Through The Storm

Clemency from Trump Gives Corvain Cooper New Lease On Life

On the very last day of Donald Trump’s presidency, Corvain Cooper’s mother received a call from Ivanka Trump to inform her that her son was being released from prison. Corvain, 41, was one of at least 12 people to receive clemency from the former president. Up until that day, Cooper had known what it was like to be behind prison walls and feel like the people you loved the most had forgotten about you. He’d served seven years of a life sentence for a nonviolent marijuana conviction. In 2014, Cooper–who’d formerly owned a clothing store–was convicted under the three-strikes rule for trafficking marijuana, money laundering and tax evasion from California to North Carolina. He had two previous non-violent convictions that were both later vacated. Cooper was one of more than a dozen people whose sentences for crimes related to marijuana–now legal in some form in a majority of states–were commuted.Since receiving clemency on January 20, 2021, Cooper has hit the ground running, hoping to shine light on those whose individual stories are overshadowed within the fight for prison reform. Working as brand ambassador of 40 Tons Clothing (www.40tons.co), along with his business partner and CEO Loriel Alegrete, Cooper has found a unique lane of merging his past fashion pursuits within his current focus of cannabis equity and restorative justice. “The people who you thought will remember you, will forget about you. I want to be the person who is not forgetting about the people serving life sentences,” Cooper said. “I know how it is sitting in the cell, looking at the wall, wishing you get some pictures or wishing to hear from somebody on the outside.” When Cooper was sentenced, he said that he never accepted “life in prison” as his final judgement. Although he understood the magnitude of the sentencing, he knew that everything close to him would crumble, including the future of his two young daughters. He also knew that the essence of who he was as a man would begin to fade and deteriorate. “You see guys in there, who let themselves go because they accepted that this was where they were going to end up the rest of their life,” Cooper recounted. “When you accept it, your body is going to carry it. You're going to carry it on your face and wear it. I never wanted my kids to see that. I never wanted my family to see me wear that.” As he sought different avenues to try and obtain freedom, Cooper’s faith in God was really all he had to stand on, as well as the fact that thousands of people on the outside had begun to petition and rally for his freedom, even in the midst of a number of denials issued by the court regarding appeals. “That’s where walking by faith and not by sight really comes in,” says Cooper. “You have to forget about what it says on paper, and actually put in the footwork behind saying, ‘nah this is not the end’. That began the rebirth of myself,” Cooper said. And while back home Cooper was well-known, in federal prison, he had to rebuild his reputation and respect. Cooper witnessed eight murders and seven suicides in prison. “Those things can haunt you at night,” Cooper noted. During those seven years, Cooper learned to navigate through different types of people from correctional officers to other prisoners, in a place where he was stripped from the people that he loved and trusted the most. “It’s really, really racist. It kind of reminds you of Rosa Parks and MLK days,” Cooper said of prison.

He also had to endure the loss of his grandmother and uncle, who were instrumental in raising him and had a huge impact on his life growing up. “People knocking on your door telling you that your grannie is dead or your uncle is dead. When a chaplain comes to your door… those are the kind of things you never forget,” Cooper recalls. In 2020, his story landed on the front page of the Washington Post and he was featured in “Smoke” the BET documentary which shows how the war on drugs systematically targeted Black communities with the criminalization of marijuana. Ivanka Trump would eventually hear of Cooper’s story and was touched not only by the hypocrisy of his sentence but also that he had two daughters that needed him. Although her father granted Cooper clemency and he was released from prison, since he did not receive a full pardon, he has to endure ten years of parole, the terms of which limit what he can do within the world of cannabis– especially at a time when there is so much growth in the legal market. Despite these barriers, he has still been able to have his own strain of marijuana packaged and sold in the popular Cookies LA Marijuana Dispensary. For now, Cooper is focused on community events anywhere in L.A County and beyond where he can lend his resources, voice and lived experiences with 40 Tons. So far, 40 Tons–characterized on its website as a socially conscience Cannibis Brand has sponsored expungement clinics in South Central, as well as coding workshops for the youth. A statement on their website says the company, “passionately and relentlessly advocates for federal cannabis legalization in addition to restorative justice, reduced sentencing, and rehabilitation for non-violent cannabis offenders. Although these prisoners don’t claim to be innocent and must still pay their debt to society, we maintain that no one should spend a lifetime in prison for a plant that many consume and profit from legally.” Cooper makes sure he still writes to those in prison and encourages the public to send them mail as well to lift their spirits. In September, 40 Tons is planning on hosting a job fair in Hawthorne for the formerly incarcerated. When you go to 40 Tons website you can choose to write to a prisoner or purchase a shirt directly from them and 100% of the proceeds will be put into their personal accounts. Another focus of Cooper’s, is catching up for lost time with his two daughters, aged 11and 15. “They are with me right now,” Cooper said. “I have them working, showing them responsibility, how to trade stocks and how to get their own wealth so they won’t have to depend on anyone when they get older. That’s my basic strategy.”

