“I am a great father, a good friend, and I love my family,” Ferrell Scott said in a recording from a prison in Pennsylvania.
Scott, 56, is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole on charges of possession and conspiracy to distribute marijuana — a substance that is legal now in many parts of the country.
“I just think there is more to life than me being here for the rest of life … Sometimes I think if you were put to death it would be better because this is harder than death,” he added.
The audio file was published by the Third Strike Campaign, a platform created to showcase the voices of individuals whose lives have been tragically derailed by the U.S.’ “war on drugs.” The campaign was produced by the criminal justice reform groups The Decarceration Collective and the Buried Alive Project.
“The mission is to rescue people who have been buried alive under America’s unfair and unjust three strike drug law,” MiAngel Cody, the lead counsel of The Decarceration Collective, told Cheddar. “It is really easy to get a life sentence in America.”
And while there is growing support across the political spectrum for criminal justice reform, the Third Strike Campaign aims to shed light on — and give a voice to — the real people that continue to suffer everyday from the “tough on crime” justice system and the mandatory sentencing guidelines under three strikes legislation.
Scott, for instance, was denied an appeal in 2014 despite having a clean prison record. He was also not included in the 568 federal drug cases that were granted executive clemency by President Obama — which were, nonetheless, a major victory for justice advocates given that President Bush granted just one drug pardon and President Clinton granted zero, according to the Buried Alive Project.
“The power comes by giving the prisoners a voice,” Mikkel Noe Westh, the CEO of the digital design firm Granyon, told Cheddar. Westh, whose company built the Third Strike Campaign’s platform, added that his engineers were fully invested in the project after hearing the voices of the prisoners and seeing the gross injustice.
Among several others, the site features Troy Lawrence, 44, who is also serving a life sentence in Pennsylvania. “My mind and my spirit our in a new place. I’m ready to be a father to my children,” Lawrence said.
California's new composting law will affect what residents do in their kitchens. As of this week, Californians will have to recycle excess food in an effort to reduce emissions caused by food waste. Cities and counties will turn recycled food into compost or use it as a renewable energy source. California's new law is the largest mandatory residential food waste recycling program in the country. Rachel Wagoner, Director of the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery called the law 'the biggest change to trash' since recycling started in the 1980s. She joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Fast-casual restaurant chain Sweetgreen is rolling out its first salad subscription service called sweetpass as it looks to customers tackling new year weight loss and health goals. Members will receive up to 30 percent off of purchases.
Washington DC and the surrounding areas saw a record breaking snow storm Monday as a strong storm system works its way across the eastern U.S. The extreme weather event caused extensive damage in the greater Washington area, leaving thousands in the region without power. Jonathan Porter, Chief Meteorologist, AccuWeather, joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss the fierce storm.
Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights on Monday over severe weather and crew shortages. The cancellations come on one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season, and is a continuation of the industry-wide disruption that started before Christmas. Thomas Pallini, Aviation Reporter for Insider joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss.
Millions of Americans with young children have relied on the child tax credit since the federal government began issuing checks in July 2021. The last round of payments was sent out just before the Christmas holiday — at the same time as the omicron variant surged. Leah Hamilton, associate professor of social work at Appalachian State University, joined Cheddar to discuss what the end to the tax credit means as the U.S. sees the end of many relief programs and its highest number of COVID cases since the start of the pandemic. "It'll become harder for families to meet their basic needs, increasing national childhood poverty rates and the proportion of families who have difficulty putting food on the table, maintaining stable housing, and paying their bills," Hamilton said. She also pointed to research that the credit as a long-term investment in children offsets claims that it contributes to macroeconomic impacts like inflation.
Several Silicon Valley insiders are being accused of contorting a 1990s-era tax break to avoid taxes on millions of dollars of investment profits. The tax break is known as the qualified small business stock exemption, and it allows early investors in certain companies to avoid half of the taxes on up to $10 million in capital gains. A piece recently published in the New York Times says venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz replicated the tax exemption by giving shares of companies to friends and family, who would otherwise face a 23.8% capital gains bill. The CEO of Roblox is also accused of replicating the tax break for his family members at least 12 times. Although the loophole known as 'stacking' is considered to be legal, the Times piece implies that the exemption has been manipulated for the ultra-wealthy to become more wealthy. Greycroft co-founder and Chairman Emeritus Alan Patricof joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
There is a new player in the mobile app stock trading space.
Zingeroo recently announced a funding round of $8.5 million. The company says it aims to bring 'friendly competition' to stock trading, by literally breaking trading down into daily and weekly competitions between friends. Zingeroo also says it hopes its new approach can make trading more accessible, educational, and social than ever before. Zingeroo co-founder and CEO Zoe Barry joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell for more.
