How many innocent men and women do you know are presently or have been formerly incarcerated? None? The numbers will surprise you. The common ideology behind arrests and convictions is that if the police arrested someone, they must have had a reason or evidence. Yet, more often than not, you’ll find that evidence doesn’t exist. False confirmations by victims or witnesses are taken as truth, and individuals—victims of the prison industrial complex (PIC)—are cuffed, hauled off, and forgotten.
What is the Prison Industrial Complex? It’s a system where men and women in prison are forced to work jobs while receiving a fraction of what they’ve earned, their labor justified as "paying back their debt to society." Modern-day slavery. The 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution even declares this legal, stating:
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted..."
Some fight back, yes—but most lose. Here’s why:
Barriers in the System
The applicant has the burden of establishing their entitlement to relief by a preponderance of the evidence.
This rule is simple enough on paper, but in reality, meeting this burden is nearly impossible. Why? Because of procedural hurdles like this:
SC ST §17-27-150: Discovery in Post-Conviction Relief Proceedings
(A) A party in a noncapital PCR proceeding is entitled to invoke the processes of discovery available under the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, but only if the judge, in their discretion, grants permission and finds good cause.
(B) A party in a capital post-conviction relief proceeding shall be entitled to invoke the processes of discovery available under the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure.
Essentially, unless a judge allows it, you can’t access the evidence you need to prove your innocence. For those without the death penalty or life sentences, even this limited access to discovery is restricted.
A Real-Life Example
Let’s break this down. Imagine you were falsely convicted of armed robbery in Charleston County and sentenced to 30 years. To prove your innocence, you must show that you were in Greenville at the time of the robbery. Maybe there was a camera at a nearby business or ATM that captured you. Great, right? Not so fast.
The business owner isn’t going to hand over the footage unless subpoenaed. That means you’ll have to file a subpoena, convince a judge to approve it, get the paperwork signed by the clerk of court, and then have someone deliver it to the business. This process—every step of it—depends on judicial permission.
Now, if you’re serving life or facing the death penalty, your ability to obtain evidence without judicial approval is non-existent. This violates your constitutional rights. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to “compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in their favor,” yet in South Carolina, state law effectively blocks that right for many incarcerated individuals.
This article reinforces the same language as the Sixth Amendment, declaring:
"No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws."
Yet, in practice, systemic barriers undermine these protections.
What Can We Do?
To delete or amend a law, we must petition a member of Congress to propose it as a bill in the House of Representatives or Senate. If approved, the bill moves to the governor to be signed into law. The South Carolina Constitution outlines this process. If the governor doesn’t act within five days, the bill becomes law by default unless the legislature prevents its return.
Another way forward is to file a class-action lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of these statutes. Remember the example of Selma? Lawsuits like these have the power to create real change. When filing a complaint, you can also request a temporary restraining order to prevent harmful statutes from being enforced.
Call to Action
Let’s give innocent men and women the chance to reunite with their families and contribute to making our daily lives better. Let’s uplift those who’ve experienced these hardships and ensure no one else must endure them in the future.
We have the power to make sure no man, woman, or child is left behind in the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Freedom isn’t given—it’s earned. And together, incarcerated and non-incarcerated, we can stand side by side and fight for it.
Author Bio:
Rashaad Thomas has been a civil/human rights activist for over 15 years. He is a survivor of police brutality that included five Caucasian officers and a K9, which ripped his shoulder through his armpit.
He is the former Minister of Defense for the Black Panther Party Queens and Field Marshal in the Black Liberation Army. He has studied law since his first incarceration as a political prisoner and has represented himself in defense of trumped-up charges carrying a total sentence of Life plus 30, which he won.
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