A Letter From Ralph Stokes An Innocent Man On Pa Death Row

Ralph Stokes A victim of the Pennsylvania Injustice System

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“I AM 40 YEARS OF AGE. 5'11 IN HEIGHT, DARK SKINNED AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE. INTEREST ...R&B AND JAZZ MUSIC … I ENJOY READING VERY ENLIGHTENING BOOKS. (BOOKS FOR THE SOUL) I ENJOY SPORTS SUCH AS FOOTBALL, BASEBALL, BASKETBALL, HOCKEY AND HAVE RECENTLY BECOME INTERESTED IN SOCCER. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A LOVER OF ANIMALS, A QUALITY OF LIFE THAT I LEARNED 'TO APPRECIATE FROM A VERY YOUNG CHILD. I AM CARING, UNDERSTANDING, VERY OPEN MINDED, AND MOST OF ALL HONEST. IF THERE IS ANYONE OUT THERE SEEKING UNCONDITIONAL FRIENDSHIP, THAT CAN ALLOW ME TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH THEIR EYES, CONTACT ME BY E-MAIL OR AT THE ADDRESS LISTED BELOW: NOTE: THIS MANNER OF MAN IS CURRENTLY IN THE LAST ROUND OF HIS FIGHT... IF YOU SO DESIRE TO READ MORE GO TO: THE LAST ROUND BY MR. RALPH T. STOKES (#AY-9034) 175 -PROGRESS DRIVE WAYNESBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 15370-8090 (U.S.A.)

TO ATTEMPT TO FATHOM THE ENORMOUS INJUSTICE RALPH TRENT STOKES EXPERIENCED IN HIS STORY THE LAST ROUND YOU ONLY HAVE TO READ THE TWO YEAR STUDY ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT RELEASED BY THE DEATH PENALTY INFORMATION CENTER IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THE REPORT IS TITLED, "THE DEATH PENALTY IN BLACK AND WHITE WHO LIVES WHO DIES, WHO DECIDES". COMPILED BY UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LAW PROFESSOR DAVID BALDUS AND STATISTICIAN GEORGE WOODWORTH, WHAT THEY FOUND WAS SHOCKING. THEY EXAMINED A TOTAL OF 667 MURDER CASES OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA FROM 1983 TO 1993 (STOKES' CASE AMONG THEM) AND OF THE 520 BLACK DEFENDANTS AND 147 WHITE DEFENDANTS NINETY FIVE OF THE BLACK DEFENDANTS WERE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN STARK CONTRAST TO ONLY 19 DEATH SENTENCED WHITE DEFENDANTS. A BLACK DEFENDANT CHARGED WITH MURDER IS ALMOST FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY TO GET THE DEATH PENALTY IN PHILLY THAN A WHITE DEFENDANT, NO MATTER HOW HEINOUS THE MURDER IS. THE CHANCES OF A POOR BLACK DEFENDANT GOING TO DEATH ROW FROM PHILADELPHIA IS FAR GREATER THAN DEFENDANTS IN MOST STATES IN THE DEEP SOUTH. THESE FINDINGS SHOULD SHOCK ANYONE'S SENSE OF JUSTICE. SUPPORT RALPH T. STOKES! WRITE RALPH T. STOKES

THE LAST ROUND You don't have to be a boxing aficionado to understand the celebrity status Smokin' Joe Frazier enjoys in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and around the world. Millions of fight fans and those who simply wanted to witness history in its making could never forget the memorable fights between Smokin' Joe and Muhammad Ali" the Greatest. There were three bloody wars between them-the most spectacular fight being "The Thriller in Manila", and one that is forever etched into the annals of boxing history. Years after he'd retired, ~Joe Frazier opened several businesses in and around Philadelphia. One such establishment was "Joe Frazier's Restaurant”, which catered to an up scale clientele. On a warm spring day in 1882, two men burst into the restaurant with guns drawn and announced a hold up. When it was over three victims lay dead from gunshot wounds. The brutal murders, which had tragically occurred in an establishment owned by the city's most beloved resident-sent shock waves ripping through the community. The police scoured the city in search of the killers. Young Ralph Trent Stokes, a 19, year old black male. Who was once a restaurant worker at Frazier’s soon learned that he was the central focus of the investigation. There was word on the street that the police were going to kill him on sight. Fear seized him because in the city of Philadelphia, the racist police murder young black men with impunity. Stokes knew he had absolutely nothing to do with this vicious crime-so he immediately called his attorney and went down to the police station. A guilty man would have taken flightlike the actual triggermen in this case', Donald "Razor" Jackson and Eric Burley, who court records showmade a hurried hegira to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and New York City, shortly after the murders. Stokes told the cadre of homicide detectives that interrogated him he knew absolutely nothing about the crime, that there was nothing he could proffer. They assailed him with a fusillade of verbal obscenities and leading questions, and he answered them the best he could. The cops' angry interrogation resounded off the grimy, graffiti-scared walls of the holding cell with the fury of viscous attack dogs howling in the night. But they had no legal reason to hold the young f suspect simply because he'd once been an employee of Joe Frazier’s-so they" begrudgingly released him. He emerged from the police station, a proud and happy young man, thinking it was over. He didn't know the

