MY STORY
As Written By Sheron Edwards
Sheron Edwards was 23 years old when he was sentenced to federal prison for 20 years.
The Background
I was arrested on the scene of the wreck and charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault, and grand larceny. A month later I was released on an $85k bond.
While on bond, I was being investigated by state detective David Lindley of the Starkville Police Department. What I did not know is that although he was diligently working the case, his motive behind his commitment wasn't solely because he wanted justice. On January 1, 1998, Detective David Lindley had been "placed on 6 months’ probation for wearing his clan robe on duty". See (The Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi: A History by Michael Newton, 2009). Detective David Lindley was a Ku Klux Klan member. Naive to those facts, I was a free man who was willing to accept whatever punishment was acceptable for the crime I had committed.
Everything changed on May 14, 1999, On this day, I was arrested for federal carjacking and use of a firearm based on the charges that originated from the same state armed robbery, aggravated assault, and grand larceny that I was bonded for. Furthermore, the federal complaint warrant had been pursued by nonother than Ku Klux Klansman Detective David Lindley based on those same state charges.
With the state prosecution still proceeding, in November 1999, I was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Not shortly after, in February 2001, I was sentenced to an additional consecutive 20 years with the Mississippi Department of Corrections. In hindsight, I have found that I had two obstacles to face during that trial that I was not fully aware of...
In 2017, after serving 17 years in federal prison, he was transferred to State prison to serve a mandatory 20 years...for the same crime.
The Racism
First, I was being prosecuted by District Attorney Forrest Allgood, who had a profoundly serious local reputation for suspected white supremacy ties. The infamous D.A., who had been elected since 1989, was tough on crime and notorious for giving lengthy sentences to blacks. He was known for obtaining convictions in the shadiest ways. For those reasons, many of his convictions have been overturned.
Speaking of shady and overturned convictions, he was mentioned recently in the trending series The Innocence Files. The mention was the first two episodes about two black men, Brewer and Brooks, wrongfully convicted of the rapes and murders of two little girls in Mississippi. With proof of their innocence, he still refused to admit that he had wrongly convicted both men based on faulty forensic evidence and hearsay. After almost two decades in prison, one of the men on death row, they were finally released.
Proof of sentencing disparities due to race, is that on March 19, 1999, a 19-year-old white Mississippi State University student named Lindsay Kathryn Welch, gave birth to a baby; the baby was still alive. She clipped the umbilical cord, washed the baby's body, checked it for a pulse, after discovering there was not one, wrapped the baby, placed it in a plastic bag and placed it outside in a garbage can, where it remained until April 12, 1999, almost a month later. The body was discovered by local police, due to a tip. Welch was arrested for capital murder. She lost at trial to District Attorney Forrest Allgood and was sentenced to only 8 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
After years of controversial outcomes against blacks, in 2015, Forrest Allgood was finally defeated by a black opponent for his long-held district attorney position. This was a major victory for the 16th judicial district. But in 2001, I was up against Forrest Allgood in rare form.
Second, the victim's father is a white state court judge in Mississippi. I strongly believe that his status influenced the outcome of my legal situation.
With all the above adversities, weighing heavily against me as an indigent black man, I was sentenced separately in both jurisdictions and given a total of 40 years for a crime where the victim did not suffer any serious injury.
This website was designed to bring awareness to his cause.
The Incarceration
Years later during my incarceration, more hardships and heartbreaks followed. My father passed away due to an aneurysm. My fiancé and I separated. Appeal after appeal was denied. I began to drink homemade prison wine daily to cope. My attitude was causing friction between my family and me. I absorbed the prison atmosphere and became one with it. I became hopeless, angry, and lonely. Somewhere along the way I even began to question God. I was hurt, confused, and lost for years.
Seven years into my incarceration, in 2006, I was sent to United States Penitentiary Atwater, California on a disciplinary transfer. I was two days away from home. During this time, I became overwhelmed with alcoholism and depression. That year I received an incident report for consuming homemade intoxicants, and that conduct had me placed in administrative detention, also known as the special housing unit. Special Housing Unit is solitary confinement, where people are separated from the rest of the prison population for several reasons: incident reports, self-admittance, administrative reasons, etc.
Being in solitary confinement forced my light to come on. I realized that I could no longer continue to live the way that I was living. It was self-destructive.
The Rehabilitation
That year, in 2008, I rededicated my life to strengthening my spirituality. I initially began furthering my education by enrolling in a two-year psychology course called The Challenge Program. The Challenge Program is designed to strengthen a person's cognitive skills, identify thinking errors, and apply rational thinking strategies to everyday situations. Over the next few years, I earned hundreds of classes and college certifications such as:
My favorite class of all was Suicide Companion. The suicide prevention class and job, offered through the psychology department, required training and education on suicide. We had to observe and document the behavior of the person under observation. Then, call every 30 minutes to verify that person's safety to a supervisor.
That was the beginning of my transition, my growth and acceptance for responsibilities on what really being a man encompasses. I have since reconciled my differences, that were self-imposed by me, towards my family and now have wonderful relationships with them.
I have written a book about my life titled Life's Lenses. I have made headlines in USA Today discussing Covid-19 in prison, and medical conditions within the Mississippi Department of Corrections, that need to be improved. I have been featured on a motivational song with platinum-selling hip hop artist Young Buck. I have written a nonprofit organization business plan designed to assist children in urban America who have very limited resources due to their circumstances.
This nonprofit organization helps children from the age of 12 through 18. I believe that these are the most vital years in a child's development that determine the outcome of their future. The program deals with peer pressure, early parenting, and education, to name a few. I am proud that my experiences inspired me to do this. I recall a prominent member from my city, who has a son that was buying lots of guns, becoming rebellious, and going down the wrong path, requesting that I talk with the young man. I did so, not knowing what to expect. The results were remarkable. He changed his life! I did not realize the impact that I had on the lives of others until that moment.
My story, though maybe not the most unique story in the world, is my story and I want to use it to inspire others who may be going down the wrong path. I have truly learned that life is about giving back.
I have been incarcerated for 23 years and deserve a second chance. Because I have paid my debt to society and some, there is no reason I should be serving a second consecutive sentence based on the same incident and conduct that I have recently completed a 20-year sentence for in federal prison. Please allow these words to move you to take a stand for true justice. Thank you for your time.