Senators, Epheim Gonzalez, is now in prison for stealing public money from a kid`s center. And the most recent one, Pedro Espada, is currently on trial for stealing $$ millions from a community health center catering to poor Blacks and Hispanics……..Does voting really have an impact…????Look at what we as Black people got from President Obama…nothing. Where are the job programs, summer youth programs,etc,. Yet he bailed out Wall Street, The Bankers, The Auto Industry, The Insurance Industry and saved the very same people whom stole this country blind………..This time around, I am voting for Mickey Mouse…..!!! LarryJ
Mrs Brown
June 25, 2018 at 2:57 pm
Yes way too harsh.. Too harsh for me to continue reading because I’m sure I’ll cry. This hasn’t happened to me personally but lately I’ve been thinking a whole lot about our messed up judicial system and f’d up in the head a** judges attorneys etc. This country needs to answer for a lot of bs if it wants to get better. This has fueled me that much more to fight for what’s right! I mean afterall drugs were strategically put here by the “man” to bring us poor folks down as low as possible, what they don’t realize us you can’t keep good people down & that God will over rule their evil plans. I too am a victim of bogus judicial work, it’s do sad!
Bernice
June 25, 2018 at 2:57 pm
As bad as it is and may seem. Remember, God is STILL in control. May God continue to Bless you and your family.
Mrs Brown
June 25, 2018 at 3:03 pm
I mean really how the hell does a drug dealer get more time than molestors & murderers! To Larryj, get your mind right! She acknowledges her father should have been punished, but as far as I’m concerned, non violent first time offendersthst have been bogusly sentenced need to be released into better circumstances & replaced with the ppl who need to be there immediately!
LarryJ
June 25, 2018 at 3:05 pm
Though I am a retired law enforcement officer, I have been stopped by the police several times while driving or walking here in New York City. Do I like it….no. But I understand why. Its Black on Black crime that is killing Blackmen, Black women and Black children. Its young Blackmen and some young Black women robbing and killing Black senior citizens. Just last week alone, 10 Black and Hispanics were shot here in NYC. An 88 year old women was mugged and killed by a Hispanic man for her jewelry. A 5 year old Black child was killed by gun fire between Black street gangs, etc,…..Damn, whom are the real terrorist in the Black communities……I wish we had a Judge Aspen in New York City……!!!!! LarryJ
Lynn
June 25, 2018 at 3:18 pm
Sad. Incredibly sad. As one who has been in prison themselves, I know very few of “European descent” get the harsh and heartless sentences this man did. I’m tempted to write a letter to that judge as well. “Justice” is not justice unless it applies equally to all … rich and poor, Black and White, etc. with the same degree of penalty meted out for the same crime regardless of race or class. To hear of this man getting FIFTEEN life sentences, basically a death sentence, for a first time nonviolent offense is heartbreaking and with all my years struggling for Civil Rights, I can see sadly the job is FAR from done. Jim Crow has NOT died … it has simply moved from the “in your face” approach of a past era to the economy, and the criminal justice system. I seriously doubt if this had been a White man, the same harsh sentence would have been handed down from the bench!
Tamika Porter
June 25, 2018 at 3:23 pm
@ Larry J.. I really agree with you on this one!
My father used to be a former legal millionaire in the 80’s..good life until he and my mother start using crack cocaine. After they split I went to live with mother, who then started to let drug dealer “touch us” for drugs. My father lost his business and contracted HIV from a prostitute. So I really don’t feel or have any sympathy for drug dealers. They all can rot as far as I am concerned. They enabled my parents which made it hard for me in life..and I was an innocent by standard. So what about the children who have no voices when their parents stayed addicted by money hungry drug dealers. The drug dealers did not give a shit when they seen their customer kids suffering, where was there kind heart then? Why should the judge have a kind heart.? But I am part of the few that did not let my parents past control my future. There mistakes has made me a stronger person and what not to become. So I am with you Larry J!
Nolove
June 25, 2018 at 4:09 pm
I certainly feel you on this one. I have 3 little ones and my biggest fear is that one day they will get curious about drugs and get hooked and strung out. If anyone’s ever watched The Corner, thats the most depressing story. I don’t do jail house visit, but I sure will go visit my kids for killing someone for pushing drugs on them, instead of them getting strung out.
Maria Lloyd
June 25, 2018 at 4:50 pm
Tamika,
I am terribly sorry for what you endured. You and I share the same story, but with different endings. I am also sorry that my father and the rest of my family enabled your parents to execute their poor decisions.
I want to be clear in indicating who the real enemy is… It’s not people like my family, it’s the government. The United States government intentionally placed drugs in the black community for distribution and consumption. They should be held accountable for their actions.
The foreigners who transport millions and billions of dollars of drugs across the US borders are often not sentenced anything. As I mentioned in the letter, I’m not making any excuses for my father and the rest of my family. I actually had an uncle and aunt who became addicts… So we had distributors and users in the same family… How shameful is that?!
The point of the letter is not to acquire sympathy. It’s to shed light on the racial bias in the courtroom and to shed light on the children of the prisoners- who oftentimes suffer more severely than their parents.
I wish you well. And again, I am terribly sorry that you went through what you did.
Peace.
Maria Lloyd
Connie
June 26, 2018 at 12:00 pm
I totally agree with you and as you clearly stated you understand punishment for your family but the is far beyond and to all the ones on here speaking about drug addicts no one made them use drugs. Yes I do understand that is hard to see your family memeber on drugs but how can we blame the dealers we are not blaming all the stores that are selling liquor and tobacco no one is sending them to jail. We shop in these same stores everyday and no one says anything sorry that your families choose to be on drugs but that sometimes is no one fault but their own. Maria I wish you and your family the blessings and please do not stop fighting to get your Dad home he has done enough time for the crime he committed plus more, again how can someone give someone 15 life sentences and we only have one life to live.
cheche
December 25, 2019 at 7:13 am
While I agree drugs were put into the community by the government its our choice to take those drugs and destroy the people who have to live in that community!!! I f you could come to my workplace and see the drug addicted babies, or the ones who have been sold to drug dealers in exchange for drugs, I could go on and on! I do believe everyone deserve a second chance and yes 25 years is a bit extreme, but can you honestly say your father would square up if release from prison today? your father was a major player in the game and it is so easy to become addicted to fast money especially when its in the millions!
Ronald
June 25, 2018 at 3:36 pm
LarryJ,
Your comments are unnecessarily harsh and hateful. In your haste to express your disdain for this woman and her family (without knowing any details) you ignorantly miss the central point, the uneven and racially discriminatory application of the law and punishment. When did you last read about a white person receiving 15 life sentences for ANYTHING? Hell, mass murderers and terrorists don’t receive 15 life sentences. Bernie Madoff whose financial trickery literally ruined thousands of lives only got a life sentence. Don’t get me started on the Wall Street crooks whose criminal behavior has reduced hundreds of thousands of people from middle class to poverty status. You think that doesn’t destroy lives, how many of them have received 15 life sentences? And what about the good white folks who bring the drugs into our country, when’s the last time one of them got 15 life sentences? The Tuskegee study where black men were left to die from undisclosed and untreated syphllis in the name of advancing medical science, how many of those doctors and nurses went to prison for even a day? Your rage and venom
seems to be reserved solely for Black people while you overlook
the destruction heaped upon our community from others which goes completely unpunished.
Lastly, shame on you for the hateful comments directed toward Maria. You can’t imagine the agony of losing your entire family at the hands of a so-called judge’s arbitrary decision and abuse of power, while seeing others, usually whites, who have committed far more serious crimes, walk free everyday. Perhaps when, not if, WHEN life and circumstances kick off in your sorry butt, you’ll be a little more compassionate about someone else’s misfortune.
Ronald
June 25, 2018 at 3:42 pm
LarryJ,
Your comments are unnecessarily harsh and hateful. In your haste to express your disdain for this woman and her family (without knowing any details) you ignorantly miss her central point, the uneven and racially discriminatory application of the law and punishment. When did you last read about a white person receiving 15 life sentences for ANYTHING? Hell, mass murderers and terrorists don’t receive 15 life sentences. Bernie Madoff whose financial trickery literally ruined thousands of lives only got a life sentence. Don’t get me started on the Wall Street crooks whose criminal behavior has reduced hundreds of thousands of people from middle class to poverty status. You think that doesn’t destroy lives, how many of them have received 15 life sentences? And what about the good white folks who bring the drugs into our country, when’s the last time one of them got 15 life sentences? The Tuskegee study where black men were left to die from undisclosed and untreated syphllis in the name of advancing medical science, how many of those doctors and nurses went to prison for even a day? Your rage and venom
seems to be reserved solely for Black people while you overlook
the destruction heaped upon our community from others which goes completely unpunished.
Lastly, shame on you for the hateful comments directed toward Maria. You can’t imagine the agony of losing your entire family at the hands of a so-called judge’s arbitrary decision and abuse of power, while seeing others, usually whites, who have committed far more serious crimes, walk free everyday. Perhaps when, not if, WHEN life and circumstances kick off in your sorry butt, you’ll be a little more compassionate about someone else’s misfortune.
nedrea Scott
June 25, 2018 at 3:51 pm
I feel really bad for her, but all I can do is add her to my list people to pray for. She and her family does not deserve this….
Phyllis Royster, Greensboro, NC
June 25, 2018 at 3:51 pm
Defiantly a heartfelt letter. That is why it’s important to vote and to know who your elected officials are and what they stand for including judges. It is no secret having money is often the gateway to a non-sentence or a lessor sentence. The reality is our society is turning into a classicism society. There is always going to racism however money will open doors that surpass race.
Daisy123
June 25, 2018 at 3:59 pm
When you have racist sheriffs who are in key positions to arrest and trump up charges and still dress up in KKK gear and pass it off as a halloween costume, you know it extends to judges like this one rendering his unfair unjust sentence Mr. Lloyd. Where is the support of the justice system on this? Those guilty of crimes must pay for their crime, but their sentencing must be fair which we all know are not when it comes to Black, and we have no support from Obama or his administration on these specific issues because it largely affects Blacks like no others, who committ no more crimes than others. There is absolutely no excuse why Obama remains silent on these issues, if he’s the President for all people but refuse to support those who are discriminated against the most by all others races including their own.
Nolove
June 25, 2018 at 4:20 pm
Man, we got people eating other people’s faces. This drug issue has been real. We need to reclaim our community. If you are not for the war on drugs, then you are against it.
I am certainly aware of the injustice that we face. However, instead of petition for this drug dealing family to be free, petition for all the other crimminals, white and black, to join them in prison.
coast cooker
June 25, 2018 at 4:47 pm
All I can say is, sad story but, selling drugs are a family killer..
LarryJ
June 25, 2018 at 5:25 pm
Mrs Brown, did you post that you had some sort of criminal justice contact..????? In my 37 years in child welfare, the courts and law enforcement, every criminal I had contact with, always professed to be innocent…….LarryJ
Omar
June 25, 2018 at 5:31 pm
If only we had a public official who wanted to “change” such practices. OBAMA WHERE ARE YOUUUU?!!
NHarris
June 25, 2018 at 6:01 pm
Ronald,
I fully endorse what you have written in response to LarryJ. Using an old biblical reference the King of Israel speaks of justice complemented by truth, mercy and temperance. Too often in this country as is seen with LarryJ’s reaction and response, (and too many judges) justice is complemented by harshness, bias, personal experience and feelings and strictly by the letter of law allowing it to be meted out in extreme, harmful, brutish and punitive measures. This approach to justice has undue harm to a young child/woman like Maria and in the long run brings no true full redress to the crime that has been committed.