reputation and careers of the Philadelphia homicide detectives, assigned to this case, were on the line. And he didn't know they all were under enormous pressure from the District Attorney's Office to quickly make an arrest in this case-and Stokes' euphoria was short-lived-on the basis of a statement from one of the actual culprits-the police stormed his home, and tore it apart in search of evidence linking him to this crime-but did not find a single shred or anything that could vaguely inculpatate him. They arrested him anyway, and in spite of the absence of evidence-Stokes was charged with triple murder. News of the arrest dominated the front page of local newspapers for months, and it was customary for the nightly news anchors to lead in with titillating details about the Joe Frazier restaurant case. Before the commencement of his, trial, the private attorney, who had accompanied Stokes to the police station, abandoned him and the court appointed a pitifully inept attorney to represent the defendant. Defense lawyer Malcolm Waldron confided to his client that he hadn't handled a criminal case-particularly a capital case of this magnitude-in twenty years! He'd only litigated a hand full of insurance cases-and the complexities of affirmative defense and trial strategies were unfamiliar and inauspicious terrains, he did no investigation, and he called no witnesses who could have established the defendant’s whereabouts at the time of the offense. This was crucial to counter the maliciously false accusations by his now co-defendant who seized upon the opportunity to testify against Stokes. In exchange for a life sentence, and another, who was given little or no jail time, they were eager to be the prosecutions star witness. They would do or say anything. One co-defendant was allowed unsupervised sexual liaisons with his wife in an upscale hotel. He was supplied with illegal drugs and other amenities readily available to pampered snitches. They both pled guilty well before trial, Confessing their guilt well before trial, confessing their guilt to escape death-but they weren't sentenced until Stokes was found guilty. The trial was a farce, an alleged eye witness told the police that on the day of the murders he couldn't identify anyone, for how could he? They had on ski- masks; he told them, masks that covered their entire face-and it was impossible to proffer an accurate description as to the weight, height, or facial features. He couldn't even tell whether the robbers were black or white. His story changed once he got on the stand. Oh, yes that was him he swore. He was able to see his eyeballs through the two small holes in the black ski-mask. Yeah, he was positive in his identification of the defendant, he was, "the shortest one". This witness told the police three different stories of what occurred that day-and it was clear that the final version was meticulously tailored to fit the prosecutions twisted scheme. The state utilized unspeakable tactics in insuring a conviction and forgoing signatures on statements inculpatating the witness, Donald Blackson, was cross-examined by defense attorney Malcolm Waldron about this egregious misconduct: Waldron: "Do you have Commonwealth's exhibit number 34 in front of you"? Blackson: "Yes"Waldron: "Did I ask you whether or not they were your signatures on page 1,2,3,4 and 5"? Blackson: "Yes”. Waldron: "And what did you tell me about your signatures"? Blackson: "That it didn't look like my handwriting". Here, a prosecution witness admitted under oath that he hadn't even endorsed the statement accusing a man of being involved in a triple murder that inevitably sent him to death row.

