“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.
The impact of the pandemic on people's wellbeing has shown a need for easier access to mental health care. Impact Suite is a digital platform that owns and operates a suite of self-care apps. Clay Olsen, founder and CEO of Impact Suite, joins Cheddar News to discuss the new updates to its 'Lift' app.
Horrific stories coming out of Ukraine, Grammys go down without a fight, and notorious moon dust is going up for auction. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Monday, April 4, 2022.
Julia Riew, a Harvard student, composer, lyricist, and playwright was tired of waiting for a Korean Disney Princess to emerge — so she created one herself. Based on her senior thesis, the musical "Shimcheong - A Folktale" went viral on TikTok, leading to talks with Broadway and Hollywood. Riew joined Cheddar to discuss the excitement around her show and the ongoing push for Asian representation in entertainment. "I think we’re at this really exciting turning point where we’re seeing such an increase in not only interest but also demand for diverse voices," she said.
April Fools’ Day is full of eye-rolling marketing ideas that sometimes make us chuckle, but mostly make us groan. Here’s a roundup of some of the notable products we won’t be seeing on shelves anytime soon.
Between Bells EP Conor White recaps some of the biggest stories of the week, while Baker Machado and Hena Doba test their knowledge, and maybe learn a thing or two. It's This Week in Trivia!
The next generation of investors has a host of concerns about retirement with inflation and broader uncertainty topping the list. Rita Assaf, Vice President of Retirement, Fidelity Investments, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss Fidelity Investments' State of Retirement Planning Study.
Tickets for the hottest Broadway shows are now more expensive than they were even before the pandemic. According to data from the Broadway League, about half of the current productions are grossing more than $1 million a week. Just before Covid shut down the Great White Way, only a third of shows were making that much. But despite the hefty price tags, demand is strong. Ed Butowsky, Chapwood Investments Managing Partner, explains why Americans are still willing to splurge on these experiences, even as prices continue to rise.
