12 January, 2016. 15:34
ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
NOT EVEN A BOB Dylan protest song can get alleged innocent killer Steven Avery out of prison, let alone a 10 part documentary series and a petition with hundreds of thousands of digital signatures.
A report commissioned by the United States Department of Justice concluded that there’s no innocent black men in prison and that if there were, their story wouldn’t be interesting enough to justify such a long and tedious documentary series.
However, there’s thousands of incarcerated black men who say otherwise.
Louisiana State Penitentiary inmate Abel Découx was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 1968 for the murder of a county sheriff. During his trial, the prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of a local tramp, who had a reputation for being piss drunk most of the time.
That was enough for the jury to find Découx guilty of murdering the lawman, with the judge agreeing to spare his life should he change his plea to guilty.
“I wasn’t even in the area, I was just the first black guy they saw who fit the description,” said Découx via telephone. “The only reason I changed my plea to guilty is because I was hoping to stay alive long enough for some white girls to come along and make a drawn-out documentary series about my story.”
“They almost did. Fuck, I could be a free man now. But they said my story ain’t really that interesting – and that I probably did it anyway. My only hope now is a protest song. Y’all got Lenny Kravitz’s number? He half Jewish, half Black. Exactly what you need in a situation like this. Connections and soul.”
Unfortunately for Mr Découx, his story is not uncommon.
The Central Park Five was a two hour long documentary about how the City of New York tired and wrongfully convicted five black men for a brutal pack rape. Eventually, the five convicted juveniles sued New York City in 2003, nine years prior to the release of the documentary, for malicious prosecution, racial discrimination, and emotional distress.
Though very powerful and interesting, it failed to polarise the planet in a fashion similar to Making a Murderer has. That’s a hard reality that Abel Découx has resigned himself to.
“Fuckin’ Michael Jackson dyin’ on us without teaching the brothers his magic white skin spells,” said Découx. “That was some straight up witchcraft. Fuckin’ need that now. I gotta be white to get out of this place.”