Then who did? His pitiful inept attorney should have asked. It became clear that the evidence against the defendant was deliberately fabricated. Waldron: "Did I ask you whether you had a conversation with Mr. Stokes about the incident referred to in that statement?” Blackson: "Yes" ' Waldron: "About the things you said in that statement/and, did you tell me that, "I don't remember whether I talked to him?" Blackson: "That's what I told you, that I didn't remember. Yes" Waldron: "Now, you were asked here today if you remembered a conversation on March 11, 1982. Isn't it a fact that you don't know whether you had a conversation with the defendant?" Blackson: "Well, I went over my testimony, and from my testimony, it said that I had talked to the defendant on the day of the murders. Waldron: "Well, do you really remember that, to be true now?" Blackson: "No" Any reasonable man or woman could deduce, from this portion of the trial transcript-that this witness' testimony was not only patently manufactured, but perjurious. He was merely one player out of a sickening sequence of tainted witnesses for the prosecution-like Philadelphia homicide detective Robert Kane, who was under state and federal investigation for police corruption and tampering with evidence. Detective Kane testified that he was the central figure at the scene of the crime, who collected, and preserved crucial physical evidence. Introduced positional photographs and body charts of the victims. He was allowed, (without any objections from attorney)-to testify about the ballistic evidence concerning bullets that were in no way connected to the crime-though the jury was told they were. Kane swore under oath that this observations of the crime scene and the critical evidence he'd collected there undeniably established the defendant's guilt-but documentary proof, recorded in police log books, clearly contradicts this ridiculous assertion-because he was somewhere else at the time, and his presence at the crime scene would have been physically impossible. Stokes was barely 19 years old-one of the youngest defendants to be sentenced to death in the state of Pennsylvania at the time. In a hellacious battle for his young life, the state was a formidable opponent-and without a competent attorney-it was no contest. There are no screaming crowds of supporters, no strict referees issuing stern warning against the states illegal tactics. This is biggest fight. This is the last round. *Footnote Mr. Ralph Stokes has been a prisoner of the Commonwealth for 21½ years... and throughout his appeal process the Philadelphia court-appointed attorney system, repeatedly appointed attorney's that have no interest in the case. Half of Mr. Stokes trial has never been transcribed and not one of his past attorney's looked into this very important fact, but submitted a "so .called appeal". How can an attorney file an appeal without a complete record, secondly how can an appeal court make a decision without a complete record??? Mr. Stokes needs the help and support and attorney or attorneys that are not into playing "one hand washes the other with the Phila., D.A.'s office"... This is why Mr. Stokes is reaching out to the unbiased citizens of the productive society that he was taken away from. To learn more about the court-appointed attorney system go to: abcnews.com crime and punishment aired 2-3-00 ...Mr. Stokes also said that he would like to

encourage those who see this article to distribute leaflets (even if it is copies of the article) in support of his campaign for justice. You might also recommend to people that they forward the article and news about the brother to any friends/subscriber groups that could also put his plea on their web site and link to many others sites thought appropriate. He would also like to encourage those who are able to get abolitionist and antideath penalty newspapers & magazines to publish his plea to please do so to help spread the word of this horrific injustice. Lastly, after all the years that Mr. Stokes has been incarcerated he still does not have sufficient funds to hire a competent attorney, your contributions are both welcome and needed. So please do send whatever small monetary gift in the form of money-orders and those outside the U.S. please remit international money-orders to help Mr. Stokes hire a competent attorney. It does not have to be very much every little bit helps. Mr. Ralph T. Stokes (#AY-9034) 175 -Progress Drive Waynesburg, PA 15370-8090 (U.S.A.) Or E-Mail at: [email protected] P.S. Please do read the following article on a study done by, Professor James S. Liebman, of the Columbia University School of Law titled, "A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Crime". © Copyright 2003 Ralph Stokes

"ARTICLE FROM THE BNA, INC. CRIMINAL LAW REPORTS" CAPITAL PUNISHMENT ERROR RATE IN CAPITAL PUNISHMENT SYSTEM IS AT "EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS" STUDY CHARGES A REPORT RELEASED JUNE 12, BY THE JUSTICE PROJECT, A WASHINGTON, D.C. -BASED ORGANIZATION, CHARGED THAT "SERIOUS ERROR-SUBSTANTIALLY UNDERMINING THE RELIABILITY OF CAPITAL VERDICTS-HAS REAC.HED EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS THROUGHOUT OUR DEATH PENALTY SYSTEM. "THE REPORT IS BASED ON A STUDY CONDUCTED BY PROFESSOR JAMES S. LIEBMAN, OF THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, OF 5,760 CAPITAL SENTENCES THAT WERE REVIEWED BY COURTS BETWEEN 1973 AND 1995. MAJOR FINDINGS: FROM STATISTICS ON THE NUMBER OF CAPITAL SENTENCES OVERTURNED IN STATE POST-CONVICTION PROCEEDINGS, AND FEDERAL HABEAS CORPUS PROCEEDINGS, THE REPORT DECLARED THAT DURING THE PERIOD IT STUDIED, "THE OVERALL ERROR-RATE IN OUR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT SYSTEM WAS 68%". IN OTHER WORDS, OUT OF.EVERY 100 CAPITAL SENTENCES, 68 WERE OVERTURNED BECAUSE OF ERROR THAT SUBSTANTIALLY UNDERMINDED THE RELIABILITY OF THE GUILT FINDING OR DEATH SENTENCE. FURTHERMORE, AN EXAMINATION OF 301 CASES IN WHICH DEATH SENTENCES WERE OVERTURNED IN STATE POST-CONVICTION PROCEEDINGS SHOWED THAT 82 PERCENT WERE REPLACED ON RETRIAL BY A LESSER SENTENCE OR NO SENTENCE AT ALL. THE MOST COMMON ERRORS, ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, WERE "EGREGIOUSLY

