IF GOVERNOR ABIGAIL SPANBERGER TRULY THINKS THAT THE NEEDED REFORM OF VIRGINIA'S IMPRISONMENT SCHEME IS HER NEWLY CREATED COUNCIL ON CORRECTIONS, THEN SHE SHOULD PUSH TO MAKE IT AN ELECTED STRUCTURE By William Thorpe

Pictures are taken from the internet and are used for illustrative purposes only

Once again, I'll say it, the issue of Reform of Virginia's Justice Infrastructure and its Prison System, is simple, its ACCOUNTABILITY and TRANSPARENCY. Which are the Keystones of all that is the Social Contract and Society. The more we get away from this simple fact, with the various nuances, clarifications, qualifications, conditions with all as filters, the more the inherent and intrinsic corruption of all materializations become objective unto itself, necessitating another gloss of the veneer of, nuances, clarifications, qualifications, conditions all as filters. Accountability, is a simple fidelity to the dictatorship of intention. What I mean is this, the one and only approximate truth of the Human Condition, is the business of human existence. From breathing air, drinking water, the intake of sources of energy, responding to the environment according to what is necessary and required and mastering the environment based on the ability of interrogation, in order to be optimally equipped to perform that instinct of survival. Nothing I have just stated is insight, nor am I being facetious, with its rudimentary simplicity or even snarky. All I'm doing is reminding us, that the "business" of existence, is the basis of it all with Accountability riding shotgun and whether we are able to perform this "business" to the best of our abilities depends on our approximate grasp and understanding of Accountability, where the operative and factor of Transparency, is also a formulary of Accountability or the Accountability-Function. Which brings us to the Commonwealth of Virginia, its Justice Infrastructure and Imprisonment Scheme, which no one will dare dispute that, that inherent and intrinsic corruption of all materializations viz Systems has from inception been its objective. Even post the Civil War, which we can characterize as presenting a clean slate or canvas, for a more redemptive, constructive and practical development of the business of human existence upon irrefutable facts of a being structured Social Contract, Virginia's Status Quo embodied by the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1871, couldn't restrain that inherent corruption, with this declaration in the case, RUFFIN v. COMMONWEALTH 62 VA.790 and I paraphrase, that the imprisoned Virginian is nothing more than a slave of the State, with nothing more than what the law out of its kindness accords him. Note that this logic was issued in 1871, on the heels and wake of the perdition also brought into existence by the word and construct "Slave", encapsulated in Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage. In other words the embodied corruption of Virginia's Social Contract pre Civil War, was so crystalized and incorrigibly ingrained in the minds and hearts of those Virginia Jurist, that they just couldn't let go of the malevolence presented by the word and construct "slave", that despite the apocalyptic carnage of the Civil War, they, just like the Biblical cast out Legion had to find a herd of swine to occupy, which then was the Virginia Prisoner. What this instructs despite the fact that since 1871, the RUFFFIN case has been cited 44 times and the 4th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Virginia cases has on a number of occasions found opprobrium with the Commonwealth of Virginia for daring to resurrect the reprehensibleness of RUFFIN as defense in a number of cases, which show systemic corruption.

So, Governor Abigail Spanberger recently announced the formation of an entity, GOVERNOR'S PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL ON CORRECTIONS, she presumes as response to what she characterized as "longstanding" issues within the Virginia Department of Corrections or as I correctly describe, Virginia's Imprisonment Scheme. In other words the Council is her Virginia Prison Reform, synthesis. As I stated in the title to this work, well if that is what she thinks, then she should push for it to be an Elected entity, directly responsible to the Supreme Power, in the Commonwealth of Virginia Aka, THE PEOPLE. Because the longstanding issues she spoke of are not contradictions and antagonisms because of the lack of a Council whose existence will reflect the vagaries, whims and caprices of one individual, irrespective of Office and Title and that few with access. Now despite the fact that I strongly disagreed with her selection and choice of JOSEPH WALTERS as Director of the Virginia Department of Corrections and I wanted to see what one of our Virginia Women, our Sistahs would have done in the position, notwithstanding being ground breaking and historical. Still if the Accountability-Function of governance, isn't dependent on personality, but instead Process of Law and the educative instructive of Transparency as the "All Seeing Eye" of THE PEOPLE, then beyond other idealistic, superficiality and short of egregious disqualification, then personality is subordinated. As I started this work with, reform of Virginia's imprisonment scheme is simple because its all about Accountability and Transparency and there isn't a logic or the most malleable, insidious and manipulative sophistry that can defend asserting its conditionality, nor do I have to be Nietzschean, impart this to Governor Abigail Spanberger, when in that most basic and fundamental manner possible, that of a relatively realized full all around human, she not only understands it as a socio-person, but also professionally. So the point is simple all she as Governor have to do is exercise authority in pursuit of Reform and let the reactionaries emerge howling. Virginia for reasons, I'm unfamiliar with has a structure, that is viably practical of the Accountability-Function, when you think about it, is materially actually close to the People, than other systems, which is the Governorship is a one 4-Year term and done, which then allows a Governor to actually implement what in their and Party's world view develops that business of human existence, which the People can either give a thumbs up to by electing to continue the direction or repudiate it by electing a contrary and opposing world view. This dynamic isn't present in systems where the Governor is seeking reelection, as such the potential exercise of authority assumes and deteriorates into the objectification and crystallization of that ever present inherent and intrinsic systemic corruption, a performative theatrical spectacle of "values" as the People are yoked to a speculative narrative of "tradition" at the expense of what the Society and Social Contract clearly recognizes as hunger for progress. Virginia recently witnessed this, with Terry McAuliffe's Democratic world-view, given the thumbs up by The People seeking its continuation in the election of Ralph Northam who held comparative Democratic world-views. So yes Governor Spanberger has opportunity, to even if what Prison Reform at this juncture in the Commonwealth is emerging as, fertile space for the repudiation and refutation of "talking points", that have their genesis in the dictatorship of intent from the 1600's, she should Speak it. Because it provides the millions of Virginians who accept the practicality of Prisons, but are anti it's dehumanization it's work.

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