Antonio Battle's Plan, Recalibrated
Hello, friends-
As I mentioned earlier, Antonio Battle had scheduled hearing at the civil court at EMTC, the facility on Rikers Island where he’s being held. I’ve been working with his appointed lawyer from the Legal Aid Society, who told me he expected that, with Antonio’s documentation from Jamaica Hospital in hand, he should be set for release immediately. As should be expected, things did not go as expected. This is what he transcribed to me shortly after his hearing:
"Today I became quite angered, saddened and disappointed by the realization that I was not going to be afforded the opportunity for revoke and restore pertaining to community parole status. I arrived to court believing that the judge assigned to my case was going to honor the agreement made. The agreement was, if I produced my medical records verifying that I was in the hospital at the time of my parole appointment, then my parole would be revoked and restored. To my surprise, my case had been passed down to another judge, who refused to honor the agreement made by the previous judge.
"I was told by the newly assigned judge that in order for her to consider revoke and restore, I had to obtain a residential treatment program by the time of my next court date, which will be 4/2/2019. If I should fail to obtain the program, I will be forced to do an additional ninety days, not including the time that I had already in, which will be a total of 61 days. Considering the 61 days along with the 90 that she’s suggesting would total five months and one day, all for a technical violation. No new criminal charges whatsoever, just a technical violation for missing a parole appointment. You can’t be serious—really? Hello, what’s wrong with this picture?"
This is the norm, not a deviation. I’ve seen it happen with almost all of the men whose cases I’ve observed in court: A judge states one thing, probably just to keep things moving along without incident, taking no note of their statement, and the next judge to hear the case says some variant of, Sorry, not binding. So, yes, another month in jail for Antonio Battle.
But—and I hope I don’t seem to be flippant—this could be a good thing. I’ve been talking out a renewed plan for Antonio’s re-entry with him and a number of not-for-profit organizations, and this window gives us a bit more time to put the pieces together while we know—again, I hope I don’t seem flippant—that at least he has three hots and a cot.
At this point, you may be asking yourself why I’m going to such lengths for someone I’ve never known outside an institutional environment. There is no easy answer for this, except to say that I made a decision when I started going to Rikers two years ago that, besides doing the work as a teacher on the island, I would not shy away from my responsibility to lend my privilege when needed. And in some ways Antonio’s case has challenged me in ways that have become paradigmatic. He is a decent man, who in many ways resembles many members of my own family—he’s funny, intense, and creative, and he’s now at an age, 54, when he wants to settle into his age and give something back. But in order to give back, he has to be given something. He wants to care, and in order for him to care, he needs a core group to care about him, to root for him, to be angry when he’s mistreated.
I believe the primary marker of civilized culture is the privilege as human animals to grow old in relative peace, with respect given them as elders. Notice I said human privilege, not democratic right; the notion of elders being accorded respect precedes any modern notions of democracy, and is in fact a given in any social arrangement in which the family is the nucleus. I can’t say there was a driving force behind my work in the past year besides to be of service, but this observation now guides my work at Rikers and other non-traditional learning spaces: Every man I’ve worked with, all of whom are older than I am, has been denied this basic privilege. Perhaps the most driving empathic impulse I’ve had for Battle and for all the others has stemmed from my desire for them to attain or regain the peace that has been replaced with being caged up, with attorneys telling them truth doesn’t matter, with legal documents and precedents and agencies that seem designed to keep them imprisoned rather than rehabilitated and back with their families and communities.
I’ll be laying out this week for you the plan for Antonio’s release that I’m working out with a number of organizations, a plan that will also set up the structures by which I’ll continue serving the other people I work with. This includes hooking up with a not-for-profit that can make donations official and tax-deductible, working out Antonio’s in-patient “treatment” as required for his release, and working with a couple of organizations to find ways of funding his housing, the foundational requirement for successful re-entry. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that I can do nothing of any consequence on my own, as an educator, as an advocate, and as a human. As always, thanks to each of you for being part of the family.
Re/Creation is now running a fundraiser from July 12-31 with limited edition t-shirts and coffee mugs featuring Antonio Battle’s work. Please considering buying one (or more!). All funds will go to Antonio as he continues to struggle and strive in his work and in his reentry.