LUCA POWELL OF RICHMOND TIMES TOLD US THAT THE DEAD AND IMMORTAL HENRY "BOBILLY" GORHAM WAS INVOLVED IN A MECKLENBURG INCIDENT, WELL IT NEVER HAPPENED By William Thorpe

Image Kevin Jeans

In the recent Richmond Times piece: HENRY GORHAM JR.WHO FOUGHT DECADES FOR PAROLE DIES AT GREENSVILLE PRISON by Luca Powell, we are told that Henry "Bobilly" Gorham was sentenced to 40 years additional time in prison by a Richmond Judge for his involvement in a 1985 Mecklenburg escape incident that included the Briley Brothers. Then further in the Powell article giving a narrative of the odious and suspicious circumstances of the rescind of the 2021 vote by Virginia Parole Board members KEMBA PRADIA and TONYA CHAPMAN, to grant Henry "Bobilly" Gorham parole, we are introduced to the Mecklenburg incident as qualifier for the reversal of vote to parole Bobilly. I write to state this: The Mecklenburg escape of 6 Virginia death row prisoners happened on May 31st,1984 and they were Earl Clanton, Peterson, Lem Tuggle, Jones, Linwood and James Briley. The escape happened from Building-1, which held death row, solitary confinement and orientation. Bobilly wasn't in Building-1, on the night of the escape, May 31st,1984, he was in B-pod of Building-5. I, was in A-pod of Building-1, the night of the escape doing 30 days isolation or punitive solitary confinement.

There are a couple of disturbing, elements with Powell's article. Firstly on the surface it seems the article is conveying the fact, The Virginia Parole Board violated its own procedures and Bobilly's parole advocate Karen Morrison clearly says as much which is affirmed by the cavalier dismissal given the revelation by the current Chair of The Parole Board, Patricia West. Secondly the article treats Bobilly's cancer as if The Virginia Department of Corrections barbaric history of prisoner medical neglect isn't the one and only culprit responsible. Then the most disturbing thrust of Powell's work, which I started this work with, is the conflation and it's disqualifying inference with Mecklenburg's 1984 death row escape as apology and quasi justification for the rescinding of Bobilly's 2021 vote by the above named Board members, to grant parole. Fourthly Virginia's Parole Board is a legally constituted exercise of The Commonwealth's Political authority, hence assuming the necessary responsibilities and convention. As such Patricia West whether in her professional or the more dubious, private existence is without authority to opine on a suspect but "legal" action by parole board members, whether current or former. The comments by Ms. West in Luca Powell's article are crass heresay and doesn't in any form, manner shed light on and give and provide The People of Virginia, who are responsible for Henry "Bobilly" Gorham's death, its requisite accounting. Because the imprisonment and detention of Bobilly by The People of Virginia wasn't a sanction and authority of death. Simply put he wasn't sent to prison to die. There was nothing "natural causes" about Bobilly's death as Powell's deflective article summarily declares. The idea and its practice that a Virginian can be imprisoned under and by the authority of The People of The Commonwealth of Virginia and then killed due to extra-judicial and ad hoc practices by the Virginia prison official tasked with the imprisonment is outside of law and is murder. This is the circumstance of Henry Bobilly Gorham's death and our speech to Luca Powell and The Richmond Times is lend your prodigious voice to that of its investigation.

We call for an investigation into the handling of Bobilly's parole process, the type, nature and sort of information used by The Parole Board and the fact that there obviously was a collusion and conspiracy that resulted in Board members KEMBA PRADIA and TONYA CHAPMAN second guessing their initial judgement to grant Henry "Bobilly" Gorham parole. For one the reason given in the hearsay comments by Patricia West, for the parole vote reversal, [ his, "extensive criminal record "and that he needed a "longer period of stable adjustment"] is an insult to The People of Virginia, who are accountable for the corrupt convergence resulting in Bobilly's death. First of all and this provides us the opportunity to actually get at the parole debate. Parole as part of the criminal justice system is also an aspect of the pardon, clemency and commutation expressions of the Politics or Law and its terms of the Social Contract. So for example we all experienced Donald Trump authorize the reversals of the convictions and release from imprisonment of those who stormed the U.S Congress on January 6th, because their convictions and imprisonment ran counter and at odds with the politics he embodied, say what you will about it, it reveals and is testament to the nature of Law or the terms of a Social Contract. I've went into this to expose the fraud and corruption of the THOUGHT, wielded by The Virginia Parole Board, with its "extensive criminal record" and ."longer period of stable adjustment", verbiage when, vindictively, for reasons only known to them, they act contrary to the very reason of the existence of parole as a practical part of imprisonment. Bobiilly's case and situation present this and all that is corrupt with the process in all its odious impunity. When John Adams anticipated Lincolns' at Gettysburg, "of the people, by the people and for the people", with his fore runner, "a government of law and not of men", he clearly saw, envisioned and had in mind actions by minds and hearts of the Patricia West's of the world and the petty dictatorship of the, for example, The Virginia Parole Board. Because the only lesson our Virginia version of the Social Contract instructs the Human Condition is, disassembleged, distortion, reduction, perversion and duplicity.

By William Thorpe

I'm William Thorpe Virginia exiled me to the Texas prison system. I'm solitary confined at the Wainwright Unit and if you feel any kinda way about this work contact me by Securus email using the Texas prison number #2261982