INCOMPETENT DEFENSE LAWYERING", "PROSECUTORIAL SUPPRESSION OF EVIDENCE THAT THE DEFENDANT IS INNOCENT OR DOES NOT DESERVE THE DEATH PENALTY", AND ERRORS IN JURY INSTRUCTIONS. HIGH ERROR RATES ARE NOT LIMITED TO A FEW STATES; ON THE CONTRARY, THE REPORT SAID THEY ARE GEOGRAPHICALLY DISPERSED. NOR ARE THEY A NEW PHENOMENON. ANOTHER IMPORTANT FINDING, ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, IS THAT STATE JUDGES, RATHER THAN FEDERAL JUDGES SITTING IN HABEAS, ARE THE "MOST IMPORTANT LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST ERRONEOUS DEATH SENTENCES.”OF THE CAPITAL SENTENCES THROWN OUT DURING THE STUDY PERIOD, 90 PERCENT WERE OVERTURNED BY STATE COURTS. THE INFORMATION IN THE REPORT INCLUDES STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWNS OF REVERSAL RATES AND COMPARISONS OF THE RATES FOR STATES AND FEDERAL COURTS. IMPLICATIONS: WHEN THE HIGH COST OF CAPITAL PROCEEDINGS ARE CONSIDERED IN LIGHT OF THE HIGH ERROR RATE, "IT IS HARD TO ESCAPE THE CONCLUSION THAT LARGE AMOUNTS OF RESOURCES ARE BEING WASTED ON CASES THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN CAPITAL IN THE FIRST PLACE", THE REPORT SAID, "PUBLIC FAITH IN THE COURTS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IS ANOTHER CASUALTY OF HIGH CAPITAL ERROR RATES", IT ADDS. THE REPORT COUNTED 87 INMATES WHO HAVE BEEN RELEASED FROM DEATH-ROW "AS FACTUALLY OR LEGALLY INNOCENT". WHEN A CONDEMNED INMATE TURNS OUT TO BE INNOCENT, THE REPORT NOTED, THERE ARE INCALCULABLE COST TO THE INMATES, TO THE FAMILY OF THE VICTIM, TO PERSONS AT RISK FROM THE REAL PERPETRATOR, TO THE PUBLIC'S CONFIDENCE IN LAW AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS, AND IF THE MISTAKE IS NEVER CAUGHT, TO THE WRONGLY EXECUTED FUTURE REASEARCH. THE AUTHORS OF THE REPORT PLAN TO CONTINUE THEIR RESEARCH, FOCUSING ON THREE QUESTIONS: * WHETHER AN UPSIDE IN EXECUTIONS IN THE LAST YEAR THEY STUDIED REFLECTS CHANGES IN THE SYSTEM'S PROPENSITY FOR ERROR. * WHAT ACCOUNTS FOR THE HIGH RATES OF SERIOUS ERROR IN THE CAPITAL JUDGEMENTS, AND * WHAT POLICY RESPONSES ARE CALLED FOR BY THE PROBLEMS IN THE SYSTEM?

