Is prison the answer?

[Rembrandt Brown]

​

I admit I can't spell for shit
I admit that all I hear is hits
I admit I couldn't read the teleprompter
When the Grammy's asked me to present
...
They tryna lock me up like Bill
How much can a nigga take?
How much can a nigga pray?
Just wanna do my music, stop stressin' me
Please just let me age gracefully
...
I admit it, however since the first day
That without knowin', I signed my publishin' away
I admit it, I was young and caught up and so blind, yeah
Said I had dyslexia, couldn't read all the contracts, yeah
...
Now, I admit a family member touched me
From a child to the age 14
While I laid asleep, took my virginity
So scared to say something, so I just put the blame on me
Now here I am, and I'm tryin' my best, to be honest
'Cause the sources out there tryna keep me from bein' an artist
I admit I'm at rock bottom
And this shit has rocked my mind​

Is the best way for society to handle R Kelly throwing him in prison? I don't know what percentage of the abused go on to be abusers-- that really is unknowable. Do those victims who continue the cycle need to be removed from society?

You could apply the same to Michael Jackson. But what of Bill Cosby, who R Kelly compares himself to in the song? If being a victim is an excuse, couldn't any abuser claim to be a victim?

Or is there another way to address these issues other than prison? Are there other issues-- domestic disputes, assault, theft, etc-- where prison is used but there could be an alternative path?

"Throw them away. Get rid of them. And if you get rid of them, then we don't have to think them. And if we don't have to think about them, then we don't need to think about the problems that they have."

​

 

[tallblacknyc]

This is how Russia handled 1 of their most infamous pedo/serial killers

 

[mcguyver]

I wouldn't be surprised if dude commits suicide.

 

[Rembrandt Brown]

"R Kelly was raped by his grandfather, his older brother and his sister."

It all makes sense now, she broke it all the way down.

All the adults and older siblings in R Kelly's life sexually abused him.

He's a special ed student who to this day has the intellect of a teenager.

He grew up in the projects in the crack era where all the adults around him were strung out.

He had no chance. Even with the fame and fortune, he has ALWAYS remained in a teenage state mentally.

This is just sad all the way around.

It's easy to hate and obliterate, it's hard to heal...

 

[Rembrandt Brown]

Michelle Knight speaks out about Ariel Castro: 'It wasn't his fault'
MORGAN GIORDANO, AOL.COM
Oct 20th 2014

CHARDON, Ohio -- Michelle Knight, in her first live local interview before an audience, spoke Sunday afternoon about learning to forgive her captor of 11 years, Ariel Castro, and of how she now feels peace in her life.

"At first I hated him," Knight said of Castro during a one-hour interview with radio personality Mark Nolan at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School. "But I went through therapy and realized it hadn't been his fault. He had a disease."

It wasn't until about a year and a half after her rescue from Castro's Seymour Avenue home on May 6, 2013 that she reached a breakthrough.

"I was able to say his name, Ariel Castro," she said. "I was able to forgive him."

Before that, she had referred to Castro as "that dude."

Knight was held captive in Castro's house along with Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus.

Knight, who had lived alone for a time after leaving her family, and then told of living with a drug dealer, was lured into Castro's home in August of 2002, at age 21, by the promise of a puppy for her son.

"As I was going up the steps," she said of being inside Castro's home, "I couldn't hear a puppy. There was no puppy."

Knight, who now prefers to go by the name "Lilly," said she knew she was in trouble immediately after Castro closed the door behind her in a room inside the house.

"He said he was only going to keep me a little while as a friend," she said. "I knew he was lying, but what could I do?"

Knight said that when she asked Castro why he had kidnapped her, he replied, "I am a sex addict and I cannot control myself."

That addiction is the disease to which she had referred when she spoke of forgiving Castro. While living in the house, Knight said, "I just thought of myself as a punching bag because that's all he did to me."

When asked her thoughts about Castro's prison suicide on Sept. 3, 2103, one month into his life sentence, Knight said, "I felt very appalled by it, but I understood. I don't condone what he did."

Knight then received applause, as she did several times during the interview, when she said she hoped for the best for Castro's family.

Much of the interview centered on Knight's life since her rescue. As she sat for the interview, Knight wore a cast on her lower right leg. Knight said she was hurt when a horse for which she was caring stepped on her foot.

"A lot of people who have contacted me through Facebook see me as an inspiration," she said. "It means the world to me and it is an honor to help everybody I can."

Knight has written a book titled "Finding Me," and autographed copies of the book after taking questions from the audience.

"If you're getting abused," Knight told the approximately 300 people in attendance, "don't wait, get help."

The message was significant in that the interview was a program of Friends of WomenSafe, a non-profit organization that raises money to support WomenSafe - a shelter for victims of domestic violence.

"For me, she is an inspiration," said a Wickliffe woman, a victim of domestic violence, who attended the show with her sister. "I had a hard time keeping it together while she was talking. I had to be here today."

"It was inspiring," said Burton resident Maureen Foldesi, "how she is so forgiving and overcame so much."

Audience members learned that Knight likes to cook and that she draws, sings and writes songs. She wrote a lot while in Castro's house, something she said helped her in not letting her captivity break her.

Knight got a laugh from the crowd when speaking about author Stephen King.