Thank you Ronald for your balanced and gracious review and comments on this matter.
LarryJ
June 25, 2018 at 9:20 pm
NHarris, Maria is just one person compared to the hundreds if not thousands of other young Black people, whose lives were destroyed by her family`s drug dealing. And the collaterial damge connected to drug addiction such as robbery, burglary, prositutiuon, overdosed death, related health issues, destruction of Black families and Black communities, child neglect and abuse, etc,….could be even worst. YOu feel sorry for Maria..???? How about feeling sorry for those 5 people killed by a drug addict during a robbery of a drug store on Long Island last year…..The victims had families too…!!!! Damn, I never had a father and never really knew who my father was…….Feel sorry for me…..LarryJ
Scherika
June 27, 2018 at 5:51 am
Talking about those who have been or could be affected by drug dealers is irrelevant b/c in reality the dealer can’t sell unless he has a buyer. The problem is essentially with the addict. I have family members who are on drugs myself. There’s nothing I can do to stop them, they have to be ready to quit. I can’t blame a drug dealer when my cousin steals to pay for his drugs and neither will the arresting officer. Sending a person to prison for life, watching him die 15 times, isn’t going to change anything and we all know that. The only thing an addict will do is find another dealer. What part are u ppl missing about this man having served TWENTY-THREE (23) years…for a first time offense?! As mentioned before, even serial killers don’t get that kind of time. His sentence is absurd as are some of the comments I’ve read thus far. It’s not like he’s on trial and she’s trying to get him off…he has already SERVED 23 years. Maria, all I want to know is if u have intentions of sending out a petition. I hate that some of u have had close personal experiences, but u can’t hold that against this family.
LarryJ
June 25, 2018 at 6:02 pm
For all you bleeding hearts out there, you do the crime, you do the time….!!! I am sure that just about very one of us here have a family member involved with street drugs and/or some degree of petty crime. My Uncle Bill did 30 years for dealing drugs in Harlem and Charleston, S.C.,etc,. He was also alleged to have been involved in drug related murders, etc,. One of my drug dealing cousins was so riddled with bullets, he had a closed casket funeral. A female cousin of mine also died of a drug overdose and she had two children at the time. As a kid, I grew up in a welfare household, where another cousin, 15 years my senior and addicted to heroin, stole just about everything we had including my “piggy bank!” I saw him beat my mother(his aunt) down and take her little welfare money…!!! We lived in fear of this relative for many years until, at the age of 16, I put a street azz whipping on him and threw him through the second floor window and out of the house forever..!!! I had a girlfriend who allowed an older man to talk her into using heroin and she died with the needle in her arm….!!! And he left her on the roof naked and dead…….Do I feel for drug dealers…..no…!!! I know all about the Whites, Hispanics, government, CIA, West Indians, Chinese, etc, importing drugs into the country and distributing it into the poor and minority neighborhoods. I know about the history of slavery, segregation, Jim Crowism, discrimination, etc, against people of color in these United States, damn, I lived through it and was and still is a victim of it..!! But I say this from fact. The drug dealers I see selling drugs in my community, are Blackmen and Black women………LarryJ
Andrea
July 15, 2021 at 5:34 pm
I am an older woman an I’ve seen a lot of things in my lifetime. As far as drug dealers and addicts go, one could not exist without the other. There are probably many reasons why people take and sell drugs. Most of us can identify or know many of the buyers and sellers because they are either family members or friends. In life we all have choices to make. Sometimes we make bad choices for whatever reasons. Illegal drugs have been around for as long as I can remember. They’ve just gotten more prevalent in the last 30-40 years. We all see the affects of drug addiction and what it does to others, so you have to ask this question – why would any rational person engage in this activity? Choice is the common denominator, so that’s why I wouldn’t blame the seller any more than I would the addict. People that have loved ones that are addicts want to blame the dealer, but the users are just as guilty. Also, it’s true that some of the soldiers in the Vietnam war were allowed/given drugs by the government and many came home addicted. My oldest brother was one of them and he died from an overdose one night and my mother found him dead in his room. None of the family knew he was addicted to heroin. I believe something could have been done about the drug epidemic in this country a long time ago, but too many higher-ups are making big bucks from the drug epidemic, so they only go through the motions of appearing to have a war on drugs. The same thing is true of the black on black violence. Most of this could be stopped with drastic measures. Imagine if white males were killing each other at the same rate as black males. I’m sure some kind of special tactics would put in place until something really worked. Most of these killings are drug-related. As far as the sentencing of this family, it goes without saying, this judge gave too much time if this was a first offense. I’d be willing to bet he took this case very personal because he probably has friends or family members he perceives as victims of people like this family. A judge is supposed to be impartial, but in reality are they all the time?
Martha
June 25, 2018 at 6:10 pm
What can we do to stop this criminal-like behavior of a heartless man sitting in judgement over others??? Further what can we do to get this man out of prison NOW ????
LarryJ
June 25, 2018 at 6:22 pm
I ask this question. How many counts of criminal indictments was her father charged with..??? Did each felony conviction carried a life sentence…????? What were the nature of the crimes……One of John Gotti`s brothers is doing life for a drug distribution charge. I think his name is Gene Gotti. Guy Fisher and several of Nicky Barnes crew got life in prison for dealing drugs. Many states have different sentencing guidelines for certain crimes. And many more have mandatory sentencing for illegal drug dealing. A judge cannot just impose an arbitrary sentence based upon his or her will after a jury verdict of guilty.
Kesha
June 25, 2018 at 6:37 pm
Reading this letter made me sick to the point where it goes to show that judge is 1 of 1000’s who use their judgeship based on how they feel the day or day before sentencing….though its deeper than that….non the less its time for this mans family to FIGHT for his FREEDOM
Asar Nebankh
June 25, 2018 at 7:52 pm
The injustice system in this country is set up to be against Black people. To correct this is the fight of this generation and this decade. Eric Holder is the Attorney General of this nation but evil folks have him tied up with bull sh*t. We must demand justice. Remember the black woman who is sentenced to 20 years for firing a warning shot at a abusive husband. Nothing is going to change unless we change it.
Cortez
June 25, 2018 at 7:55 pm
Black people use your power as jurors to either acquit or convict on a lesser charge, don’t just let these racist judges, prosecutors, and cops get away with this blatant injustice. This story is the reason that I don’t allow my kids to recite the pledge of allegiance in class.
LarryJ
June 25, 2018 at 11:45 pm
Cortez, you do not allow your kids to recite the pledge of allegiance to The United States……Than what country are they going to be loyal to and fight for if that need come. Its ok for you and your kids to enjoy the social and political benefits from being Americans, yet you teach them to not acknowledge their country..!!! I noted that you have a Latino surname. Then your family must be or have an immigrant history..??? If that`s the case, if you hate America that much, than go back to your family`s country of origin in South America, and live under some military junta, dictator or president for life and experience what little freedoms you will have and an even lower standard of living…!!! With all the injustice during the last 700 years suffered by Black Americans in this country since the days of The Conquistaors, Black Americans are not rushing to go back to some cesspool of a country in Africa….Where they would be subjected to adject poverty and political oppression………..
onesilverbac
June 25, 2018 at 8:00 pm
The old saying ” the pen is mightier than the sword” is correct now publicize the letter in the district where this judge ‘with poor judgement skills” will run for election can be voted out. Next, after the defeat of the judge a letter to the Governor before reelection time should get some positive results.
Additionally we need to stop sucking up to the Democratic
Party believing they are on our side. We give them our vote whether they assist us or not. It’s mostly NOT, they rarely help us because they can take our vote for granted. Voting is the key!
I pray this young lady has a good out come to the crime committed by the Judge.
Butch
June 25, 2018 at 8:06 pm
Who she needs to be channeling her anger and frustrations at is her family, and not the judge! He did his job. People need education and jobs, not murdering and drug trafficking! Its really sad that people actually found this letter moving/touching. I was thinking about every dope addict that has died at the hands of a drug trafficker.
If I were the judge I would charge her with something and make her get help, counseling or volunteer at an juvenile detention center. Maybe then she will blame her family and not the judge!
Maria Lloyd
June 25, 2018 at 8:17 pm
I understand your point of view to an extent. As I wrote Tamika Foster, the real problem is the government. My anger is with this country and its deliberate plan to ruin the black family.
The War on Drugs was inevitably a war on tearing down the black family. Guess what? They won. Every person who has your mindset is an example of their victory of the war on tearing down the black family.
Butch, education is usually worthless in the black community. Why do you think the Tea Party is so opposed to Obama’s “equalization of education” plan? They know if a black kid gets a good education, they can literally be whatever they want to be. Jobs are generally not plentiful for black men. Again, I’m not excusing my family’s actions. They were wrong. However, I refuse to blame them 100% for their actions.
The government strategically placed drugs in the black communities for distribution and consumption. Their victory is two-fold: 1) Turn smart black men into convicts and 2) Turn smart black men into bums and dope fiends.
My anger is definitely exerted in the right direction. You’re missing the big picture. This system was designed to fail black people. Wipe the rose petals off of your glasses and see this country for what it really is…
Peace.
Maria Lloyd
LarryJ
June 25, 2018 at 9:05 pm
Maria, so the government singled out your family and put drugs into their hands to sell to an already depressed people and you blame the govrnment for your family`s consequences….???? If the government come to me and give me guns, ammo and bombs to go out and kill Black people, would I be stupid enough to do it….Your father and his family drug crew went into drug dealing to make money off of an already suffering people and he did not care about you or anyone else…….The money to be made was more important to him than his family. And what kind of a man would bring his family into a drug business…..????? He, your uncle and grandmother could have been killed by rivals or robbers. It was just a matter of time. And had you been with him when the hitman come, you would be dead too…..!!!!
LarryJ
June 25, 2018 at 8:24 pm
One drug related case does not define the injustice suffered by Black people within the criminal justice system. In part, I blame our do nothing Black politicans for not addressing this issue. After all, they are the law makers. I blame in part, our young people who do not go into law or medicine and the many other professions and vocations where Black Americans are under represented. Most of our Black kids want to be rappers and basketball players. I even notice less Black Americans playing professional baseball. And when was a Black American the heavy weight champion of the world…..??? It seems that education and vocation is a bad word in what is left of our poor Black communities. Currently, after my retirement, I with partners, went into the real estate business. And we will evict any tenant whose family member sold drugs and/or was involved in gang related criminal behavior on, within and about our properties, etc,. No one can tell me, that they did not know that their family member, roommate, etc, was not selling drugs on our property……!!!!! Hard but fair to the decent tenants whom pay their rent on time and behave like civilized human beings and expect us to provide security and mantenance…..
m.johnson
June 25, 2018 at 8:37 pm
change.org lets vote judge and lynch master marvin e aspen out of office …..best way to fight back lets vote these people out of office they think they are gods because the do this purposefully to ruin black family…its time to think about ourselves it clear no one else will…or we will become extinct ….i work for police dept in chicago believe me we live in the days of modern day lynching…nfi
marcij
June 25, 2018 at 8:43 pm
change.org lets vote judge and lynch master marvin e aspen out of office …..i work for the court..best way to fight back lets vote these people out of office they think they are gods because they do this purposefully to ruin black families..i see this everyday.its time to think about ourselves extinction is on its way for us black people ….welcome to the new JIM CROW…in chicago believe me we live in the days of modern day lynching…nfi
LarryJ
June 29, 2018 at 11:16 am
Marcij, why are Black people in Chicago killing each other wholesale…??? Damn, last month alone, more Black people were killed in Chicago than all the United States troops and allies killed in Iraq and Afghanistan during the same period….!!! And you called federal Judge, Marvin E. Apen a”Lynch Master?” It looks to me that Blacks are lynching Blacks in the streets of Chicago 24/7…………And besides, you cannot vote a federal judge out of office……..And if that were possible, Black people do not vote in effective numbers anyway….But they know how to kill each other….!!! They know how to sell and buy drugs….And they know how to ruin themselves and their families…………..Ok. I know I am a dumbass and Uncle Tom for not understanding the big piture. You know, what the government is doing to us……to make us go criminal……..Than again, if that is true, how come all Black people in this country are not criminals…..?????