TEN (10) THINGS MOST MISSED ABOUT THE FREE WORLD? 1. FREEDOM OF BEING ABLE TO GO AND TO DO WHATEVER YOU WANT. 2. MY FAMILY FATHER, MOTHER, BROTHERS AND SISTER WHO IS THE YOUNGEST OF ALL THE CHILDREN. JUST BEING AROUND THEM DAILY AND ALL THE SMALL THINGS WE THINK THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT. ME BEING THE OLDEST OF THEM AND ME FEELING, IT WAS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO LOOK OVER THEM. 3. MY MOTHER AND HER COOKING WHO KNEW HOW TO COOK ~VERYTHING JUST THE WAY I LIKE IT TO THE POINT WHERE IF I WAS EATING SOMEONE ELSE'S COOKING IF IT WASN'T COOKED THE WAY MY MOTHER COOKED THAN IT WAS COOKED WRONG. 4. GIVING MY GRANDMOTHER A SURPRISE VISIT AND REMEMBERING JUST AS I TURNED THE CORNER TO HER BLOCK THAT SHE LIVES ON, I COULD SEE HER BEFORE SHE SAW ME, SITTING ON HER INSIDE PORCH LOOKING OUT IN THE EVENING AS THE SUN WAS GOING DOWN AND ME REMEMBERING AS I WAS GETTING CLOSER TO HER HOUSE WONDERING WHAT SHE HAD COOKED FOR DINNER. 5. FAMILY GET TOGETHERS AND COOKOUTS GETTING TOGETHER WITH FAMILY MEMBERS YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN ALL YEAR LONG AND SOME EVEN LONGER AND YOU MAY NOT SEE AGAIN UNTIL THE NEXT FAMILY GET TOGETHER OR COOKOUT. 6. COMING OUT OF MY HOUSE AND STANDING ON MY FRONT STEPS AND LOOKING BOTH t WAYS UP AND DOWN THE BLOCK AND SEEING ALL THE LITTLE CHILDREN BUSY IN THEIR PLAYING WITH EACH OTHER AND NOT A WORRY IN THE WORLD. 7. MY BABY SISTER WHO AT THE TIME I WAS ARRESTED WAS ABOUT 1 AND A HALF YEARS OLD WHO IS NOW 19-YEARS OLD AND ME MISSING OUT ON THIS TIME TO BE THERE FOR HER LIKE A BIG BROTHER SHOULD. ALSO MY YOUNGEST BROTHER WHO AT THE TIME OF MY ARREST WAS ONLY 10-YEARS OLD (WOULD'VE TURNED 11 YEARS OLDLATER THAT YEAR WHO I FELT THAT HE AND I WERE THE CLOSEST OF MY BROTHERS. WHO ALSO WAS MURDERED THIS YEAR ON MY BIRTHDAY FEBRUARY 8th, 2000. 8. WHENEVER I HAD A PROBLEM OR SOMETHING ON MY MIND AND JUST NEEDED TO GET AWAY FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS TO BE BY MYSELF, I WOULD TAKE LONG WALKS SOMETIMES TO THE PARK AND TAKE MY DOG AND BEFORE I KNEW IT WHATEVER PROBLEMS THAT I HAD ON MY MIND WERE GONE. 9. AT LEAST ONE OR TWO SATURDAYS EVERY MONTH MY MOTHER AND AUNT WOULD GET TOGETHER EARLY IN THE MORNING TO GO SHOPPING WHICH WOULD TAKE THEM ALL. DAY LONG TO DO ALL THEIR SHOPPING AND HOW THEY WOULD MAKE ME AND MY COUSIN GO WITH THEM TO CARRY THE BAGS AND REMEMBERING HOW ME AND MY COUSIN NEVER WANTED T'O GO WITH THEM BUT THEY MADE US GO ANYWAY, ALSO REMEMBERING AT TIMES HOW WE USED TO TRY AND HIDE SOME WHERE BUT HOW THEY USED TO ALWAYS FIND US, 10, WAKING UP EVERY DAY AND NOT THINKING OR WORRYING ABOUT THE DEATH-ROW AND WHETHER OR NOT I'LL EVER GET OFF OF DEATH-ROW.

