Biden Pardons Corrupt Judges, Ignores Assata Shakur
The actions of President Biden’s pardon office reveal a glaring injustice that reflects the systemic oppression ingrained in this nation. Over 1,500 pardons have been issued under his administration, yet the beneficiaries of this so-called mercy are not the oppressed but the oppressors. Crooked judges, drug kingpins tied to white supremacist gangs, and others who have devastated communities have walked free, while the truly innocent—those like Assata Shakur—remain abandoned by a government that continues to show its disdain for Black liberation.
Consider the case of former Pennsylvania judge Michael Conahan, a man who sold the futures of thousands of juveniles for profit in the notorious "Kids for Cash" scandal. This man, who participated in the destruction of families and futures, was granted clemency. Yet, where is the justice for Assata Shakur, a woman many recognize as a freedom fighter who was wrongfully accused and remains a symbol of resilience against state violence? The pardon power was not extended to her, nor to others who have been falsely convicted or targeted by a system designed to crush dissent and criminalize Black resistance.
The Scriptures remind us, "Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; to turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people" (Isaiah 10:1-2). This administration, much like its predecessors, upholds these unrighteous decrees by showing mercy to the wicked while turning its back on the oppressed.
This is not just a critique of Biden but of a system that has shown time and again that it will protect its own while criminalizing Blackness. Trump and Biden, though divided by political theater, have wielded the pardon power in the same way: as a tool for maintaining white supremacy. It is the powerful and politically connected who receive clemency, not the wrongly accused or the poor.
We must ask: where is the justice for our people? Where is the accountability for a system that continues to harm us at every level? The Most High sees all, and the day of reckoning is near. As it is written, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). The failures of earthly governments will not stand forever. The oppressed must rise with one voice and demand justice, not as a request to those in power but as a declaration of what is owed.
Assata Shakur’s continued exile is a testament to the hypocrisy of a nation that proclaims liberty while shackling the innocent. Let us never forget, "But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream" (Amos 5:24). It is not mercy when the corrupt are pardoned—it is complicity. Let us continue to speak truth, fight for justice, and dismantle the systems of oppression that persist in this land.
Eιɖεર Dરε
No comments:
Post a Comment