Monday, I sat in a room full of people who care about kids: educators, parents, pastors, community members. There, I watched a Brandon Jones, a Black father of four, own his mistake, offer a solution to make amends and rehabilitate that would allow him to still support his children and his family and his community.
Instead, the state demanded prison, and he was sentenced to five years where he will be separated from his family and his community, unable to help his children grow and his partner care for their family.
How does this improve our community? How does this serve justice? Our “justice” system is a hammer.
When you’re a hammer, everything’s a nail.
Following the sentencing, Prairielands Freedom Fund released this statement:
Earlier today, a District Court judge sentenced PFF participant Brandon Jones, a Black father, to a five-year prison sentence. We posted bond for Brandon in January after he had pleaded guilty but couldn’t pay his bond. He spent two months in Johnson County Jail, a particularly cruel separation where he was apart from his newborn baby over the holidays.
Brandon’s case is emblematic of the cruel, racist punishments inflicted upon Black folks in our carceral system. Separating Brandon from his family inflicts a layer of violence upon their lives — and it does not do anything for public safety.
We’re committed to rallying behind Jones’ family and his partner Lily, and the best way we can support them right now is with financial support. Lily is now a sole provider — it’s crucial that she gets the economic support she needs.
In September 2023, Brandon’s 8-year old son was suspended and told to walk home, alone and in the cold, from an Iowa City School District elementary school. Brandon went to the school to speak with the principal about the situation. Accidentally bringing his legal firearm with him into the school, Brandon was arrested, charged, and held on a $30,000 cash-only bond.
School staff claim they were threatened by Brandon’s presence in the school, and prosecutors jumped at the chance to make an example out of Brandon. Prosecutors claim this case is about public safety — and yet, their target is a Black father who showed up to his son’s school to advocate for his family. This situation starts and ends with racism. We know our district suspends and expels Black children at higher rates. And the reaction from school staff cannot be extricated from Brandon’s existence as a Black man, advocating for his son, a Black student who was suspended.
Brandon took full accountability for his mistake, as evidenced by his guilty plea. His legal team asked the judge to simply give him probation, allowing him to continue caring for his young family. But today, Brandon was sentenced to five years behind bars.
Brandon’s situation so perfectly epitomizes why abolition matters. Abolitionist principles urge us to think expansively about what safety means. By separating Brandon from his family, they are all less safe — especially when considering economic and emotional safety.
Today’s outcome was not what we wanted, but we remain committed to supporting this family, and creating a better system than the one they were victimized by today.
You can support Brandon’s family by giving to his partner Lily’s GoFundMe.
Abolition: Yes! 