Kevin Hakim Muhammad
June 25, 2018 at 8:44 pm
In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Most Merciful!
May Allah bless you with Freedom, Justice & Equality! My approach to the War on Drugs is to Elevate Women & Educate Children. From what I read above, the punishment is more severe than the crime committed; and I pray that Allah makes manifest the reason He has allowed this to happen to your family. Continue to strive for what is best in this life and prepare for what is to come next! Let me know how I can be of assistance! I am your brother!
Kevin H. Muhammad
author/activist/Jack of all Trades Master of 19
Entrepreneur of http://www.kevin6x.com.
LarryJ
June 25, 2018 at 8:45 pm
Does anyone here know of a reformed drug dealer..???? Most drug dealers upon release from prison, go right back into the business. And remember, drug dealing leads to collateral crimes such as prostitution, robbery, burglary, beat downs, killings, child abuse and neglect and the destruction of families and communities, etc,. Look at what Dudus drug gang and supporters done in Jamaica. When the police came to arrest him, he started a local civil war. Scores of people and police officers were killed and wounded and half the town was destroyed by fire…….And who suffered the most after Dudus surrendered wearing women`s clothes to the United States Consulate,……the poor people who made him out to be some local hero……Think about that people when you smoke your next joint and put that coke up your nose……..Are you being cool or are you being a fool…….
Maria Lloyd
June 25, 2018 at 9:21 pm
Larry,
Initially I was not going to address you because your first comment appeared to be one of hatred and ignorance. Now that you’ve commented more, I understand some of your viewpoints.
As I’ve suggested to Butch, I want you to take off of your rose-petal glasses and look at the bigger picture and what has been strategically implemented to ruin the black community.
Before drugs hit our community in the 80’s, what was the percentage of black men in prison? What we have are generations of ignorance developed due to the violence, drug addictions, and/or incarcerations of the men and women from the 80’s.
You asked why young black kids don’t aspire to be doctors… That’s because they’re not taught they can be doctors. They’re not encouraged to make all A’s in school. They’re not introduced to doctors that look like them. They’re not raised by two, decent parents.
Do you get the pattern? Until those of us who know “better” reach back and teach the youth who don’t know better and haven’t been exposed to better, they’ll continue down the same path of distruction as their elders.
Black people aren’t sorry by nature… We’ve been strategically broken down. They didn’t get us with slavery, but they damn sure got us with the “War” on drugs… Don’t continue to fall for the hype, Larry.
Peace.
Maria
LarryJ
June 26, 2018 at 12:28 am
Maria, for several years parttime, I taught as an adjunct professor of Businness/Public Administration, Social Welfare And History. I taught two evening classes per week per semester at a local community college. And the majority of my evening college students were foreigners. I had Africans, Hispanics, East Indians, West Indians, Arabs and Asians, etc,. Most were working adults pursuing a GED by completing 12 college credits and being able to enter the college as matriculated students. Many went on and completed AA and AAS Degrees in Nursing, Business Administration, Social Service and Electronics, etc,….I had very few Black American students in my classes. Yet I use to see many college age Blackmen and Black women standing on the corners making a lot of noise. Or hanging out in the park drinking, doping, dancing, etc,…..You tell me what was wrong with this picture…..????? If you ever come to Brooklyn, NY, try and visit Crown Heights along Eastern Parkway and note the significant difference between the Black and Hasidic Jewish communities…!!! When I was a kid growing up in Harlem. We had Black doctors, Black lawyers, Black social workers, Black business owners and Black home and building owners. The first store I worked in as a kid on 144th Street was owned by a Black family….!!! I know what Black people can do if they want too do it. And note, that those were times of segregation and overt discrimination, much worst than today……!!! I know what Black people are capable of. But somewhere along the way came welfare, drugs, alcohol and mental and physical depression and our communities became real slums with the working class Black families moving out and leaving behind the do nothing defeated poor masses…….Once vibrant Black urban neighborhoods became “Hoods!” No Whiteman can hold a Black person back if there is a will to do better…..
Maria Lloyd
June 26, 2018 at 1:58 am
Larry,
We’re on the same page with this one—> “But somewhere along the way came welfare, drugs, alcohol and mental and physical depression and our communities became real slums with the working class Black families moving out and leaving behind the do nothing defeated poor masses…….Once vibrant Black urban neighborhoods became “Hoods!” No Whiteman can hold a Black person back if there is a will to do better…..”
My family thought they were doing the best they could to better themselves using the resources around them. Unfortunately, those resources were harmful to them and others. This is what happens when people like you and I don't reach back and educate the uneducated.
Maria Lloyd
Kimberly Porter-Brown
June 26, 2018 at 2:37 am
If Mario Lloyd has spent 23 years in prison, why is he NOT listed on the Illinois Prison System’s website? Where is he?
Maria Lloyd
June 26, 2018 at 11:03 am
Kimberly,
Perhaps you tried to find him under the State’s prison system. He’s in the Federal Penitentiary. You can find him here: http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=mARIO&Middle=&LastName=Lloyd&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=67&y=17
LarryJ
June 26, 2018 at 4:50 am
Prior to “integration”. the majority of the educated, professional and middle class Black people lived in the south. The majority of Black home owners and business owners lived in the south. And many of “our Black leaders” was born and educated in the south. Whereas Black people living in the north, had a little more “freedom” in the north than their southern brothers and sisters, they were concentrated into urban ghettoes like the poor Irish, Italians and Eastern European Jews before them. And they too were forced to attend segregated public schools and were subjected to menial employment. Many Blacks in the north took civil service jobs, started a business in their communities, became social workers, teachers, rail road workers, etc, and excelled in entertainment and sports. And thus, some became the core of the Black middle class……….It seems that we as a people did better during segregation. We had to help each other to survive because White society gave us nothing………..I think that “integration” was one of the many factors that destroyed Black unity and grassrooted self help associations within the Black urban ghettoes. One of my aunts was a Garveyite and she ran a Marcus Garvey self help school for poor Black kids and taught adult education subjects at a Marcus Garvey school for illiterate Blackmen and Black women……… How many Black young people know about Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Dubois, Booker T. Washington, Generals B. O. Davis Sr and B.O. Davis Jr.,. At one time in American military history, those two Blackmen, father and son, were the only Blackmen serving as active line officers in the entire United States Army…..And White soldiers of lower rank, was not required to salute these two black officers…..But they endured with dignity, intelligence and fortitude and became trailblazers for Black officers who came after them……!!! Damn, long before Europe existed, there were once great African Empires and civilizations predating Europe by thousands of years. Our people were once Kings and Pharaohs whom became Gods and built great momuments that still can be seen today…..Black Africa was once the center of learning and the seed of all mankind…..
Bhella Bell
June 26, 2018 at 6:40 am
I was taught to use my pen when my tongue would not due.
I was taught to tell the truth, regardless of adversity, including my youth.
I was taught to seek knowledge, wisdom, and power
I was taught that blood is thicker than water but that all should be empowered.
I was taught that we make our own decisions, each day, each step, each moment
I was taught that we are responsible for our own actions and that each action has a reaction
We cannot blame those that enable us, for at one point we made a sober choice
I was taught that we only have ourselves to blame
I was taught that the government is focused on ‘more of the same’
I was taught that without ‘Each one, Teach one’ we’ll all die with the same name:
Nigga, nigger, Blackie, and Su’Mo
Because none of us is Our Brother’s Keeper,
In this country where our Checks aren’t Balanced
Who are we to be upset with the decisions of others,
We should love them through their struggle and teach the ones that want to learn why Knowledge is Power
Teach the youth that doesn’t know how to use their words, their minds, their hearts to be empowered.
Teach one another that loving thy neighbor is the greatest commandment
But the Living Water is the greatest truth… Each one, Teach One…
What have YOU done for our youth???
Go out,walk the streets like a soldier, we need you
Find one, any one and share the good word.
The love, the light, the literacy
Of old African hearts
The knowledge that comes when young hearts have been introduced to the most simple concept:::
Possibilities.
—This is an original. I’ll edit it later, but it’s from my heart, because I wasn’t in Maria’s moccasins but I’ve spent a couple moons marveling their path.
Always,
~bhellA!
P.s. Her uncle HAS reformed himself after prison. In fact, he just graduated with his BS last weekend. He began his degree in prison. If you don’t believe in reform, there’s a bright, shining example.
P.s.s. Any repost without my consent and I will pursue legal action so please be mindful of my art. Thanks!
Miss Higgi
June 26, 2018 at 11:52 am
Good For You Ms. Lloyd!,
Sadly yours is not a unique story of the rampant acts of bias, social and racial injustices inherent in our legal system, from arrest to sentencing. I am happy to see that you have “outed” this person believes who himself not judge by God! More victims should do the same to power hungry and abusive judges, overzealous career building DAs, overworked and inattentive public defenders, etc, etc. He had no right to so severely sentence your Father when there is no record of murderers, molesters and others guilty of far worse offenses ever being treated so harshly by the court. What was his point???
Hopefully someone, the governor, the CBC, the media, SOMEbody will step in and take up your cause… Your Father and Family have suffered enough. Read up on Tyrone Brown in Texas who was sentenced to life in prison by “judge” keith dean for a one time probation violation for smoking a joint! At the same time the “judge” refused to revoke probation for, John Alexander Wood, a white murderer (yes, a White guy actually got 10 years probation for murder while your Father gets 15 life sentences for a non violent offense) who was a known druggie and repeatedly violated his probation with drug tests positive for crack cocaine and other criminal offenses. His reward was that he no longer had to physically report to probation, just keep breaking the law and drop a periodic postcard to advise the authorities of his whereabouts. Never heard of postcard probation. Wonder how many Black guys are on that? Just wonderin’…
Anyway, good for you Ms Lloyd! Be inspired that although Mr. Brown lost 17 years of his life, public outcry and a news story or two, resulted in his release and an unsuccessful bid of re-election for “judge” dean. So be inspired and turn up the pressure. Get your Father’s story told and exposed in mainstream media. Demand judicial and legislative review! Get the public fired up because again, sadly your story of judicial abuse is more typical than not… Many similarly suffer. No need to suffer in silence… Use social media and such to appeal to the public and lead the Fight for your Father’s release. He deserves it and so do you!!!
Hang in there!!!
Here is the link for the Tyrone Brown Story. Read it & Be Inspired!
http://www.dallasnews.com/investigations/headlines/20060423-scales-of-justice-can-swing-wildly.ece
LarryJ
June 26, 2018 at 12:57 pm
I am ending my input here by posting, “that the only good drug dealer is a dead drug dealer!” Black drug dealers has been more destructive to Black America than any White racist institution. Black drug dealers are the enemy within and a cancer destroying us all as a people. And because the Whiteman control the drug trade from the drug companies and the poppy fields, it does not justify nor excuse some Blacks for dealing drugs to their own people. Drug dealing is a choice just like becoming an drug abuser is a choice. And we cannot blame political disenfranchisement, lack of economic and educational opportunities as social factors propelling some of us to be criminals…..and commit acts of genocide against our own……!! Some of you here may think that I am a hard man. Than again, we live in hard times……LarryJ
Chris Gibbs
July 4, 2018 at 6:23 pm
I love your post LarryJ. These bleeding hearts “feel sorry” for a drug dealer who put his stamp on the ruination of many, many families. He undoubtedly had his hand in many murders and just never got got.
