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	<title>Dallas Can Do Better &#187; Ben Spencer</title>
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	<link>http://www.dallascandobetter.org</link>
	<description>Working to right social injustice</description>
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		<title>Letter to the Editor</title>
		<link>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2011/04/letter-to-the-editor/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2011/04/letter-to-the-editor/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2011 13:05:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kristina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ben Spencer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Imprisonment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dallascandobetter.org/?p=1335</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(The Dallas Morning News is running an abridged version of this letter in today&#8217;s paper. The did not have space to list all the people who signed it &#8211; so here it is in its entirety. Happy Easter Dallas) Dear Editor, Today is a sad day for Justice in Texas. Justice is suppose to be blind but in the case of Benjamine Spencer it is deaf as well.  District Attorney Craig Watkins&#8217; has chosen not to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence that points to Ben&#8217;s innocence and someone else&#8217;s guilt. In the absence of D.A. Watkins&#8217; support, the Court of Criminal Appeals has denied the finding by the district court of Ben&#8217;s actual innocence after leaving Ben in limbo and failing to rule for over 3 years. Judge Price even cited the absence of Watkins support as compelling in light of the work done by Watkins in other cases. We cannot see how anyone who conducts a diligent review of the facts could draw a conclusion other than Ben is actually innocent.  We believe the D.A.&#8217;s office went through the motions to defend their actions but never had any intention of truly seeking justice in this case. In Jennifer Emily&#8217;s article [...]]]></description>
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		<title>CCA Denies Spencer&#8217;s Writ &#8211; Heartbreaking Day for Justice in Texas</title>
		<link>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2011/04/cca-denies-spencers-writ-heartbreaking-day-for-justice-in-texas/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2011/04/cca-denies-spencers-writ-heartbreaking-day-for-justice-in-texas/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:25:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kristina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ben Spencer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Imprisonment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dallascandobetter.org/?p=1333</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have no words. so click here to read what the CCA had to say today. Today truth and justice lost a battle but not the war. We will keep fighting until Ben is home with his family where he belongs. Dallas, all your prayers are needed now and then we need some action! Blessings- Kristina]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Words from Benjamine Spencer</title>
		<link>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/11/words-from-benjamine-spencer/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/11/words-from-benjamine-spencer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:42:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Liz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ben Spencer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Imprisonment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dallascandobetter.org/?p=1150</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I recently had the opportunity to correspond with Ben, and I just thought I’d post his most recent comments so everyone can see how he’s doing and what’s going on with him. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season. There are plenty of ways to get involved and add your voice to the ones seeking his relief, too. Where are you right now? Presently I am back on the Coffield Unit, where I was assigned for nineteen years before being bench warranted back to Dallas County in July of 2007. I must tell you that it’s strange being back. With the exception of the few guys who know where I have been for the past three years, most everybody else thought that I got released. So when they see me, they’re like, “Man, what are you doing back in here?” They’ve seen and read the newspaper articles, as well as the media’s coverage of this case, so quite naturally to them, I had to have been released. I explain that it doesn’t happen like that in Texas and that if the state had released me, they would not be looking at me now. I do not [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>What Not To Wear&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/05/what-not-to-wear/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/05/what-not-to-wear/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 May 2010 20:52:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>sallysbaxter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ben Spencer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Imprisonment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dallascandobetter.org/?p=908</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[No sleeveless tops are allowed. The officers let that rule slide long enough that most people, myself included, didn&#8217;t know it was a rule. They also get quite agitated if anyone questions it. And wearing a jacket is not a fix because that&#8217;s what I usually wear. They said visitors go up the elevator then take off the jacket. The first night I encountered it, I jumped in my car and ran over to House of Blues to buy a top and run back before visiting hours ended. At The House of Blues, I had to park in a fire lane and beg people in line to let me go first so I could get back before the visitors check in table disappeared. By the time I sat down and Ben walk out I was so hot and tired from running through the parking lots that I was wiping sweat from my forehead. Ben looked at me funny and asked if it was raining outside. He always appoligizes for the hassles I encounter but I am glad I have the opportunity to experience it. I have a whole wealth of knowledge that I didn&#8217;t anticipate. It&#8217;s not helpful to most [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Another Week, Another Visit</title>
