Fighting for justice

He's been a corrections officer at six prisons in three states; he's spent years lobbying on Capitol Hill for reductions in the stiff jail sentences given to non-violent drug offenders and now Kinston native Garry L. Jones is a published author.

Jones, a 1982 graduate of Kinston High School, spent several hours Saturday afternoon outside The Book Depot in the Vernon Park Mall, signing copies of his first book, "Straight out of Hell 2: The True Character of a Man."

"Straight out of Hell 2" is Jones' first book; it focuses on his 16-year career as a corrections officer in state and federal prisons in Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. He retired from the Federal Bureau of Prisons as a lieutenant in 2003.

Part 1, which has not yet been released, will focus on his childhood in Kinston.

"This is what people need to know about now," Jones said. "They need to know about this corruption and how much we are paying in taxes to house inmates."

The Atlanta resident founded the nonprofit group Advocate 4 Justice after he retired from the Bureau of Prisons. He fights corruption in the prison system and lobbies legislators to changed federal mandatory minimum sentence laws for drug offenders.

It is because of these laws, Jones said, that people who have been caught with drugs in their possession but are otherwise not a threat to society are spending about 20 years in jail at an annual cost of $25-40,000 per inmate.

He said people convicted of violent crimes such as murder, rape and child abuse serve significantly less time in prison.

"I don't have a problem with prisons, don't get me wrong; we need them," Jones said. "But the problem that I do have is that there are so many people that commit violent crimes, they get less (time) than the people who commit non-violent crimes."

Jones advocates for restoring education and health care programs in prisons that would help inmates prepare for life on the outside, plus paroling many drug offenders now in jail.

"I don't advocate crime or anything of that nature, but come on, let's be real," he said. "(Allow) inmates to get out, get a job, pay taxes and give something back."

Jones is one of many members of the public and government officials who have spoken out against such mandatory minimum sentences, stating that they do not deter crime and are applied in a manner that discriminates against minorities.

"The U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Department of Justice have both concluded that mandatory sentencing fails to deter crime," the Drug Policy Alliance Network stated on its Web site. "Furthermore, mandatory minimums have worsened racial and gender disparities and have contributed greatly toward prison overcrowding. Mandatory minimum sentencing is costly and unjust."

Although it took some time for people to show up at Jones' book signing, a crowd eventually gathered in front of the Book Depot. Many in the group were Jones' old childhood friends, some of whom he has not seen in years.

"All of us came up in Carver Courts," said George Taylor of Kinston. "There's probably people out there that dream about (writing a book), so he's just fulfilling a dream."

Tracy Wilder of Kinston, who attended Rochelle Middle School, Kinston High and N.C. Central University with Jones, said he has always followed social issues.

"Garry always had a broad sense of different things that were going on in the world and in the community," she said.

Jones' display attracted the attention of 9-year-old Bridget Moore, who was shopping in the mall with her mother.

The young girl, who bought a copy of Jones' book, said one of her neighbors works at a local prison, plus she is learning about autobiographies in school. She also gave the book a good review.

"I thought it was very colorful and intelligent because he can talk about his life," she said.