The girl should write a letter to her dad and bitch and him for ruining his own family’s life.
They should have someone shank him and save the state a dime feeding and caring for his worthless tail.
Go Larry J!
Robert
June 26, 2018 at 2:13 pm
Two wrongs never make a right period. I have absolutely -0- tolerance for drugs, so her father and family members had to be punished naturally but not for the rest of his life is uncalled for, lets be realistic, especially being a 1st time offender. Obviously this so called judge has personal vendettas inside his heart of racism with a kkk mentality which is very much aliive in many of our public officials unfortunately, these low life scum bags r not worthy of holding any public office at no time. This travesty of justice committed by this judge should be appealed immediately by the proper authorities, along with any other cases meeting this negative criteria, right is right and wrong is wrong and this case is without a doubt 100% absolutely wrong. Brothers, stop being the fall guy at the ground floor for the big whigs, bascially the white man who sets perched in some sky scraper r big office who is really the brains behind the majority of dope coming into this country on his airplanes and ships etc. How many blacks do you know that owns such and again a lot of these drugs importers are public officals but the majority of blacks who allow themselves to be enslaved by this low life mentality are the one’s when caught has to face the consequiences, while the big rich importer is seldom if ever exposed and continues to live a larvish life style of Riley in his mansion, so stop being a fool for all he wants to do is use you for a flunky or stool pigeon. Who knows this so called judge could be a drug importer and to cover his tracks would do anything to cover his tracks by appeareing to so in handing down such horrible sentences. In this world the sky is the limit involving deceptive practices from our so call white collar elite.
KC in Chicago
June 26, 2018 at 4:36 pm
– http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-08-09/news/9103270116_1_drug-dealers-seized-kingpin
– http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4027790.html
– (entire court document from ’94) http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/25/25.F3d.540.90-3779.90-3713.90-3579.90-3577.90-3578.html
When I first learned of this (courtesy of Dr. Boyce Watkins), I was sad and moved. I wondered, “Why 15 life sentences for a nonviolent, first-time offender?” So I had to learn more about Mario Lloyd. He was a cocaine *KINGPIN*. He ran an ENTERPRISE–a HUGE NETWORK of drug dealers and money-launderers and trafficking businesses. “Nonviolent, first-time offender” is very misleading–he had MILLIONS of dollars in property and assets when arrested. (Knowing the dug world, this means he told people to kill people.) Articles I’ve seen said he had 15 different charges thrown at him. Read the articles above for more info. I am sorry that a woman lost her family. I hate drugs and drug-dealing (I’m 33 and my dad overdosed on heroin when I was in junior high), but I love dealers and users because God loves them. But I am thankful when their drug-dealing ends (which it did, praise God).
LarryJ
June 26, 2018 at 1:39 pm
KC, thank you for the link. Now I understand better. Mario Lloyd was more than a local drug dealer. He was a drug kingpin…!!! He knew what he was doing and was more than very much involved in illegal drug dealing. This man was equal to The Devil in his criminal deeds. And I am sure people were murdered on his order……….He was by no chance an innocent victim of the criminal justice system based upon racism. He deserved the sentence that he got…….!! I am sure that his daughter benefited from his bloody destructive and murderous monetary drug profits………
Maria Lloyd
June 26, 2018 at 3:39 pm
KC-
In case you didn’t notice, I provided the link to my dad’s case in the letter. No secrets here! I’m happy you did your due diligence and researched his case.
Your assumption that my dad ordered “hits” on people is just that- an assumption. There is no evidence to prove he had people murdered under his order. There also isn’t any evidence to prove all of the corruption (e.g. the cocaine being tampered with before being brought to the jury, the “hush money” exchanged between the DEA, the attorneys, the judge, etc.) that happened during my father’s trial to make him appear to be a “dangerous” man, so both of our points are irrelevant.
Here are the facts: He was convicted as a first-time, non-violent offender and sentenced to 15 life sentences without parole. Pedophiles, murderers, rapists don’t receive punishments as harsh as my father’s.
The core of the issue here is the injustice served to black offenders. Do some additional research and read on John Cappas, an Italian from Chicago who comitted the same crime as my dad- except he had some violence linked to him. He served about 15 yrs and is now an entrepreneur and “motivational speaker”. If John Cappas can get out and be with his family, my dad can damn sure get out and be with us.
Do your research on John Cappas and holla back at me.
Maria Lloyd
LarryJ
June 26, 2018 at 2:24 pm
Maria, I just Googled your father, Mario H. Lloyd and found that you were not truthful here about the degree of his drug dealing empire. Your father with members of his family, ran a cocaine drug empire with Columbian connections and made $$ millions of dollars from his huge drug enterprise. Nor did you told of the many businesses, homes, cars, condos, jewelry and property your family owned from illgotten drug money, etc,. And the good life your family lived from your father`s drug dealing. I am sure that you knew what was going on. And you did not point out, that your father was convicted by a federal court and sentenced by a federal judge. Fedral judges are appointed and not elected and cannot be removed from office except by Congress……!!!! Your father was sentenced on 15 different indictments under federal guidelines and under such guidelines, your father could have been sentenced to death….!!!! I also read that your father ratted out some of his lawyers, etc,….I am sorry sister, I cannot feel for you………
Maria Lloyd
June 26, 2018 at 3:25 pm
Larry,
In case you haven’t noticed, the link to my father’s case is highlighted, bold, and in red so that people can read on the case at their leisure. I made sure that link was available to the public before writing the letter, so your notion that I was “not truthful” is ridiculous.
The Columbian connection is the case with a large majority of drug dealers. Every one knows the drugs are imported from another country. Who do you think had the resources and money to travel to those countries to get those connections? It surely wasn’t my family! Once again, you’re ill-informed and missing the bigger picture of how the government strategically placed this catastrophe in our communities.
Lastly, what drug dealers get into the industry to live a “humbled” life? My dad was in his mid twenties with an abundance of money. Of course he purchased condos, jewelry, cars, etc.
The fact that he had the sense to purchase a legitimate business with his drug money shows me that he would’ve turned out to be a successful man if he’d had resources to start a legitimate business before getting into the drug business.
Larry, save yourself from further public humiliation. You are clearly too narrow minded to get what happened. And the letter is not meant to throw a pity party for my siblings and I. We can do without your “sorrow” for us, thanks. Oh yeah, I can’t say that I knew much about my family’s endeavors as a toddler, you dumbass.
Maria Lloyd
LarryJ
June 27, 2018 at 9:51 am
Maria LIoyd, I can understand your love for your father and the benefits he provided you with his dirty, destructive bloody drug money. The fact remains, that your father was not just a drug dealer. He was a drug kingpin and founder and administrator of an on going bigtime drug criminal empire………Your father was The Devil incarnate and the bringer of misery, drestruction and death to thousands……..So stop blaming society for the evil criminal empire that your father created for heartless monetary profit…….! Dirty money that you have benefited from. You called me “dumbass?” Sister, I rather be a “dumbass!” than be called a drug dealer….!!! And I am not doing 15 life sentences in prison, your father is…..so, in all reality, who is the “dumbass”………..
LarryJ
June 27, 2018 at 10:49 am
Maria Lloyd, before I retired 5 years ago, me and my partners started a successful minority owned real estate business with rental and developmental property in three different states. And we did it by investing our hard earn savings from our jobs and bank loans. We did not have to become drug dealers and use drug money to start a legitimate business…You still do not get it….? Than again, what do I know…..I am just a hoinest hard working college educated (4 degrees) dumbass in your mind…….LarryJ PS. My daughter, BA,MSE, does not have to go to a federal prison to see me…!!!
jwoodlock
July 16, 2021 at 1:35 am
That how black media is ..They know most black’s don’t know how to research anything but their history so they can blame white ‘s for all problem’s.Just read all the comment’s of eneducated nigro’s KIND of make’s them sound foolish don’t it.
Smith
June 26, 2018 at 4:09 pm
Maria,
You are wonderful! You’ve made my day, and I hope and pray that you and your familly will yet be able to spend some time with your father outside of those prison wallls before your times have passed. It’s amazing to me that you can be so nice and eloquent in responding to those “dumbasses.” Now that you’ve responded to one or more of them, we all have the picture, so don’t waste anymore of your time addressing there ignorance. You are stronger than most of us, so you’ll be fine.
dkm
June 26, 2018 at 6:34 pm
I’m just wondering, had Mr Lloyd used his business sense in a legitimate manner instead of becoming a drug kingpin, where would he be today!
Sharon
June 26, 2018 at 10:41 pm
The judge who condemned your family is a member of the KKK!!!!
Please don’t give up!!!!!!!
eric
June 26, 2018 at 10:57 pm
anyone who believe a non violent crime by a first time offender deserves 15 life sentences is a asshole.. No white man has ever got that sentence for a first time non violent offense.. this judge should never ever, ever be allowed to be a judge again.. so what it was drugs. white people in the united states government is letting these drugs in our country, how come they not getting life sentences? only a real racists ignorant dumb ass would agree that this man or any man deserve 15 life sentences… This judge is a racist ugly asshole..
Michael Flannery
June 26, 2018 at 11:10 pm
At first (before reading all of the replies), I was sympathetic to Maria’s tale.
I had assumed that he was the ‘guy on the street corner’, but reading the (apparent) facts, now I’m much less sympathetic,
Whatever the real truth I am pleased to note that her father’s incarceration did not prevent Maria from receiving a good education, as evidenced by her eloquent writing. (Although I might suggest that there are surely more appropriate nouns available to her than “dumbass”).
Drug use continues to destroy US society. It is indemnic across the nation. Drug dealing is therefore akin to treason, and those involving themselves in it must be sentenced accordingly. And especially those on the top of the drug dealing plie, as it seems was Mario. Life incarceration with no possibility of parole would seem appropriate, but such sentences must be consistently applied with no regard to skin color.
I’m afraid I can not muster any sympathy for Mario. He was aware of what he was doing, and of how many lives his business activities were destroying. That his life is destroyed is consequently his just reward.
Whilst I can appreciate Maria’s anguish at the absence of members of her immediate family, I also have to consider the greater anguish of the families of those people whose lives were also destroyed or abbreviated by her family’s “business activities”
I also have to entertain doubt that her father’s presence and influence during her formative years, given his chosen lifestyle, would actually have been a power for good.
Robert
June 27, 2018 at 1:07 am
Larry-yes you see black drugs dealers in your community selling this poison but what you don’t see is the people who are importers of this stuff, if you want to get to the root of the drug trade or is it that you want to see only what you want to see and nothing else? Stop cutting only your own races throat, it’s the white man at the top of this trade not the black man who owns the planes and ships that brings a majority of this mess into the USA, unfortunately. If you want to be so critical of your own race, which I have no problem with but tell the whole story including the white man part in it as well, so stop talking only out of one side of your mouth.
