“It’s just a lot of corruption going on”

Excerpt from Willy, a defendant at the Palo Alto Courthouse in summer 2023

Willy: Uh. You know, the system is unfair to some of those who are in certain areas, in, in-in life, depending on, you know, depending on the cops. And it just, it's just a lot of corruption going on. And I've had-I've had my share of of-of-of fair injustice. I mean, I-I'm going through, I-I'm kind of going through that right now, with one of mine, because I have another case also in San Mateo County.

Interviewer: Oh, no.

Willy: And I, and I-and I feel like that's a fair--I-I'm not getting my fair shake on that. Based on prior records that I have, you know. But, even though, they're like, 15 years old, they're still, you know [sniffs].

Interviewer: Yeah.

Willy: You know, and they-they-they not, they’re not really working with me. I feel like they workin’ against me. You know, they pu--it's supposed to be a structure and stuff that's implemented [sniffs] to, what they call, rehabilitate people or, just help ‘em, to just, to just help them do something different. But it-it's hard to do different when all they want to--all they want you to do is jail. But it’s like, to-to change, you got to be the change. And, you know, they just, they keep wanting to put somebody in jail, it's like, that's not really rehabilitating them. You're just, keepin’ ‘em conformed to jail, right?

Interviewer: Yeah.

Willy: Sh—uh, give ‘em a, give ‘em a program or, give ‘em, give ‘em a different type of way out or outlet, to-to not make them just feel like every time I'm in trouble, I'm going to jail.