Dear 2UrbanGirls,
I read your most informative article in the December 24th edition of the Wave. I have long respected the work that Skipp has done for the Black and Latino community, having worked with him with Ceasefire and Project Cry No More since 2005. I am also a member and supporter of JFMC (Justice for Murdered Children), POMC (Parents of Murdered Children), Rebecca Weicker’s Restore Justice and several more organizations.
I am a member of several support groups who are advocating for Gascón to step down believing his position on justice reform contrary to their positions of retribution and retaliation. I have been ridiculed and judged because I have been advocating for a reduced sentence for my son’s murderer for the past five years. I’ve written to Governor Newsom, but to no avail. I have a Free 4 Lyfe program for soon-to-be-released inmates to prepare them for success outside prison walls that I’d like to share with Skipp and Gascón.
I have been communicating with David (my son’s murderer) for over eleven years, but have never met him. I’ve developed a relationship with his seriously-ill father and his older brother. He has a 14-year-old daughter that he hasn’t seen since she was three. His mother died of cancer in 2005 and never knew of his crime and he has asked me to become his adopted mother. Rebecca was helping me plan to meet him but then the virus struck. I would love the opportunity to meet with Skipp and Mr. Gascón to share my ideas and programs with them and to perhaps support my forgiveness campaign.
Bettye Sweet