LarryJ
June 27, 2018 at 10:08 am
To: The Honorable Judge Marvin E. Aspen, I pray that God grant you a long life with good health. I pray that for many more years, you preside as a judge over many more criminal drug dealing cases. I pray also, that you be blessed with an appointment to a seat on The United States Supreme Court. Where your type of justice is needed to pure this great nation of drug dealing vermin and their like……..Bless you Judge Aspen. You are truely a great man and a great judge….!!! LarryJ
LarryJ
June 27, 2018 at 10:33 am
I salute all you Blackmen and Black women whom in the face of great racial barriers, went about their life earning an honest living devoid of criminal activity and drug dealing……And I commend you even more for not blaming the government and others for enabling you to go the wrong way…… Obstacles can be overcome and decent honest successful Black Americans has been passing over, under and around obstacles since the days of slavery. Mr Obama did not become President Of The United States by being a drug dealing criminal. He excelled in school and later graduated from an ivory league college and law school. He is where he`s at because of hard work and study……..My brothers and sisters, no one can determine your life. Only you have that decision of choice……..LarryJ
phil t
June 27, 2018 at 4:30 pm
WOW reading some comments and wondering wht the hell is some you guys’ malfunction? Some of you cats “larry j” “nolove” yalll sound like some uncle toms! Y’all seriously believe the words coming out your mouth? I bet y’all wish y’all wasn’t african american huh? No drug dealer deserves 15 life sentaces especialy when you got more people overdosing on perscription drugs then dope. Y’all sound like the token brotha amongst a white audience trying to fit in
LarryJ
June 28, 2018 at 9:11 am
phil t, now I am an “Uncle Tom” because I believe in Law and Order…???? And you are right about no drug dealer should get 15 life sentences………..They should be sentenced to death…!!! By an overdose of their product….!!! LarryJ
ALICIA RAE
June 28, 2018 at 1:04 pm
Maria,
My heart goes out to you. I too have had members of my family to receive harsh sentences for non-violent drug offenses. I’m pretty sure that you are old to see that this is part of an ongoing slave trade. Prison labor is cheap. Prisons are being privatized. Drugs are still in the prison and guess who puts in there? African Americans who don’t see that we are still treated as slaves should remove rose colored lenses. What about rehabilitation for the inmates? If they are released into the general population, they cannot obtain employment, vote, or receive public assistance. See Maria? It’s a trap and black men are falling into it daily. Let’s make a change. First, tell every black male that you see to pull up his pants and assume his role as the head of the family. When we restore strength to the black male, it strengthens the whole black nation. That’s why the whites always have a trap waiting.
TRUTHBETOLD
June 28, 2018 at 3:00 pm
Drug Lord Sentenced To Life In Prison
November 22, 1990SOUTH SUBURBS — Drug kingpin Mario Lloyd was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole Wednesday after being convicted of running a multimillion dollar cocaine ring that stretched from Chicago`s southern suburbs to Milwaukee.
U.S. District Judge Marvin Aspen also fined Lloyd $26 million and ordered him to pay the $1,100 monthly cost of his incarceration. Lloyd, 29, of Orland Hills, his brother, mother and sister were convicted in February along with two others.
King
June 28, 2018 at 4:08 pm
My Goodness,
Whereas, I truly support freedom of expression regarding our beliefs, values and opinions, portions of these exchanges are fascinating and yet disturbing to me. One would have to be blind or just simply in denial regarding the historical and systemic disproportional societal outcomes that ravages our national communities, families and individuals.
Here we are tearing each other down and justifying it through negative “I” statements about how we have “pull ourselves out of the hood, poverty, etc”. Others are trying to provide insight and information just simply for consideration. This is like the old alleged KKK poster: “The KKK congratulates the Crips and the Bloods for a job well done. Thank you for helping us do our job!” While the other half of us perpetuates the “Willie Lynch Syndrome; where Blacks at varying levels are enemies and trust only white people!”
The Judge destroyed a family and its future legally, and racism destroyed LarryJ and others similar through judgement and self hate!
From one who is a disabled Vet, ex-felon, single Dad, used drugs, business owner, college professor, therapist, professional trainer of Social Workers, mediator and arbitrator, and earned two masters degrees. and I still live in the “hood”!
LarryJ
July 3, 2018 at 3:01 pm
King, get out of “The Hood!”.
Nowlin
June 28, 2018 at 9:43 pm
I don’t feel sorry for this girl because her kingpin father who didn’t give a fuck about my daughter. Was the sentence excessive? Depends on who you ask. What about the brothers and sisters who were victimized by this man desirde to enric h himself at the expense of other human beings and communties. I wonder if the neighborhoods that were desimated my drugsand all of the violence and death, the break-ins, ther assaults -on intented and the innocent. What the folks who ended up in wheelchairs for their life sentence. Or the death sentences he no doubt imposed on his enemies or his rivals. What about the drug addicted babies. The neglected and abuse babies. What about the children who prehaps looked up to this leach as a hero and someone they should emulate- threreby starting them out on their potential 15 Life sentences. I agree with someone who wrote that most black drug dealers are the dumbest criminals in the world. They flash huge amounts of money – even on videos and pictures so that the law can use it to know who they are. Not thadt it’s hard to find them. They ride around in the same neighborhood collecting their ill-gotten gains in expensive cars and SUV’s, furs, bling-blinged down with no reasonable means of suppose to account for their obvious wealth. They shot and kill one another in front of hundreds of witness (and most times over something as silly as a few dollars). They put nothing up towards the day they will be arrested and as a result has to rely on a “public pretender”, who oftimes is working in concert with the police and the prosecutor to send his dumb ass to jail…leave their children nothing…allow their dumb mother and fathers and other relatives to engage in the “business” so that there is almost no one left to ov ersee whatever the IRS has not taken. Know why the real kingpins (white folks don’t get busted? They don’t put themselves on”blast”!! As a matter of fact with them it’s just the opposite!! When is the last time you’ve heard of a white kingpin? or any other nationality being a kingpin getting arrested? They are too smart! You would have to go throught three or four layers of people to get to the real king pin!! But these blacks dealers WANT EVERYBODY to know who they are!! What would be interesting to imagine is if this guy got out today or tomorrow, what would he do with his life? Perhaps we will never find out and unfortunately, perhaps, either will he.
RealMenStandUp
June 29, 2018 at 10:31 am
Truth be told, there is not enough information provided for me to appropriately address the topic Mario’s length of sentencing. This does not strike me as a dime bag dealer on the street. This has the sound of major drug trafficker.
I do not condone or endorse the behavior of Mario, but do understand Maria’s pain. She has every right to feel the way she does and my heart goes out to her for what she has had to endure. She is the real victim but unfortunately it is not the judge that has ruined her life. It is her own father, her own flesh and blood that has victimized her.
It seems as if “color of skin” is the main topic that is being debated and as an, African American male I certainly understand that prejudice does exist and there is still much work to do. The fact that we have a black man as President of the US shows us that times have changed. I certainly never thought I’d see it in my lifetime. Is our society perfect, balanced and fair? Naw….. but it is far better than before and with the right people fighting the right way, we will continue to have impact. What disturbs me more is everyone focusing on the sentencing and if it was justified, rather than really peeling back the cause and effect of Mario’s crime.
What I want to bring to light and focus on is something that we all control….. DECISIONS! Because of Mario’s poor decisions he put his fate in the hands of an in-just system. Because of Mario’s poor decisions as a father, his daughters life has been permanently impacted. Because of that entire family’s poor decisions they are all incarcerated.
Mario’s decision to sell drugs likely impacted, hurt, or caused other loss of life in the black community. Not just those who were dealers, but innocent lives lost to drug related shooting, innocent babies that are born drug infested. Who pleads for them? Who takes up their cause?
What is a black life worth? If Mario’s criminal activity ruined the life of one child, one mother, one young man, or one family is it not just that he pay for it for the rest of his life?
DECISIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!! If Mario wanted to be a father and really loved and valued Maria. He should have made the decision to make his family a higher priority. What kind of man endangers his own entire family that way and endangers the members of community? What kind of man risk life separated from his daughter to gain a dollar?
Mario may be a better man now because he has sat in jail 20+ years, but if it weren’t for his incarceration he would likely be dead, or caused the death of another and yes unfortunately he likely would have involved his daughter Maria in the family business.
My brothers and sisters if we are going to continue to rise and excel we must stop blaming others for our downfall, we must make better DECISIONS, we mus control the control-ables. We must be better fathers, we must be better religious leaders in our home. We must educate ourselves and teach our children the value of education. We are then in a better position to fight, lobby, vote, march, inspire laws that correct what is wrong with our current justice system. We simply must teach our children that decisions have consequences and for every action, there is a reaction.
How was Mario selling drugs having any impact on the injustices that are happening to black people in the criminal justice system? Mario was not part of solution, he was part of the problem. Mario made a decision that altered the course of his life and affected everyone around him.
WRONG IS WRONG NO MATTER WHO SAYS IT OR DOES IT.
LarryJ
June 29, 2018 at 11:36 am
RealMenStandUp: In your eloquence in relation to this issue, you are right 100% !!!!! Mario H. Lloyd was not a victim of a racial judicial system nor a victim of some perceived government conspiracy to destroy all Black people. He and he alone, made his choice to be a drug dealing criminal. And he and he alone, knew what ramifications his criminal behavior will bring to himself, his family and his community. Did he care….no. Money, greed and power was his God………
No love
June 30, 2018 at 1:12 am
Larryj I cosign with you 100%. I ain’t no uncle Tom but I HATE drugs and what we have allowed it to do to our community. I have children that I have to send out in this world. The more drug dealer we get off this street, the better. Lock their behinds up! She’s lucky she can still visit her dad. Many people can’t visit there dads because the game has already claimed their lives.
People he was a kingpin! Multimillion dollars! He wasn’t a little corner boy just trying to feed his family. He was running the show. He extorted our people, he took from people who already had nothing. How can you support him??? This is exactly what is wrong with our community, to blinded by color to just see the facts. He did the crime, now he’s doing the time.
RealMenStandUp
June 30, 2018 at 11:02 am
Maria,
My previous commentary was not meant to be demeaning or hurtful, though if I walked in your shoes I might interpret it in that way. Rather it was meant as a call and challenge to our black people to rise up and stop falling for the okie-doke. It is always easier to blame someone or something else rather than to look in the mirror and own or actions.
It was also meant as a warning that ill-legal activities often have severe consequences that far out weigh anything that one may gain. You have fully acknowledged what your father did was wrong and it takes a lot of courage to admit that about someone that you love. It also takes a lot of courage to hear people speak against your father.
I have family members that are incarcerated because of their decision to sell drugs and I have family members and friends that have died because of their drug using activities.
Given that your father is still alive he has an opportunity to make another life changing decision. There is still another judgement that he must face, as will all of us. One day we will all stand before God and be judged for our deeds and actions. Acceptance of Christ assures us of being forgiven of ours sins and is the door to assuring our eternal residency in the presence of the almighty.
Along the way your father can be a tremendous influence to other inmates so when they get out of prison, they will not make the same mistakes and they will take advantage of their second chance.
I would be remiss to not acknowledge that there are two standards of justice in place. Though I still believe the majority of us find ourselves there by our own bad decisions. I encourage you to continue researching, fighting, writing senators, congress men/women anything that is within a legal means to assure that justice was netted out appropriately to your father as compared to others who have committed the same crime with similar circumstances.
I pray that God shelter and cover you the rest of your life’s journey. Be encouraged that God is with you. He never leaves nor forsakes us. I hope a personal relationship with Christ will give you a renewed spirit and equip you to walk without guilt, shame, sorrow or burdens due to this tragic situation.
I will close with this… Galations 6 verse 7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”
Maria rest assured that if it never happens in this life, those who use their power to betray, unjustly punish, or abuse any member of society will answer to God and be judged accordingly.
Bobby G
July 2, 2018 at 10:37 pm
I do agree that a life sentence without parole is a harsh sentence, but saying that, you have to also look from the other side. Street
drugs particularly Crack and Meth have destroyed countless lives of people. Many are given a death sentence the moment they
interact with these drugs. Not to mention the surrounding violence that can consume ones life associated with trafficking and
selling harmful drugs. Perhaps looking at the death and disparity that this judge has seen with “drug dealers” , he felt compelled to
return this same end result to the dealer. There are thousands of
ways to be successful in life without selling street drugs and destroying neighborhoods.
