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A Clear Web Creation
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George Baba Eng
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Greetings:
I am thankful to God and thankful for the kind efforts of family and friends who have made it possible for me to speak to you on this website. I pray that you who read and review the contents will be in God’s guidance and protection. I ask only that you read with an open mind and a sincere heart.
The purpose of this website is to present my case in the context of criminal justice, as mandated by law, and social justice, as mandated by our moral understanding of our human condition. I want to share with you, some parts of my life before my imprisonment; some parts of my life during my imprisonment; and what I see as my vision of being of service in the future. After reading and giving serious thought to the information herein, I hope that you will support my appeal for release on parole at my earliest parole eligibility date which is February 2010.
My name is George Baba Eng and I am presently sixty years old and when I appear before the Parole Board in December of this year I will have been in prison for thirty years.
In 1977 I committed one of the most terrible acts of transgression that one human being can commit against another. I killed a man for pulling a gun on my wife and then threatening me with a gun when I tried to speak with him. It was an act of drug crazed machismo that I can never excuse nor forget. I had no right to take a man’s life under any circumstances and had it not been for the devastating nightmare of cocaine addiction that haunted my life at that time, I would have thought and acted differently. During that stage of my life, I lived a totally negative lifestyle; my values were distorted and my attitude was destructive of others and myself. What stays with me now is the knowledge that my victim and I both lived a negative lifestyle of drugs and gambling. He could have changed just as I have. He could have transformed his life into a life of service to his family and community and I cut that possibility short.
During these past thirty-one years, I have consciously and consistently worked to improve myself through education and the limited social interaction available to me through organizations such as the NAACP, the Urban League, The Osborne Association, Bronx Community College, Mercy College, The New York Theological Seminary, and Excelsior College. I have been blessed to work with these groups and others and individuals who are committed to the idea of redemption and even salvation for those who have made bad choices and terrible mistakes in their lives. These organizations and people have given me the knowledge and skills necessary for me to make amends for the taking of the life of another human being. For me, it has been this interaction with educators, community activists, clergy and concerned lay people which has led the way to my transformation. These committed organizations and individuals have taught me the real value of human life under the worst imaginable and horrendous circumstances. Through their example, sincere and loving people, outside of the prison system, just like you, have taught me the value of my own humanity, irrespective of my race, my economic condition, and even my weaknesses and present imprisonment. They have led me to an understanding of the terrible errors of my past thinking and behavior. I now understand that my past life was a life without real values, real self-belief, or even identity. These dedicated groups and individuals forged within me a determination to discover the truth of who I am as a human being,-- a man with rights and responsibilities in a society of women and men.
I thank God for those Godsends, those lifelines into a prison system that does not live up to the mandates of the laws of our country. These are mandates which require that prisons fulfill the four-fold purpose of: (1.) sentencing,-- which is to isolate the offender; (2.) deterring others from offending; (3.) punishing those who have offended; and (4.) providing rehabilitation to the offender in preparation for release back into the community as law abiding and productive citizens. For the most part, prisons are not committed to providing the means for rehabilitation to prisoners. Unfortunately, our society has been caught up in a maze of retribution and punishment that has worked against the interest of society. When offenders are ultimately released, many are released in no better condition, educationally/vocationally or socially than when they came into prison and, therefore, go back to their criminal lifestyles. It does not serve the victims of the offenders because no healing takes place for them where no change takes place in the thinking and behavior of the offender. By the same token, the offender is not served because he or she remains caught up in the same cycle of thought and behavior that is destructive to self and community.
For me, it has been through the work and opportunities, provided by these organizations and people outside the prison system, which have allowed me to commit my life to change and transformation. They have taught me the value of being devoted to raising, providing for, and protecting my family, serving my community, and helping those with whom I am imprisoned. These good people and organizations have taught me that there are ways to make things right in the world and it can not be through self-abuse or the abuse of others, self-destruction or in allowing our frustrations to destroy the lives of others. These lessons have been hard learned and at great cost but they have firmed my resolve to make amends for my past by being of service to others. I have been working to pass on the gifts of guidance and vision that were shared with me by people who helped me to make my stay in prison meaningful and effective in changing my life.
What I have done over the years of my incarceration is affirming lessons that I have learned; to teach from my own experiences; and to study the truth of the issues that lead to our thinking and behavior. An individual’s beliefs, values, and subsequent behavior is the culmination of all that they have been taught and shown in their lives; or conversely, all that they were not properly taught and shown. That is how my own negative behaviors developed. Positive self-belief and place in the world is one of the first requirements of education and if it is not developed and reinforced in a child’s or a young person’s life, then that deficiency will result in some form of abnormal personal or social response. Consequently, in correcting my own self beliefs and understanding of my place and potential in the world/our society, my focus in teaching/helping others has been related to the ideas of cultural and community specificity and enrichment. I teach African, African American, Latino, Asian, and European Studies as a part of helping others to develop a true sense of themselves in the world as a basis for them to understand Social Justice. Ultimately, this requires that they too make amends for past behavior.
In all of the theologies of the world’s great religions, the idea of repentance and redemption through making amends is paramount as God’s promise to those who fall from Grace, but who consciously repent and make amends for their actions. Jesus, Muhammad, and Buddha all taught and gave hope for change to all peoples of the world. I believe in God’s promise and, as such, I have made a promise to continue to work, struggle, and sacrifice for the rest of my life, in order to see God’s promise working in my life.
On this website, you will see evidence of my diploma, degrees, various certifications, honors, and awards. You will see quotes, letters, and recommendations from people I have worked with, as well as from family and friends who know me from both before and during my imprisonment. You will read letters from my support committee. They are my reminders and my safety net as well as a part of my call to and vision of service.
When released from prison, God willing, I intend to work in community service. That is a career goal as well as a personal choice. I bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and sincerity to that determined endeavor. I pray that you will feel the sincerity of my words and my work and that you will be inspired to support me, my family, and my community in my request for release on parole.
If you agree to support my request for parole, please
write to:
Mr. George Alexander, Chairman
NYS Division of Parole
97 Central Avenue
Albany, NY 12206
(Be sure to include my name and DIN:
George Eng, #77A4777)
IMPORTANT!!!!! Please send a COPY of your letter to:
Karima Amin
c/o Prisoners Are People Too!
P. O. Box 273
Buffalo, NY 14212
[For more information, write to karima@prisonersarepeopletoo.org]
You may also write to me:
George Baba Eng #77A4777
Auburn Prison
P.O. Box 618
Auburn, NY 13021
[Or write to free_baba_now@yahoo.com]
My supporters and I thank God for your taking the time to read our website.
Respectfully,
George Baba Eng
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For more information:
A Clear Web Creation
P.O. Box 153
Forestville, NY 14062 US
Email: twinponds1@peoplepc.com
(716) 785-3492
© Copyright 2008 A Clear Web Creation. All Rights Reserved.
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