The Shaka Shakur Freedom Campaign encourages all members, volunteers, friends, and supporters of the Indianapolis Liberation Center to take a moment to read (and personalize, if you wish) a letter urging Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter to use all possible means to bring Shaka home. Below is the text of the letter, but please visit “Letters for Shaka” to edit and/or send a letter now!
Prosecutor Carter: Help release Shaka A. Shakur
I am writing to you today as a concerned citizen and member of the community regarding Shaka A. Shakur. Mr. Shakur has been incarcerated since January 2002 for the offense of attempted murder during an incident in which no one was permanently or even seriously injured. For the reasons outlined below and more, I urge you to use your power as District Attorney to return Mr. Shakur back to his family and community through post-conviction relief, modification of sentence, or any other viable routes.
First, throughout Mr. Shakur\’s almost 25 years in prison, he has worked continuously to improve himself and his fellow inmates through treatment and educational programs within and outside the Department of Corrections. He is clearly ready to enter the workforce, having earned a degree with the highest honors from the Stafford Computer Technology Program, a Paralegal Certificate from the accredited Blackstone Career Institute, and certificates in culinary arts and hazardous materials management. He is also working on a career as a counselor, having earned—and even taught classes that result in—certificates in dialogue facilitation, listening skills, therapeutic, mental health, addiction recovery, and other related fields.
Second, Mr. Shakur is a victim of the “habitual offender enhancement” law that has since changed in Indiana. His first strike was an enhanced conviction of attempted armed robbery. He was 16-years-old at the time but, despite being a juvenile, was tried and sentenced in adult court. His second strike was a conviction of 1st Degree Reckless Endangering Safety, a Class D Felony, just above a Class A Misdemeanor. However, the Indiana law was changed in 2014 such that this would no longer be applicable. If we apply the law equally, in other words, that means Mr. Shakur has served more than the required 19 years of the 38-year sentence he received for the 2002 conviction.
Third, Mr. Shakur has helped construct a network of community organizations and non-profits he actively works with, including FOCUS Initiatives LTD, a re-entry program. If released, he will have stable housing and will gain employment with one of the non-profit reform organizations he helped create or other important organizations working to address the root causes of violence and crime in our communities.
Further, the victim in Mr. Shakur’s 2002 case stated on record he would not stand in opposition to a sentence modification and would, in fact, defer to your office.
None of this is to diminish the seriousness of the conviction. Instead, it is just some of the abundant evidence that Mr. Shakur paid his debt to society for the conviction, seriously transformed himself, and is already improving the lives of our citizens in and out of jails and prisons.
Finally, it should be noted that Mr. Shakur is an elderly man, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who suffers from serious health conditions. He has been diagnosed with Spondylitis, a degenerative disc disease which is a deterioration of the vertebrae and disc within the neck and spinal column, kidney disease, and neurological issues that lead to muscle atrophy.
For the above reasons and more, I call on your compassion and understanding to grant Mr. Shakur a sentence modification and to use any possible avenues for his release. Thank you for your time.
Take action
Please visit and share “Letters for Shaka” widely. Free Shaka Shakur and all Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War!
