Blog

Revisiting Governor Mapp's 2018 Criteria to Commute Sentences of Elderly Prisoners

By VI3 Support
at August 20, 2022

The growing consensus to commute sentences of elderly and infirm people -

As in many jurisdictions, the Virgin Islands correctional system is plagued by a growing number of aging people whose medical expenses cost the Bureau of Corrections millions of dollars each year. Because the risk of recidivism is generally next to none after age 70, many states and other areas are adopting or considering measures to expand medical parole, compassionate release or commutation for people in this age bracket or with medical conditions that warrant their release. A VI Consortium article on Governor Mapp’s commutation approach in 2018 quoted that, “three prisoners, ages 64 to 87, who have been incarcerated for over thirty (30) years – cost taxpayers approximately $1 million for medical care out of the general treasury of the government annually.”

How Rolling Back Juvenile Life Without Parole Impacts the VI3

By VI3 Support
at January 27, 2022

In Response to Josh Rovner’s Overview of Juvenile LWOP Rollbacks -

Josh Rovner of the Sentencing Project published a May 2021 ”Juvenile life without parole: An Overview,” outlining recent litigation to protect youth rights in the criminal legal system. The conclusion is that, “Sentences that close the door on rehabilitation and second chances are cruel and misguided.” While much of the litigation pertains to persons who were under age 18 at the time of offense, there is a growing attention to neuroscience on how the brain develops in those under 21 to expand these rollbacks to include people in that age range. This judicial reform is relevant to the case of the Virgin Island 3 because these men were ages 21-23 at the time of their arrest.

Poem for an Old Friend

By Hanif Bey
at May 31, 2021

Sunni Needs Our Help (A Poem)

I am now 70-years-old. This coming September I will be 71, and will have been locked up for my 49th consecutive year in prison. I met and served time in the same cell block with Sundiata Acoli in the mid eighties in Marion, Ill. He is 14 years my senior, and a bastion of knowledge in the struggles of the oppressed people of the world. Whenever I approached his cell, I would be met with a broad smile that was enhanced by the thick lens reading glasses that he wore. He is a brilliant educator, with a photoscopic memory and a gregarious spirit, who is affectionately called “Sunni” by his prison peers.

Hanif's Habeas Petition Denied

By VI3 Support
at May 28, 2020

Hanif’s Habeas Petition Challenging Mainland Custody Denied

In an effort to address one of the longstanding issues of the VI3 being held in prison in the mainland U.S., far away from their families, Hanif filed a habeas petition in 2015. On May 11th, Judge Wilma Lewis filed a denial. It seems that the Virgin Island 3, along with approximately 100 other Virgin Island prisoners held on the mainland, are unjustly held in the mainland private prison system. This is an issue worthy of future litigation.

Virgin Islands Prisoners Held in Florida Request Transfer in Light of COVID

By VI3 Support
at March 11, 2020

The following letter was mailed to U.S. Virgin Island Senators in Light of the Risks of COVID-19.

To the Honorable Senators of the Virgin Islands Legislature:

The Skyjackers Tale Documentary Released

By Admin
at August 1, 2017

Documentary, ‘The Skyjacker’s Tale’ Sheds Light on the VI3 through the Story of Former Codefendant

The film recounts the hijacking that got Ishmael Labeet (now Ishmael Ali) to Cuba, re-examines the trial of him and his still incarcerated codefendants and, “reveals a gross miscarriage of justice.” In a story that is more relevant than ever with racially charged police brutality and injustice constantly in the headlines, THE SKYJACKER’S TALE captures testimony of the torture that led to defendants statements that determined the outcome of the trial.