Rip Van Winkle may have slept for 20 years but Florida has been in a selective state of unconsciousness for 29.  There’s been no Parole in Florida since 1983 (with few exceptions) and it’s TIME TO AWAKE THE STATE!  And that’s just what happened at the rally held at the Capital on Tuesday, January 10, 2012, first day of the Legislative Session.  Judy Thompson of Forgotten Majority, Inc.  took the podium and shook attendees,  waking them to the fact that 103,000 inmates sit rotting away in Florida’s prisons, having served a lengthy portion of their ridiculously long, harsh sentences with  no hope of release.  Many will die or spend most of their lives in prison for a non-homicidal, non-violent crime.  Giving a young man 30 years for a crime where no one was hurt or injured is the functional equivalent of giving him a life sentence.  It’s the same as giving someone 500 lashes for stealing a $.50 candy bar. This is madness. Though inmates may reside in the Sunshine State, they remain under the dark clouds of hopelessness and despair.  Attendees were awakened and enlightened by this presentation and know now that there is a group fighting relentlessly to give those, who are not a threat to society and are committed to a productive life-style,  a well-deserved second chance.