LarryJ
July 3, 2018 at 3:28 pm
To Black Kids: Say no to drugs. Say no to gangs. Say no to guns. Go to school or learn a vocation. Say no to crime. Do your honest best in life. Love yourself and love your people. You may not become rich or famous, but, you can be somebody by your character, honest deeds and hard work. There will always be those who will try and put you down. But remember that only you can put yourself up or down……And during your times of doubt. Read about those Black people before you whom succeeded against great odds. Read about Frederick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, Ms Fanny Lou Hammer, Generals B.O. Davis Sr and Jr., and the many more Black people who civilized this world we now live in. You my young brothers and sisters, are the seeds from an original people, born from the soil of Africa……You are the children of God….!
RealMenStandUp
July 3, 2018 at 5:14 pm
@LarryJ
Excellent points. Many of our youth have no clue who those people are that you just named. Many adults don’t know those people are you just named.
Too many parents are M.I.A in there kids lives. Parents drop their kids off at the malls to hang out. The kids have no money so many of them are only there to be disrespectful, loud and nuisance to other shoppers and business owners. The streets have become baby sitters.
I take my young girls to the library and we read books together and discuss them. I challenge them to excel and to believe that they can accomplish anything with hard work and dedication. I let them know that it will not always be easy, but it will always be possible to those who persevere.
Our youths minds are filled with negative imagery from Movies that portray as dumb, ignorant, fatherless, drug dealers, hoods, gangsta, etc…
Their minds are filled with the lyrics of fake rappers that glorify drugs, murder and degrade women. No wonder so many youth fall prey to senseless crime, but in each case they all made bad decisions that they knew were wrong. They bank on not being caught. Every friend or relative in the game says the same thing; “I it got on lock”, “My game is tight”, “We got a system”.
Our prisons are full of people who didn’t do it (I do counseling) Everyone tells me they didn’t do it or they blame something or someone else.
LarryJ
July 8, 2018 at 9:34 am
RealManStandUp, your children are blessed to have you as a parent. During that previous two days here in NYC, three Black kids were killed by their mothers….!!! One sister killed her 5 year old son and 4 month old baby daughter. Another sister killed her 9 year old son……Now Blackmen and Black women are killing their kids for whatever sick reasons. Being a Black American, I would think, that our children are more precious to us as a people than anything else…….Our children should give us the incentive to do better in life. And giving them a greater chance at opportunity that we did not have. Our Black children are our future and the future of this nation and the world…!!! Its bad enough that Black children are born into a racist society, into poverty, and having to dodge gangs, drug dealers, bullies, criminals and some sick gay people who will prey on them,etc,. Our precious Black children have enough barriers facing them…..And now they have to live in fear of being killed by their own mothers…….? Please keep your children close and protect them. Teach them to be decent and honest. Encourage education, vocation, hard work and responsibility. Give them love and self worth………Let them know that God loves them. That Jesus died for their salvation. And that Dr Martin Luther King, like Moses, had been to the mountain top and had seen “The Promised Land!” Let them known that they are the seeds of mankind and civilization………Let them know that they looked like The Pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Let them know that they were once Great Kings, Queens, Artians and men and women of learning. Let them know of Mansa Musa The Golden King Of Mali. Let them know of The Moors conquerors of Spain. Let them know of The Sudan, Ghana, Axium, Songhey, The Ashanti, Ethiopia, Great Zimbabwa, The Nigerian Kingdoms, The Zulu March, etc,. Let them read about Jomo Kenyetta, Nelson Mandela, Julius Nyernere, Kwane Mkuma, Seko Toure, W.E.B. Duois…………
justice
July 6, 2018 at 2:11 pm
Cruel and unusual punishment.
Z.R.
July 9, 2018 at 6:27 pm
This letter is NOT sad. We need to teach our children to avoid crime at ALL costs. We know that sentences are not handed out equally. So, why not avoid the game at all? We have to step up and stop the madness. I am tired of the excuses. With the State of Our Community, we can not afford the lost of any man. I honestly believe that her father should have thought, “My children and family are TOO important for me to risk their health doing crime.” I say this as a person who lost all three of my uncles to drugs. One died of AIDS and the other two are serving life and 30 year jail sentences. I am so tired of black people using their political capital to help criminals who mean our community NO GOOD. We need policies that help working and responsible people.
LarryJ
July 10, 2018 at 10:31 am
Last saturday, Dealers fired 63 shots from an AK-47 on a Queens, NY street, killing 3 young Blackmen in a hail of bullets…!!! Police believe that this was the result of a drug deal gone bad………There were 23 shootings, stabbings, beat downs, etc,. In NYC during the 4th Of July weekend. And all were in Black and Latino neighborhoods…!!! Do some of you people still believe that drug dealers should be released from a life sentence to enjoy being with their families….????? How about those families whose loved ones were murdered or died as a result of drug dealing. They are doing a life sentence of eternal loss of someone whom they loved…….
LarryJ
July 10, 2018 at 10:50 am
Several countries like Saudi Arabia, etc, has imposed a mandatory death sentence on drug dealing. During the Chinese Communist victory in 1950 over the then corrupt Nationalist Government supported by The United States, the communist executed drug dealers on charges of crimes against the people. The Chinese knew all too well about the destruction of drugs in their society. During the 18th and 19th century, England introduced opium from India into China (The Heavenly Kingdom) to corrupt the Chinese people and take their land and tea trade, etc. When the emperial Chinese government saw was drugs was doing to its people, they tried to stop the British opium trade by fighting back in what is known as The Opium Wars. China lost and England took the port of Hong Kong and other large areas of China and continued to sell drugs to the Chinese people, resulting in the fall of a once great eastern empire……..
LarryJ
July 10, 2018 at 6:40 pm
Do anyone remember big time drug dealer Pablo Escobar…..?????
Regina
July 15, 2021 at 1:34 pm
Yep
Maria Lloyd
July 11, 2018 at 8:34 am
Larry J,
Since you’ve become a historian on this subject, do some research on the Italian kingpin from Chicago, John Cappas, and tell the world why you believe it was fair for him to come home after FIFTEEN YEARS of prison for the same crime as my father- except he has a bit of violence linked to him… My father has been in prison for 23 years and counting. John Cappas served 15 years and is now a motivational speaker and business owner in Chicago.
Here’s your start: https://www.google.com/search?sugexp=chrome,mod=18&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=john+cappas#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=john+cappas+cocaine&oq=john+cappas+cocaine&gs_l=serp.3…70906.72189.0.72437.8.7.0.0.0.0.191.699.5j2.7.0…0.0.Gop_nW7jnS4&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=54147a6c24560a3&biw=1098&bih=662
Get to it, smart guy.
Maria Lloyd
LarryJ
July 13, 2018 at 8:08 am
Black parents, direct your kids to Blackpast.org And read about Blackmen and Black women who over came poverty and racism at its worst, etc,. To become leaders in their professions and vocations. Black people who help to make life better for their people. Let your Black kids know that they do not have to become drug dealers to be successful in life..!! Let them read about Black people like Congressman John Lewis. A young brother who marched with Dr. King during the early days of The Civil Rights Revolution. John Lewis was beaten, kicked, attacked by White mobs, White police and attack dogs, etc,. During his fight to get all Black Americans the right to vote and equal opportunity. Mr Lewis went on to become a United States Congressman where he continued to fight for Civil Rights. Read about Ms Fannie Lou Hammer. Another Black woman whom like John Lewis, went through racist hell, beaten, arrested, attacked by dogs, etc,. But she never gave up fighting for Civil Rights…….Our children do not have to sell drugs to be somebody..!!!
Maria Lloyd
July 13, 2018 at 9:44 am
Larry J,
Where’s your response to my last comment? What’s wrong? Did you run out of reasons to defend the government’s racial bias in the courtroom?
Go figure.
Maria Lloyd
WizardG
July 25, 2018 at 12:54 pm
What a touching and very sad story. This country is filled with racial injustices committed by the “whites” and their flunkies in government and judicial systems. Many African-Americans “blacks” are mentally twisted by this insane white-power social-structure. They cannot see the big picture and because of it they basically help the racist hateful. ignorant people in power, abuse us!
The story is sad, and what is sadder is that if these base people in power have done it to one of us they’ve done it to many. They will continue to hurt us in ways most will never realize until it finally touches them too! People like Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Clarence Thomas and Barack Obama help this base white-power structure, with it’s vile judges and police, abuse black people across the African diaspora! People have no idea just how dire our situation is!
Regina
July 15, 2021 at 1:34 pm
Thank you WizardG.
WizardG
July 25, 2018 at 1:25 pm
As for drugs. Whites in power are profiting from allowing and helping to bring drugs into this country. Judges, politicians, top police etc. are connected to the inside machinations of these types of financial markets and more! Crack was introduced into our society by our government politicians and the intelligence society. They used the profits from the drugs to get richer and to help financed their wars in the past. Today they get most of their drugs from the poppy fields of Afghanistan, and other places, but the money they steal now also comes straight from our tax coffers. The game is rigged against “blacks” as it always has been but those who live high off the hog are oblivious to the severity of the situations and those who help are so brainwashed about wht kind of society this is are too mixed up and confused to understand their part in helping to make matters worse for poor and struggling blacks and others around the world! Of course white judges and their confused colleagues are going to impose harsh penalties on blacks and browns etc. That’s been the nature of the beast since the beginning! They are the people who create the problems of us and punish us after they have dumped it in our crumbling impoverished neighborhoods! They profit from our miseries in ways most could never imagine! It takes decades of close study to even come close to recognizing how the con game has been played on the whole nation and continuous study to see how the game keeps growing and changing! People wonder why, when crazy things around the country and the world take them by surprise, but if they researched the reality of how this country was started, who had to be murdered and assimilated, and what lengths the conquering hoards will go to. That information might lead them to the conclusion that we’ve been abused, lied to, and screwed from the beginning! The offspring descendants of those who began all this, continue with more advanced cons, lies, and tricks! The prisons and cemeteries are filled with victims of a very vile, scheming, crooked white-supremacist society and their cohorts! Everything they put in their false history books for us is as false, deceptive, and twisted, as the lies and secrets they impose on us constantly!
elaine clemons
August 27, 2018 at 7:22 pm
well said, my friend.
Nigeria
September 23, 2018 at 10:17 am
I’m with you Maria. This was a very heartfelt letter. Be strong and continue to fight for your father. God Bless You!
Nigeria
September 23, 2018 at 10:26 am
Do you think it would be possible for us to write letters to the judge or someone above his rank who could affect change or re-open the case? I have no idea on how the judicial system works, but I KNOW that when there’s a will, there’s a way.
Regee
October 28, 2018 at 12:00 pm
I love it, this is so True, the system blames the dealers who are so far at the bottom of this pole, but get the most time
Its sad that a mistake cost families their Whole future. I LOVE This letter she told the judge that after he sentenced her father her life was over, but the judge went on with his family and friends. I bet when her brother his son died he wasnt allowed to go to funeral. Any time a family died while a person in jail its like being sentenced all over again. The fact of the matter a judge makes statements that say the person had no father or no family support, but they are the ones,That are breaking up the families.
