MY VISIT WITH ATIF RAFAY

MY VISIT WITH ATIF RAFAY

Before I boarded my flight to Seattle from Newark International Airport, I thought about some of the things that I knew and heard about regarding Atif Rafay. My friends Ken Klonsky and Gary Dolin of Innocence International, an organization founded by Dr. Rubin Hurricane Carter, and who also represents Atif, had talked to me about Atif  so I was very excited to meet him for the first time. But, before I talk about my meeting with Atif, I’m going to share a weird experience prior to entering the visiting room area at the Monroe Correctional Complex where Atif is being held. To appreciate the following observation of  this prison, I must inform and remind some of you that I was incarcerated in NY State for nearly 29 years and was held in a total of five prisons. I had never been in a prison where there was literally no prison guards at the administration desk, or anywhere near the front entrance of the building. Ken and Gary did not seem surprised by this, but I certainly was.  The fact that there was no security at the front entrance of a maximum prison, plus the fact that this same prison was on lock down because of a disturbance prior to my visit, was astonishing. It reminded me of a scene out of the once popular television show Prison Break, where the entire prison was devoid of security. Monroe was no Prison Break and it was not very different than any maximum prison I spent time in.

Upon my entrance into the visiting room at Monroe, I surveyed the area and was reminded of what it was like watching my visitors enter the visiting room area; except this time, I was the visitor. That  thought quickly disappeared and shifted towards Atif when I saw him sitting at the table waiting for us. Atif is actually smaller than I envisioned and I’m sure I was much bigger, perhaps than he initially envisioned me.  Nevertheless, what I remember very vividly was our embrace. While we were not overly demonstrative in our greetings, I believe we had a mutual respect for one another.  A few minutes into the visit, it seemed as though Atif and I had known each other for many years. I guess in theory, we know each other better than we thought, perhaps. I think it was mostly due in part  to us having heard many things about one another for years. It seemed natural for us to communicate so well. Aside from the similarity regarding our wrongful convictions in terms of falsely confessing to crimes that we did not commit, plus the fact that we were teenagers, tricked into making false confessions , we were both represented by Dr. Rubin Hurricane Carter. Similar to my case, Rubin believed strongly in Atif and Sebastian Burns’ innocence, which is why he was very determined until his very last days to do whatever he could to prove our innocence.

As the visit continued, I became so animated talking to Atif that I could barely wait for him to finish a point before expressing an opinion or two, or making a point of my own. You see, Atif is a well learned man who is extremely articulate and serious about education. It was refreshing to hear him speak with such intelligence and to analyze his case in such a way that displayed such objectivity. I didn’t sense a trace of anger or bitterness coming from Atif. Even before meeting Atif, I wanted to be as objective as I could when I talked to him. I could not help thinking that I wished many, many more people could have witnessed what I did from this brilliant man sitting across from me who has so much to offer and give to the world that could truly use his contribution. Yet, unfortunately, he’s being subjected to what amounts to torture on so many levels. I consider myself a student of wrongful convictions, meaning that I studied several wrongful conviction cases for most of my incarceration, which I had to do in order to get to where I wanted to go, so my assessment of Atif’s case given what I learned about it, has all the makings of a wrongful conviction.  Atif seems to be at peace with himself; not about his imprisonment, obviously; but he seems to have an inner strength and outwardly optimistic presence about him that belies someone who has been wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for 20 years.

Meeting Atif was an absolute pleasure and I am totally committed to doing what is necessary to help him prove his innocence. I always fought my case with my co-accuse Willie Stuckey in mind. I’m sure Atif is doing the same thing with Sebastian.