Biden should address Saudi prince’s crime

Re “U.S. implicates Saudi crown prince in

(Feb. 26): “MBS” is the short form for Mohammed bin Salman. As crown prince and heir to the Saudi crown, he will likely become head of state. A fitting penalty for approving the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi: never let MBS set foot on American soil. That would be a start for President Biden in honoring his campaign promise to punish MBS.

Also, it is now time for the Democrats to exact some payback on the GOP for past partisan actions, like the refusal to consider the Merrick Garland Supreme Court nomination and the use of reconciliation to pass the 2017 Tax Reform Act (for the wealthy) and now hypocritically criticizing the Dems for their use of the procedure. Finally, appoint a commission to uncover in detail why Donald Trump was the “lap dog” of Russia and Vladimir Putin, and to establish how complicit the GOP was in Trump keeping the reasons hidden.

Gerald Lance Johannsen

Carlsbad

On Tuesday, San Diego County became one of the few counties in the United States to offer free jail calls. This policy is personal for me. I want to thank Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer for introducing this important item, the entire Board of Supervisors for voting unanimously in favor of this item, and the entire Invest In San Diego Families Coalition which made this happen.

When I was falsely arrested in 2016, I believed I would be released as soon as I saw a judge. I live in Barrio Logan, a heavily policed community. I had seen innocent people detained before, but it had never happened to me. Nothing could prepare me for one of the worst parts of incarceration: how hard the criminal justice system would make it to stay in touch with my family.

The first and last time I could contact my family without it costing them money was when I called to ensure my children — then ages 2, 4 and 5 — were with a responsible family member. After much worry, I was finally able to get in touch with my sister, who told me my grandmother had taken all three of my children.

I longed to hear the voice of my babies, but the high cost of jail calls prevented me from calling them on a regular basis. In an era when most cellphone calls are next to free, I had to pay $5, $10 or $15 every time I talked to my loved ones. I prayed the family member on the other line had money prepaid on their phone. We could not pay the bail, so I resigned myself to spending several nights at the Las Colinas Detention Facility.

I was worried about my grandmother. I knew she was on a fixed income. Would she have enough money to pay her monthly bills and feed my three young children? I felt so indebted to her for helping me at a time I needed her so much. I told myself I would go to court in a few days and would not financially burden her.

It is wrong that jails would profit off people who have nothing left to give. I had not even been found guilty of a crime, yet the system was making me pay money I did not have as I struggled to help my family survive back at home.

I had a limited understanding of court proceedings and naively thought my release would be on my first appearance. I was innocent and had never been in trouble before. I was wrong.

Although I knew I was innocent, I considered pleading guilty during the court proceedings because I couldn’t stand being disconnected from my family. The prosecutors argued I was a gang member and should be held in custody with a higher bail than the county schedule. The District Attorney’s Office offered me freedom if I signed a deal.

Lying on my cot at night, I would long to hear my children’s voices. I wanted to get home. I mulled over the district attorney’s plea. Many of the other women pleaded guilty even though they were innocent. They had to get back to their children and families. Some were the caretakers of sick parents and grandparents. Some of their children had special needs.

The fact that my grandmother somehow raised enough money to put in my account so that I could keep calling my children is what helped me stay strong and refuse the plea bargain.

Finally, 90 days later, I had my preliminary hearing — the first opportunity a person has during court proceedings to have their charges dropped.

Every single witness testified that I had nothing to do with the crime. The judge dropped the charges and even apologized to me. I couldn’t think of anything else I ever wanted more than a hot bath and hugging my babies.

I never want what happened to me to happen to anyone else, especially someone who is wrongly arrested. The criminal justice system not only wrongly arrested me, but also took advantage of me — emotionally and financially — while I was incarcerated. San Diego County supervisors took one step closer to ensuring other people will never go through what I went through this week when they made inmate phone calls in county-run jails and juvenile detention facilities free.

I longed to hear the voice of my babies, but the high cost of jail calls prevented me from calling them on a regular basis. In an era when most cellphone calls are next to free, I had to pay $5, $10 or $15 every time I talked to my loved ones.