Toni Price
October 28, 2018 at 1:33 pm
Well written this is a harsh sentence , I hope you and your family continue to fight for justice. God bless you and yourfamily
JANE LITTLE
October 28, 2018 at 11:24 pm
Maria, I do so feel for your heartache, I too have a family member in prison that will never taste freedom again! I was deprived of a brothers love and guidance, my children were also deprived! and for a long time I resented him for what he had robed us of. I had to learn how to forgive him and try to rebuild a relationship with him, it hasn’t been easy but we are trying. I say this in LOVE to you, I believe you maybe angry with the the wrong people. as you yourself stated and I quote: the decisions that they made. we as a black nation has suffered and mostly by our own hands. we can’t blame the white man for every failure that come upon our community, we have to learn to accept our responsibility for our own actions. there are consequences for our mistakes in life,
Rose
October 31, 2018 at 2:51 pm
I was very moved and touched by you’re story Maria and I keep you in my prayers… that hopefully your family could get some justice because the more and more that time goes by the judicial system just becomes a wreck and random numbers just seem to pop up for sentencing when it comes to us African Americans… I believe in punishment but to a certain degree… Life is to precious and to gold to let it go to waste and already 25yrs of your fathers life has gone by… thats punishment enough and beyond… continue to pray and know that god is always here with you…
but as for Larry J… The right words for you I can’t even begin to speak because what you and who ever else is on this post thats blaming drug dealers for their friends or families screw ups and f**k up lifes… are out there hating and putting blames on the wrong people… because nothing was done by force but choice and it was there choice and there will… cause if thats the case are you gonna be out there blaming liquor stores too and grocery stores for supplying alcohol… NO… cause again it isnt by force.. its there choice… so blame the real people in this matter and not this girls family… cause that type of punishment is not fair
Frances
November 29, 2018 at 11:13 am
That is a deep, powerful and touching letter… I can’t say I feel your pain, I can’t even pretend to know what you’re going through, but I pray that your father is released and yes, that is a ridiculous sentence for a first time, non-violent offense regardless of what it was, except murder… I hope one day God will heal your pain and bring you peace… As for the judge, God will handle him… I’d rather go through h*ll here on earth than to face the Lord on judgement day when I’ve shattered lives this way… Keep praying and keep your head up… We serve an awesome God and when He moves mountains, he really moves mountains… Be blessed…
Rachael
December 5, 2018 at 3:51 pm
My heart goes out to you and your family. What an awful thing to have happen. I just think you have all these actors and actress getting caught with drugs and they are free to go, because they have money NOT FAIR!. I think first non-violent, first-time offender should be given another chance. I can see if you were a child molest, murderer or rapist then you deserve to be in there for life. I pray for you and your family. I think if you are caught again for the second time then you deserve to be in there. At least give a person a chance to see if they learn from the first time getting arrested.
mary coleman
January 17, 2019 at 11:06 am
the judge was alrdy mad whn he tuk the stand that day.. he prolly didnt get any pu**y or even better he acted like he a had a d**k stuck up his a**.. hw u gnna gv a person 15 life sentences 4 drugs whn its ppl out ther everday killing and they get a slap on the wrist. this judicial systm is fu**ed up.. ther is no justice 4 all.rewrite the pledge. im sorry 4 the pain that ur going thru. time shyd be served. whr is the old a** judge now. he shud be retired.. that mother f***er will rot in hell. he has a robe on now but remember he has 2 go see his creator that will be wearing the robe that really counts.. GOD. u will stand b4 him and ye shall b judged.
Deborah Barnes
January 17, 2019 at 12:18 pm
When you have this feeling of anger and hurt Read Psalm 37 in your bible and know that anyone who does something with ill intentions, malice or to benefit themselves, there day will come when they will be judged, even a judge.
sonja
January 17, 2019 at 2:04 pm
Our young people need to under stand that just finishing high school is not enough they must get into college,get a trade or something I was in a meeting yesterday and basically was told that our kids are expected to fell wow I said in disbelief but it is the real world truth.
James
January 17, 2019 at 10:53 pm
This is a criminal case that should be reopened and looked into, because the time don’t fit the crime and the man has all ready spend 23 years in prison. There has to be someone out there that has seen this case and thought about appealing for this man, because the sentencing seems a little Racist!!!
James
January 17, 2019 at 10:55 pm
Who were the Attorney’s on this criminal matter???
catherine
January 18, 2019 at 9:19 am
I feel you. I have written numerous letters to the judge about my sons and grandson. One in prison since 2001 for home invasion and was arrested coming out of a lounge drunk where he had been drinking with 3 bartenders for hours, As he walked out the cops said they had chased him two blocks, no finger prints of his found, no gloves, then the couple claim that they went to bed and forgot to lock the doors. Later the wallet of the man was found on the porch next door, at first nothing was taken because they said the man of the house disarmed him and chased him around the house until the cops came and chased him.
did
he he he find t
ime
My question to this day is when did he have time to go around to the front and throw the wallet there. When did he find time to stop and throw it there. Later they came up with they found some of the people belonging a block away. Yes he had been in trouble in the past but now he had moved to another town trying to rebuild a life with his new wife and children. The lawyer said that the garbage men must have gotten the gloves and siposed themm. no evffect was made to recover them. He was sentence to fourt y years.. The second son was accused of rape, the girl testified that it never happened signed advidaves to this but the judge sagave him 26 years, he had never been in trouble and was 32 years old.
The grandsons, moved to Iowa and one got life for being in the wrong house with the wrong woman, she asked him to give the man at the door a bag the bag consisted of dope, the man was under cover, she told them it was hers and they still sentence him. He was 24 years old, been locked up now for five years and then They forced him last year along with his father and sister to testified against his younger brother because his brother was in the house. He got 15 years never been to prison in his life. He refuse to plead guilty of course it’s hard if you don’t admit to doing what the court said you did.
catherine
January 18, 2019 at 10:20 am
I paid a lawyer 20,000 dollars borrowed money for my sons case, and she threw him under the bus. I paid for a jury trial and she talked him into a bench trial, claiming she knew she could win, especially since there was no evidence against him accept the letter written by a police saying he confessed. They claimed the recorder didn’t work. The paper wasn’t signed but they gave him 26 years anyway. I kept telling the lawyer that my son didn’t write the confession because that’s not the way he write or talk but she ignored me until after the judge had made his decision, then she asked that the police return and on the stand he admitted my son never written it. The only thing my son said he signed was for his labtop. They claimed they didn’t have it, but it was released unto me the day he was sentence. The lawyer was sworn in as a judge six days later. No I don’t wish nothing bad happen to her, but I do wish that her conscious whip her like she’s whipped me, his siblings and his children. The boy has OD-ed no he isn’t dead but he is all messed up now. He has been shot twice, 18 years old now, He begged his mother not to ove hi to the city, but she did followering a man. Hidding under alcohol. This boy tried to tell his mother and the court before he got in trouble, the gangs was trying to retoon him. The two foster children are now in dcfs. The judge and the lawyer took a family and riped them apart with the 15 year old son begging to take the stand, because he knew the truth. He said he heard the police promise his mother my son would never get out, but the police claim he wasn’t there.
I threw good money away, he would have done better with a public defender.
My son went to prison because of a jealous wife. they had broken up, he had signed divorce papers when she found out about the child at the same time he did, she swore he would never take care of it, after taking care of hers for 14 years in her absent. She played a drunker, and a mental patient until after the trial.
Am I angry, No not any more I am hurt. Hurt that he didn’ t listen when we all told him not to go back. She swore in front of 20 some witnesses that he would never take care of that kid or divorce her, after she told up signed divorce papers she had asked him to sign. Yes I am hurt that he didn’t listen when she said she’d see him dead before she let anyone else have him. Hurt because I told him that he was spending to much time with the children. The children was all honor students because he took up time with them. He helpped them with their homework, cooked, washed their clothes, etc; What was once a somewhat happen family has now become so disfuntional, they curse the justice system, who tore up their lives, while their mother, supports a morphine addict.
Men who marry women with children have the right to be scared. She is ten years older then my son, who was on disability when she married him, and insisted he didn’t need it. Yet when he got a job she wouldn’t allow him to keep in, because she ran around with other men, leaving him home. The judge would not allow any of this in court and the lawyer wouldn’t summit any of it. She didn’t care about my son, she needed the oney for her campaign.
The youngest girl who started this mess admitted in court she lied because she was angry, (they placed her on punishment for bad grades) is now in the streets, biosexual, using drugs, just had another abortion, she aditted she lied in court and wouldn’t take the stand, while the other sister no longer has anything to do with either one of them, (the oldest daughter has spinabithal) the wife got married to the man my son accused her of, who beats her to the point of a hair line fracture of the neck. She’s gotten married since he went to prison but has not gotten a divorce as far as my son knows. ( my son does not know she’s remarried.) He’s been in prison since 2008.
When she said she’d see him dead before she let anyone else have him she meant it. Yes I am hurt. Hurt because I told him that he was spending to much time with the children. Especially the girls. The children was all honor students because he took up time with them. Whereever they went he took them. Whatever they needed he got it. When the youngest two got picked up by the cops, he went and got them. They have all become so disfuntional now, they curse the justice system, while his exwife, supports a morphine addict.
Men who marry women with children have the right to be scared. She is ten years older then my son, who was on disability when she married him, and insisted he didn’t need it. Yet when he got a job she wouldn’t allow him to keep in, because she ran around with other men, leaving him home with the children, they called him when they got in trouble. Now he’s alone spending his youth in prison, bound to hell as she said he would.; The mouth is a powerful weapon and a bitter woman is even worst. I pray the court hear this woman and release her father. I will be dead by the time either of my sons get out of prison,. Yet I give God the praise they are yet alive. But I curse the day either one of my sons married the women they did. Both has moved on with their lives. And both of them married women with children, older then they are. Once claimed to be pregnant but supposely came down the night of the wedding. Broke up him and his high school sweetheart and his child. We all tried to tell him that if the woman was going to have an abortion, he couldn’t stop her. But leaving his child and mother behind because this was the only way she wouldn’t abort the child could only lead to hell. And it did. After 14 years no baby came. Now he leaves two young girls to never grow up with a father. The first son never had children, his wife claimed she couldn’t have any more. She was raped by a man she knew who is now dead.. Again she lied the father is on face book and was a friend of his brother’s. But again he didn’t listen, They both openly testifies to him being the father now the girl is in college and the supposed father is dead. She collected child support and social security for this child knowing she lied. Now she has two children a boy and a girl. Why did these things happen to my sons? Only God knows. Wrong place, wrong time. Right place wrong time. I don’t know but what I do know is. One day Justice will be served to all involved.
Thank you for fighting for your father. And I too pray that the dirty judges and dirty lawyers pay for all the injustice they have done to all those innocent behind the wall as well as first offenders without violence … This letter is long but it’s the truth. I a trying to adopt the young girl placed in the system after my son’s wife new husband tried to rape her. She’s 12 years old, the boy is 9. All they have ever known is us. I am grandma, and she swears that if they don’t give her to me, she’s come find me one day, because she loves and misses us. The boy yet cries for her, she’s the only mother he’s ever known but she allowed the new husband to drop him off at dcfs. Hurt?
My son has learned a lesson that no one should have to learn. Now he’s alone spending his young in prison, bound to hell as she said he would.; The mouth is a powerful weapon and a bitter woman is even worst. I pray the court hear this woman and release her father. I will be dead by the time either of my sons get out of prison,. Yet I give God the praise they are yet alive.
Kelli
January 19, 2019 at 6:43 pm
FACTS PEOPLE. Something Miss Lloyd forgot to give you.
This wasnt just some guy standing on the corner selling joints.
This gentleman was running a 30 million dollar a year cocaine ring.
He got what he deserved.
