FACES OF THE DRUG WAR 2002

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FACES OF THE DRUG WAR 2002 AMERICAN
DREAM, AMERICAN TRAGEDYAn 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.
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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.

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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
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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.
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DRUG WAR VICTIM
DRUG WAR VICTIM BABY BOTTLES
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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

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

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HANDCUFFS RATTLED AS PARTICIPANTS FELT COLD
STEEL CLAMPING DOWN ON THEIR WRISTS SIMULATING
IMPRISONMENT
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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
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MANDATORY MIMIMUM SENTENCING HUNG OVER RED WHITE
AND BLUE BURNING CANDLES, WITH BAGS OF WHITE
POWDER SURROUNDED BY DRUG MONEY
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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
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To see more of Anthony Papas Artwww.15yearstolif
e.comTO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ROCKEFELLER DRUG
LAWS AND THE WAR ON DRUGS www.15yearstolife.com
WWW.KUNSTLER.ORGWWW.DRUGPOLICY.ORGWWW.FAMM.
ORGWWW.DROPTHEROCK.ORGWWW.DRUGWAR.COMTo
make a donation to the Drug Awareness Project
email Valerie Vande Panne valerievandepanne_at_yahoo
.com