"I love Stephen King and all of his novels," she said before pausing and considering her past situation. "That might be a little weird right now."

When Nolan asked who is Knight's inspiration, she replied, "Celine Dion and her beautiful music. I met her once and she's a beautiful woman. I met her in Las Vegas and I got to sing 'My Heart Will Go On' to her."

Of her philosophy on life, Knight said, "God put us on earth for one reason, to do his work."

Showing her resilience, Knight added about herself, "I'm a strong and powerful woman. I say what I mean and I don't take any crap from anybody."

In the end, Knight said her time in captivity has made her stronger and has allowed her to better know herself.

"The situation (Castro) put me in didn't define me," she said. "I choose to live a meaningful life."

 

[REDLINE]

Regardless of whatever you went through in life, one has to pay for their actions.

 

[REDLINE]

Michelle Knight speaks out about Ariel Castro: 'It wasn't his fault'
MORGAN GIORDANO, AOL.COM
Oct 20th 2014

CHARDON, Ohio -- Michelle Knight, in her first live local interview before an audience, spoke Sunday afternoon about learning to forgive her captor of 11 years, Ariel Castro, and of how she now feels peace in her life.

"At first I hated him," Knight said of Castro during a one-hour interview with radio personality Mark Nolan at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School. "But I went through therapy and realized it hadn't been his fault. He had a disease."

It wasn't until about a year and a half after her rescue from Castro's Seymour Avenue home on May 6, 2013 that she reached a breakthrough.

"I was able to say his name, Ariel Castro," she said. "I was able to forgive him."

Before that, she had referred to Castro as "that dude."

Knight was held captive in Castro's house along with Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus.

Knight, who had lived alone for a time after leaving her family, and then told of living with a drug dealer, was lured into Castro's home in August of 2002, at age 21, by the promise of a puppy for her son.

"As I was going up the steps," she said of being inside Castro's home, "I couldn't hear a puppy. There was no puppy."

Knight, who now prefers to go by the name "Lilly," said she knew she was in trouble immediately after Castro closed the door behind her in a room inside the house.

"He said he was only going to keep me a little while as a friend," she said. "I knew he was lying, but what could I do?"

Knight said that when she asked Castro why he had kidnapped her, he replied, "I am a sex addict and I cannot control myself."

That addiction is the disease to which she had referred when she spoke of forgiving Castro. While living in the house, Knight said, "I just thought of myself as a punching bag because that's all he did to me."

When asked her thoughts about Castro's prison suicide on Sept. 3, 2103, one month into his life sentence, Knight said, "I felt very appalled by it, but I understood. I don't condone what he did."

Knight then received applause, as she did several times during the interview, when she said she hoped for the best for Castro's family.

Much of the interview centered on Knight's life since her rescue. As she sat for the interview, Knight wore a cast on her lower right leg. Knight said she was hurt when a horse for which she was caring stepped on her foot.

"A lot of people who have contacted me through Facebook see me as an inspiration," she said. "It means the world to me and it is an honor to help everybody I can."

Knight has written a book titled "Finding Me," and autographed copies of the book after taking questions from the audience.

"If you're getting abused," Knight told the approximately 300 people in attendance, "don't wait, get help."

The message was significant in that the interview was a program of Friends of WomenSafe, a non-profit organization that raises money to support WomenSafe - a shelter for victims of domestic violence.

"For me, she is an inspiration," said a Wickliffe woman, a victim of domestic violence, who attended the show with her sister. "I had a hard time keeping it together while she was talking. I had to be here today."

"It was inspiring," said Burton resident Maureen Foldesi, "how she is so forgiving and overcame so much."

Audience members learned that Knight likes to cook and that she draws, sings and writes songs. She wrote a lot while in Castro's house, something she said helped her in not letting her captivity break her.

Knight got a laugh from the crowd when speaking about author Stephen King.

"I love Stephen King and all of his novels," she said before pausing and considering her past situation. "That might be a little weird right now."

When Nolan asked who is Knight's inspiration, she replied, "Celine Dion and her beautiful music. I met her once and she's a beautiful woman. I met her in Las Vegas and I got to sing 'My Heart Will Go On' to her."

Of her philosophy on life, Knight said, "God put us on earth for one reason, to do his work."

Showing her resilience, Knight added about herself, "I'm a strong and powerful woman. I say what I mean and I don't take any crap from anybody."

In the end, Knight said her time in captivity has made her stronger and has allowed her to better know herself.

"The situation (Castro) put me in didn't define me," she said. "I choose to live a meaningful life."

I’m happy that she’s doing better but to say it wasn’t his fault is foolish and wrong.

 

[tallblacknyc]

"R Kelly was raped by his grandfather, his older brother and his sister."





It's easy to hate and obliterate, it's hard to heal...

maybe a bullet to the back of his head will be a reset button for him... Maybe he can do this life over... Maybe in another universe he made better decisions

 

[CptMARVEL]

In the case of R. Kelly, prison isn't the only answer.

I prefer to think of it as being the 1st step in his process of ending the long cycle of mental, emotional and sexual abuse that he himself suffered from and then ultimately inflicted on multiple, multiple underage girls and women....

It's also partial atonement for the crimes he's committed against these women....

 

[Dannyblueyes]

Let's start by getting rid of these insane sentences. Roll everything back to 1975 punishments.