25 Years to Life for Making a Rap Album
Petitioning San Diego County Superior Court Judge David Gill
My brother Brandon is a good person, a loving father with another child on the way. He has no criminal record and has worked hard to provide for his family as well as pursue his passion of making music. He even recently wrote and distributed his own rap album – I was so proud of him for setting a strong example as a parent who never gives up on his dreams.
But because he wrote that album, my brother is now facing life in prison, just for writing rap lyrics about gang violence.
The prosecutor in San Diego County, where we live, is twisting an obscure California law to say that just because Brandon wrote rap lyrics about the street gangs in our city, he is somehow part of a “conspiracy” to commit gang violence. This is terrifying, absurd, and a clear violation of my brother’s right to free speech.
The law the prosecutor is using to charge my brother says that anyone who “willfully promotes, furthers, assists, or benefits” gangs can be charged with conspiracy. My brother is in no way involved with gang violence – even the prosecutor admits that. California needs to fix this vague, dangerous law, but in the meantime my brother waits in terror every day knowing he could spend his life in prison for crimes he had absolutely nothing to do with.
Artists like Eminem, Dr. Dre and Lil Wayne rap about the violence they’ve seen in the tough neighborhoods they grew up in. My brother did the same thing, and now he could be taken away from his family forever. The thought that my brother will spend the holiday season in a jail cell just for writing rap lyrics absolutely sickens me.
But there is still hope for Brandon. Petitions like mine have helped families from being torn apart by a sometimes flawed criminal system. I know that together we can create the public pressure needed to free my brother from this terrible nightmare. Please take a moment to help our family if you can.
Thank you,
Kisa Moore
San Diego, CA