Danger: Domestic Violence Ahead!

Today, out of her offices in the Inland Empire, Duania HallHenderson counsels women, speaking to them about red flags in domestic abuse and how and when to leave a bad relationship. She has seen -- and heard from -- an increasing number of them over the years. She knows their struggle all too well. Twenty years ago, she was one of them. On a balmy June morning that had begun like most others, she ended up being admitted in critical condition to a hospital after her live-in boyfriend was stabbed 22 times. It wasn’t Hall’s first time suffering domestic violence in a relationship, but it was her last. For Hall and other survivors like her, the mission is to share with others the danger signs of domestic abuse in the hopes of keeping them from being caught in the crosshairs. A Mental Health Net survey reported that 20% of participants said their partner controlled time spent with their friends. Another 17% said their partners controlled their whereabouts. Nearly 18% said their partner insulted their intelligence. About 17% revealed that their finances were criticized by their partner. And 55% percent of the people Mental Health Net surveyed —— both men and women—— said they entered into an abusive relationship at an age between 17 and 24. Shaunda G., a domestic abuse survivor, shared with LA Focus that she entered her first abusive relationship at age 17, and then again at age twenty-five. She recalls seeing the first telltale signs of domestic violence in her husband’s actions (her second abusive relationship) before he even hit her. “We were coming from a party the first time I saw the sign,” she said. “We were in the car, and he just started yelling at me for being social at the party. He did not hit me that night. He just paced for hours, calling me names.” Domestic violence experts say to be cautious of fast-moving relationships and relationships that have unrealistic expectations. These are also tell-tale signs of an abusive partner. “The typical abuser feels powerless and out of touch with their feelings,” says Jerry Tello, founder of National Compadres Network, “Black and Brown boys learn in order to survive that they can’t feel. Feeling was going to make me vulnerable, too sad and in a place where I couldn’t pay attention. So, I forget how to feel.” Domestic violence specialists also describe abusers as bullies. The one thing all abusers have in common is that their motive is to have power over the victim, they say. Jimmy Espinoza, a Resolve to Stop the Violence Program (RSVP) facilitator and convicted abuser states, “Once I can objectify a woman and put a hand to her and gain that power that’s when it would escalate to full-out beatings.” Although everyone who has been abused do not become abusers themselves studies show that about one-third of them will. Dominique Waltower, a violence prevention advocate and motivational speaker said, “I grew up watching my mom being very abusive towards my stepdad, so when I entered my first relationship, I did the same thing. I became abusive thinking that it was normal.” “You tend to gravitate towards what is comfortable and familiar even if it’s not good for you. I partnered with women that had the same thought process and ideology as I had. It was a perfect environment for disaster and chaos. If two women came around one healthy and one unhealthy, I was drawn to the unhealthy woman–the one most like my mom because it was familiar. When I met these women”, he continues, “I had a choice. I chose to create the same chaos in my home that I grew up with.” Waltower, like many abusers, carried the same behavior to multiple relationships even after he thought he had changed. In California, men convicted of domestic violence are required to complete a 52week Batterer’s Intervention Program. The program aims to help men identify the beliefs and attitudes that support their violence, offering them the opportunity to change. But can an abuser change? Critics question whether rehabilitation is successful. A spokesperson for Stop It Now, an affiliate of Klingberg Family Centers, says, “Although it is true that not everyone who offends will be rehabilitated, some do go on to live healthy and abuse-free lives. This does require dedication and desire by the person to make life changes.” If you aren’t sure about a person’s actions, the counselors at Klingberg say, pay attention to how you feel around them. Do you feel bad about yourself? Are you constantly walking on eggshells? If you’re not able to make decisions without first worrying about how your partner will react then you need to open your eyes. When someone shows signs of being an abusive person, experts say to disengage, decide that you won’t respond, and do not try to reason with them. Last, but not least, they advise, give yourself time to heal. “I had nightmares every single night for some time,” Hall-Henderson (@duaniahall) told L.A. Focus. “The psychological effects lasted for years.” Today, she shares her story about domestic violence not only to emphasize its seriousness, but to illustrate t h a t women can survive it.

You tend to gravitate towards what is comfortable and familiar even if it’s not good for you. If two women came around one healthy and one unhealthy, I was drawn to the unhealthy woman— the one most like my mom because it was familiar. When I met these women, I had a choice. I chose to create the same chaos in my home that I grew up with. CHEZ HADLEY

Contributor

Duania HallHenderson

This article is the third in a eight- part series L.A. Focus is producing on domestic violence in collaboration with California Black Media and the Blue Shield of California Foundation. It explores how individuals, families and organizations in our community can seek creative solutions to work through the host of problems that stem from intimate partner violence. For more information, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit: www.thehotline.org.