CAN YOU HELP IDENTIFY... WHO ARE YOU? AT THIS MOMENT I HAVE NO IDEA WHO I AM. WHY NOT? I FEEL AS THOUGH I HAVE LOST MY IDENTITY. I DON'T UNDERSTAND, MAKE ME UNDERSTAND? I AM NOT SURE I CAN, BUT I'LL TRY... LOOKING IN THE MIRROR I SEE THE FACE OF A MAN. THE AGE, STRESS PERMINENT FROWNS, BUT THOSE ARE SUPPOSE TO BE THE SIGNS OF A MAN THAT HAS LABORED HARD, THAT WAY IN THE LATTER YEARS OF HIS WISDOM HE CAN RELAX, AND ENJOY UNTIL DEATH. THAT IS NOT I... IS IT ANY CLEARER TO YOU NOW? PLEASE CONTINUE ON. AS YOU SEE IT'S REALLY HARD TO EXPLAIN, I AM SORT OF STRUGGLING WITH IT MYSELF... BUT, BEFORE THIS I USED TO BE ABLE TO SAY, I AM A YOUNG MAN CHILD. WHOSE GOAL IS TO HAVE A FAMILY, LABOR AND PROVIDE. FOR A WHILE IT ALL LOOKED PROMISING, MY LABORING WAS GOING WELL... THEN I FELL IN LOVE, OUT OF LOVE, IN LOVE AGAIN. MY LIFE HAD IDENTITY DURING THOSE DAYS, MONTHS, YEARS... AT THE DROP OF A DIME IT WAS ALL TAKEN AWAY FROM ME... I REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU WANT ME TO SAY! DON'T GET ANGRY, JUST CONTINUE ON. WHO ARE YOU? WELL YOU KNOW MY NAME, AND WHERE I WAS BORN, IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR? THAT IS NOT WHAT MAKES YOU WHO YOU ARE. YOU COULD HAVE DIED ON THAT BIRTH DATE AND NEVER GIVEN A NAME. YOU UNDERSTAND? IT'S NOT WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR. I AM NO LONGER A MAN LABORING FOR HIS FAMILY. THERE ARE NO FRUITS FROM MY PAST LABORING. I ONCE WAS A YOUNG MAN THAT QUICKLY HAD TO BECOME THE BEING THAT I AM TODAY. ARE YOU WHO THEY SAY YOU ARE? A COLD HEARTED, NO CONSCIENCE MAN? NO! I DON"T THINK SO ...I MEAN THAT MAKES ME SOUND DEAD... I AM NOT DEAD!

AM I DEAD? NO! I AM NOT DEAD! I SIT FROM DAY TO DAY NIGHT TO NIGHT SEARCHING WITHIN MYSELF FOR ANSWERS THAT SEEM TO HAVE NO ANSWERS. I NEED NEW LIFE IN ORDER FOR MY IDENTITY TO RETURN BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, JUST BEING A MAN WITH A NAME IS NOT ENOUGH. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP... I DID NOT DO ANYTHING..., IN TIME, ALL IN TIME.

CHANGE ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE ELEMENTAL CHANGE CONTROLLED CHANGE TO CHANGE ONE'S INNERSELF ONE'S ACTION NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE POSITIVE TO NEGATIVE CAN ONE JUDGE ANOTHER FOR FALLING HAVE WE ALL NOT FALLEN I'VE FELL I'VE CHANGED! SHOULD I DIE? OR SHOULD YOUR OPINION CHANGE?

Statistical Frankenstein Caught up in this world of superficial beings. Created by statistical powers. Invisible forces, lay traps in order to keep data. What's lost in this mental maheim of percentages? Togetherness -abandoned Friends -neglected No more sharing No more support No more we Only the superficial us... Unconsciously we help supply these powers with .the numeral Data they need to stay in control We hear and see the percentages through the media. And we say, “I am not going to become a part of those statistics" But once we start living we slip into a controlled state. And before long 20% is now 21%...

I AM A MAN I wish for the world to know who I am... I am a man, taken from the land in which I was To be a laborer for my loved ones. Now I sit in a modern made cave. Watching Age set in. And life passes me by. My cave sits in a ditch surrounded by hills. I wish to run to the top of a mountain and. Scream my name to the world... "I am Ralph T. Stokes"; "I am Ralph T. Stokes" Sitting in this cave I sometimes forget I am a man. The cold air that blows upon me day and night It makes me feel like an animal... I am a man, I am a man; this I must repeat to Myself, in order to keep my sanity. I seek 1ife - I seek a renewed spirit, I seek peace... The world is a beautiful place... I never got a Chance to live in it... .

"That’s alright" No one ever shook my hand No one ever looked at me as a man No one ever gave me a grain of sand But that’s alright No one ever invited me inside No one ever offered me a ride No one ever took my side But that’s alright No one ever helped me in school No one ever offered me a stool No one ever told me the rules But that’s alright No one ever gave me the time No one ever offered me a dime No one ever paid me any mind But that’s alright No one ever called me a friend No one ever asked "How I been?" No one ever took me in But that’s alright No one ever offered me a bone No one ever cosigned me a loan No one ever told me I'd end up alone But like I said, that’s alright!