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FACES OF THE DRUG WAR 2002 AMERICAN DREAM, AMERICAN TRAGEDY An art installation by Anthony Papa exhibited

FACES OF THE DRUG WAR 2002 AMERICAN DREAM, AMERICAN TRAGEDY An art installation by Anthony Papa exhibited at the Lunatarium in Brooklyn NY on April 20 th . Over 400 people viewed this powerful piece of art which raised awareness of the harsh reality of the

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FACES OF THE DRUG WAR 2002 AMERICAN DREAM, AMERICAN TRAGEDY An art installation by Anthony Papa exhibited

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  1. FACES OF THE DRUG WAR 2002 AMERICAN DREAM, AMERICANTRAGEDYAn art installation by Anthony Papa exhibited at the Lunatarium in Brooklyn NY on April 20th. Over 400 people viewed this powerful piece of art which raised awareness of the harsh reality of the Rockefeller Drug Laws through a fund raiser for the Drug War Awareness Project.

  2. Introduction • This installation represents the human aspect of the drug war and Its impact on prisoner and their families. • The Rockefeller Drug laws were enacted in 1973 and require stiff prison terms for the sale or possession of small • amounts of drug. In its harshest provision of the statute it mandates the minimum prison term of 15 years to life for individuals convicted of • selling 2 ounces or possessing 4 ounces of a controlled substance. • The penalties apply based purely on the weight of the drugs without any circumstances of the offense or the individuals character or involvement with the crime. A majority of those imprisoned under these laws are low level offenders, not the kingpins that the legislative intent of the laws were aimed at prosecuting. Since the Rockefeller drug laws went into effect under the provisions of mandatory minimum sentencing the ability of the judge to • look at the totality of facts was taken away. Because of this the populations of • NYS prisons have grown at an enormous rate. In 1973 there were over 12,000 prisoners. Today there are over 71,000 causing the prison population to burst at its • seams. Almost 21,000 individuals are imprisoned because of non violent drug offenses. • It has cost the state over $2 billion dollars to construct new prisons to house drug war prisoners. The operating expense for confining drug offenders is over $675 million per year. Drug users of today are treated like communists in the McCarthy era. • Politicians have used the drug war as a political platform to look tough on crime and through their rhetoric of crime and politics the human element is forgotten.

  3. A 50x40 foot tent was constructed with American flags which contained a repetitive motif of nationalism through different objects including handcuffs, baby dolls, baby bottles and baby shoes. Overlooking the tent was an upside down electric American flag representing the distress brought from the drug war

  4. INSTITUTIONAL RACISM DEFINED Even though statistics show that a majority of individuals are white more than 94 percent of those imprisoned under the Rockefeller Drug Laws are Black and Latino.

  5. DRUG WAR VICTIM DRUG WAR VICTIM BABY BOTTLES

  6. Mothers of the NY Disappeared Posters of those incarcerated because of draconian mandatory sentences of the Rockefeller Drug Laws filled the walls. Mothers separated from their babies became a recurrent motif

  7. THE AUDIENCE LISTENED TO AN ERIE RECORDING OF THE VOICES OF DRUG WAR BABIES CRYING FOR THEIR IMPRISONED MOTHERS

  8. DEATH OF PRISON ART • A cross hung on the wall with the image of NYS Commissioner Glenn Goord who recently created the death of artistic expression for imprisoned artists by canceling an annual art exhibit that was in existence for 35 years and prohibiting prisoners from selling their art

  9. HANDCUFFS RATTLED AS PARTICIPANTS FELT COLD STEEL CLAMPING DOWN ON THEIR WRISTS SIMULATING IMPRISONMENT

  10. WALL OF WAR A wall of war was erected allowing participants to tell of their experiences with the criminal justice system. One man wrote “I spent 24 hours in a a jail cell for a roach”

  11. MANDATORY MIMIMUM SENTENCING HUNG OVER RED WHITE AND BLUE BURNING CANDLES, WITH BAGS OF WHITE POWDER SURROUNDED BY DRUG MONEY

  12. Unknown:

  13. HAUNTING PAINTINGS SPEAKING OUT ABOUT INJUSTICE HUNG SILENTLY AS THE NIGHT ENDED AND THE MESSAGE WAS CLEAR TO ALL, AN AMERICAN DREAM FOR SOME HAD BECOME AN AMERICAN TRAGETY

  14. To see more of Anthony Papa’s Artwww.15yearstolife.comTO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ROCKEFELLER DRUG LAWS AND THE WAR ON DRUGS www.15yearstolife.comWWW.KUNSTLER.ORGWWW.DRUGPOLICY.ORGWWW.FAMM.ORGWWW.DROPTHEROCK.ORGWWW.DRUGWAR.COMTo make a donation to the Drug “Awareness Project” email Valerie Vande Panne [valerievandepanne@yahoo.com]

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