Mandingo
February 3, 2019 at 12:17 am
Kelli whether by intent or ignorance,you are a part of the racist enemy force against Afrikans because you are condoning the racist sentencing of Afrikans in the US.15 life sentences is racist in this case.Oliver North the European colonel in the US military was running drugs and guns for Reagan and his gang but he got as his ultimate sentence,HIS OWN TV SHOW AND FAME AND FORTUNE FROM HIS FELLOW EUROPEANS.
David (Future U.S. Senator)
March 3, 2019 at 4:30 pm
Good day To Everyone! This Letter is a Testimony to The Pain …….Jesus’s People is Experiencing, 50 Years since The Civil Rights Movement vs The Freedom Rights Movement@?.! Civil Rights vs Reparations/RePairing……RePaired. After……. The American Civil War and The ReConstruction Act and The Famous Freedman’s Act, African Americans (Black People/The Chosen People) were doing Very Well in Education = The Freedman’s Schools, became (Modern Public School System). African Americans were doing well in Business, Housing and Health (Support Services were Provided by The Federal Government to Provide Support Services for The RePair of Black People through The Freedman’s Bureau Act. African Americans were also doing Well in Political Power, from 1865 – 1877. The came The Compromise of 1877. This Compromise, Negatively affected The Potential Greatness Of America! And NOW, We are More Divided than WE Have To Be. If America’s Foundation is Built on Justice, Then She Must Address The InJustice that Took Place in 1877. My God Bless His People.! Peace@.!
Franklin from Florida
March 3, 2019 at 4:43 pm
Larry j
You made your point, either run for office an make a difference.
Or shut the f..k up.
Elizabeth
April 11, 2019 at 10:50 am
This is why I strongly state that African-American need to shun crime and others who commit crime.
Jail has ruined the lives of the criminal, victim, and families on both sides.
Jail is a “TRAP” for Afrian-American males and now girls, why they fall for the trap? BAD PARENTS!
Regina
July 15, 2021 at 1:30 pm
Innocent people are arrested, tried and convicted of crimes they did not commit and this is due to the War on Drugs. Read the book, The New Jim Crow. It breaks it down as to why so many blacks are in jail.
David W. Johnson Jr.
April 11, 2019 at 12:59 pm
That Racist Piece Of Trash Would Never Have Sentence A White Person Like That. I Will Keep You And Your Family In My Prayers, My African American Sister But I Am Getting Sick And Tired Of These Racist Pieces Of Trash Treating Our Race Like That.
I Have A Special Poem I Did For My African American Women And I Am Going To Send You, If You Send Me Your E-Mail Address. I Am A Writer, Author, Poet And Mentor. I Am Trying Hard To Save Our Women, Children And Race. I Have Already Published My First Book And I Get Out In The Community Everyday, Showing Appreication To Our Wonderful African American Sisters & Supporting President Obama.
God Bless You, Your Family & Friends.
James A.
April 11, 2019 at 2:28 pm
I certainly empathize with this woman and what she’s gone through and continue to go through. She talks about her life and her family’s lives being destroyed, but what about the lives of the people that her family destroyed with the drugs? Are they any less important? What value do you place on those lives? There is no such thing as a “victimless crime”; regardless of how small. I have a daughter and if anyone sold her illegal drugs and got her hooked, YES, I would want that person to die in prison, if not sooner. This woman talks about growing up without a father, would she be better off/ or have a better life if she had to live with a “drug dealing” father whose life work is destroying other people’s lives?
J. D. Hill
April 11, 2019 at 2:42 pm
The only way that Black folk are going to get justice in America is to demand it and to be able to afford it. We demand it not by writing a letter or holding a banner of protest after-the-fact. We must be proactive in our citizenship, storming the polls and letting our collective voices be heard by those who hire police officers, appoint judges, and re-elect judges when they run.
Further, we as a people need to organize and plan for a perpetual struggle against an injustice system that persecutes and preys on the poor. We need to have a national, criminal defense system staffed by our best and brightest aggressive criminal defense attorneys with competent staff whom we pay competitive benefits and salaries. First time alleged felony offenders should always qualify for their services.
We as a people are as much to blame for our mistreatment as the Whites whom we blame. If we are known to do little to nothing to help ourselves, how can we expect or demand that others do so as well?
As Dr. Claud Anderson says, Black folk have been complaining and marching long enough, and we’re not getting anywhere. We are still on the bottom rung of society being stepped on and over by every other ethnic group in the country. And we want respect and justice?
We have heard it said for generations that Black folk will never come together. Well, we won’t get justice or anything else until we do!
Barbara
April 11, 2019 at 5:05 pm
@Maria Lloyd
Maria, your letter is quite heartfelt; but I think the Judge is not the person it should be directed to. It is CONGRESS that passed this Law for mandatory sentencing. The Judges don’t have the discretion to do otherwise in these drug cases.
There was a program on PBS last night about the unfair sentencing in the War on Drugs, and how it affected the Black community. Blacks are getting life sentences for Crack Cocaine while Whites are not severely punished for Powder Cocaine. Both drugs are Cocaine
Watch PBS Independent Lens: The House I Live In. It’s about what happened to your father and others like him. It’s about the devastating impact the drug laws have on Blacks and other poor people.
So far, CONGRESS has only moderated this draconic drug laws.
I do not condone what drug dealers do at all; but the laws are unfair.
Regina
July 15, 2021 at 1:28 pm
Read the book called “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander.
Davy de Verteuil
April 11, 2019 at 7:53 pm
America is in some serious mess and Poor people will have to literally rise UP! and lay down the law of conscience against those rich white class. It isn’t white people its the rich white class.Maria Lloyd’s letter should have been the rally cry. One man is a mass just go out to the streets and return not-until the matter is attended in then lest-Switch of the Fcukin TV
Yolanda
April 17, 2019 at 12:25 am
Lets dart a petition to get him out. Great job. We have ur back. This has to stop.
Tony
August 15, 2019 at 4:53 am
May this judge rot in Hell!
Samantha
August 15, 2019 at 9:34 am
Black poor people did rise up and were beaten so that this generation would have a better life. This Generation repay their pain with drugs, gangs, murdering their own, flooding their communities with babies they can’t or won’t take care of which creates more problems. I have no sympathy for predators. We talk about the large sentences but how about the revolving cycle of the ones that keep getting tapped on the hand and they go in and come back out just to do the same things again. Yes, I believe like Eric Holder has said the the mandatory sentencing should be done away with and maybe some sentences redone but to just instantly take a story from a person who was a child at the time and not really know the full truth of her Fathers drug dealing is stupid. How about sympathy for the lives and neighborhoods he destroyed.
mmdccbslm
August 16, 2019 at 7:11 am
how much was he trafficking?
mike c. okereke
December 25, 2019 at 4:42 am
There is nothing honorable about a judge not using his sense of justice when doling out punishments. For a first time offender, as this very concerned daughter claims her father was, it makes absolutely no judicial sense to punish this offender to 15 life sentences, may be he meant fifteen years to life, even that is draconian.
This judge, I take it, metes out punishment for people to see him as “tough”. But scratching the surface he is definitely in the wrong. Such society-pleasing judges are tunnel visioned and can only see things one way, which judicially speaking, makes no sense.
And I very much agree with the daughter never wishing the judge well.
Charles
December 25, 2019 at 7:46 am
This letter this young lady wrote to this judge is
an AWESOME statement. Even though by law punishing someone for illegal activities should be punish, but not the way this judge did in regards to a first time offense. This young lady was and still is 100% correct when she mentioned HONORABLE. From my view of that, she is also correct. How can someone be honest when there is absolute hatred inside of them against Black Americans. You call that HONORABLE; absolutely not. I just do not understand today where white people or at least some of them get the idea that Blacks are stupid.I
read porion of a book once titled “The Bell Curve,
stating that Whites had a better IQ in test than Blacks who are deficient in such test. “EXCUSE ME”,
that day is over with.
Charles
December 25, 2019 at 8:57 am
Like someone said previously, “this is an old commentary. But it still fits today. I want to point out to one commenter; Elizabeth to be exact.
She states that “we should call ourselves African Americans rather than Black. I’m sorry, but Blacks should not call themselves African Americans. You, or myself was not born in Africa, OKAY. Why specifically so called Black folks should be called
African Americans when Whites as immigrants never called themselves European Americans. Black were never immigrants and cannot emulate them. Most Blacks will get into my case, stating we are African Americans.” Just as certain Whites call themselves Americans, so should Blacks call themselves Americans. The same as Whites decendants are no longer here and their today’s ancestors today never called themselves European Americans. We so-called Black or Negroes better wake the hell up. That terminology (African American) just does not exist. We have have to change ange throughout this country.
Regina
July 15, 2021 at 1:26 pm
I call myself Black and it does p*ss off anyone who does not like the fact that I called myself Black. African Americans, stop begging for the scraps off the Massa’s table and get over it.
John Dixon
May 27, 2020 at 1:00 pm
well the judge is just a deliverence man, he had others TOO that influenced his very bad decision, I had a high school and college friend who got 3 life sentences just for introducing drug dealers.
his sentence was commuted by pres. barack obama. he spent 23 years behind bars. he was a handsome football player and college student. it was sad but ultimately communed.
Lisa
July 19, 2020 at 12:23 pm
I would like to know what was the out come did they lower his sentenced or released? Please let me know so I can also write a judge
anon
August 8, 2020 at 9:45 am
I don’t know her name but I met a woman who told me that she plea bargained w DoJ to 10 years, drug trafficking, but Judge Crabb ignored the deal and gave her 30. It seems to me like DoJ should be obligated anyway.
J. D. Hill
July 15, 2021 at 12:47 pm
Why should this one black woman have to fight this black battle by herself? Where is the black church? Where are our elected officials? Where is the NAACP that dilutes its white-gained resources for the advancement of everybody?
Someone said that she should get a lawyer? Which rich white lawyer is going to champion her cause against the powerful white establishment that makes sure that he can send his kids to prestigious colleges? Not too many Thurgood Marshalls left either. If there are, most are half-broke like he was and might not be able to afford wage such a war in court. Don’t black civil rights lawyers need money from other cases to keep themselves and the big court fights going?
Clearly, this is one sentence that President Obama should commute. Write the President! This KKK judge needs to be voted out of office by the blacks who unite to unseat him!
FulaniyiraSpeaks!
July 16, 2021 at 3:05 pm
An African American man, who was a homeless, mentally ill vet (?) was charged for scaring two white women 400 years and 12 life sentences. The man was under 50yrs old. The man didn’t cut, scratch, a hair on the two women’s heads, just hungry and wanting food, but was sentenced to life. The judge stated that he was a problem to society.
No outrage, no out cry, no protest. Just another Black man imprisoned for life for Being perpetually disenfranchised by Whites in positions of authority.
Pingback: Daughter Of Mario Lloyd A First Time Offender Who Received 15 Life Sentences Pens Open Letter To His Sentencing Judge | Ear Hustle 411
instagram followers hack cydia july 2021
September 5, 2021 at 1:46 pm
You do want to be aware of what these discounts are and who is offering them so you can take full advantage
of the savings they provide.
Dannette Kave
September 5, 2021 at 2:06 pm
An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. I believe that you ought to publish more about this subject matter, it might not be a taboo subject but typically folks don’t speak about these subjects. To the next! Many thanks!!|
Shanna Rabago
September 6, 2021 at 1:54 pm
Incredible story there. What occurred after? Take care!|
hummingbird attracting Plants Flowers
September 7, 2021 at 5:50 am
The designs common to el born area are tribal tattoos as well as the one showing the replica of batman. There are portable finders much
like the Fishin’ Buddy Series and the Smart – Cast series.
These feeders are pretty self-sufficient and only require an occasional refill and cleaning.