		<link>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/05/another-week-another-visit-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/05/another-week-another-visit-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 May 2010 00:31:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kristina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ben Spencer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Imprisonment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dallascandobetter.org/?p=905</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Nothing new to report really. I brought a T-shirt this time in case someone needed it but of course no one did. The Oz was the same guard as last time and performed her duties with the same attitude as last time. She put me in number 1 which had a metal grate and glass between the prisoner and visitors, so not very eye contact friendly. I picked up the phone and Ben could not hear me. I could hear him and he said he could hear me a little through the glass but not through the phone. So I went back to the great Wizard of Oz and told her the phone in booth 1 was not working to which she very curtly replied &#8220;well it was working fine earlier tonight, you telling me its not working now?&#8221; &#8211; the inflection was as though she was accusing me of making up this tale to get a better booth aka one without a metal grate. I kept my cool and remained as nice as could be when I said &#8220;well, its not working now. Could you send someone to check it?&#8221; and the she relented and reassigned us to 11. [...]]]></description>
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		<title>We are all still waiting</title>
		<link>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/05/we-are-all-still-waiting/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/05/we-are-all-still-waiting/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 May 2010 01:13:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kristina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ben Spencer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Imprisonment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dallascandobetter.org/?p=901</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Waiting and waiting and waiting some more. They say no news is good news but limbo is not a fun place to live either. This week everything was normal except on my way up the girl next to me was told even though her shirt had sleeves she would not be allowed in because it has a small circle cut out in the back. I asked if I could give her my jacket to cover the hole and she could go up. The male officer said sure and I was taking off my jacket the female officer said &#8220;you can give it to her but she still cant go up&#8221; Logic ( I use the word here loosely) being that she might take the jacket off and expose a small circular piece of skin on her upper back, perhaps with a piece of protruding spine bone thrown in for ultra sexy measure. PLEASE! That was highly unfortunate and then once upstairs it was like a ghost town. I handed my slip to the female Oz on duty and waited. She told me to go to number 5 and I was turning to walk away another lady came behind me without [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Just Another April Night in Jail</title>
		<link>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/04/just-another-april-night-in-jail/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/04/just-another-april-night-in-jail/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:32:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kristina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ben Spencer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Imprisonment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dallascandobetter.org/?p=898</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This week there was a man in a wheelchair on the median of the two directions of traffic one must cross from the parking lot to the jail. He was panhandling with a lime green cup, Dallas Can Do Better color so how could I resist. After parking I decided how much I would donate to his cause and put the money in my pocket. Normally I don&#8217;t take any money in unless it is the day I put money on Ben&#8217;s books on behalf of Dallas Can Do Better. Otherwise I prefer to be honest when I tell people who ask for bus fare etc. &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry I don&#8217;t have any money on me.&#8221; As I put my donation in his cup I noticed his shirt was busting open and his speech was slurred, not drunk slurred, developmentally challenged slurred and he was an older man, he also smelled of urine, not fresh urine but the deep pungent odor that takes many episodes without a bathroom to build up. I wish I had a magic wand or at least more knowledge of services for the homeless. Did I do everything I could to help him? no. Life is a [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Submitted</title>
		<link>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/04/submitted/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/04/submitted/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:35:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kristina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ben Spencer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Imprisonment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dallascandobetter.org/?p=874</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Please pray that truth and justice prevail today. And keep Ben and his family in your thoughts and prayers. His case is currently being discussed among the Justices having been submitted this morning. Hopefully we will have the answer so many people have been praying and working towards and Ben can finally be reunited with his family and live his life on his own terms. My visit with him yesterday was good. Line longer than usual, phone greasy and smelly, really weird people having weird conversations in line and in the elevator, a joke with the sheriff about me not wearing a tank top, new large computer screen in the tower of the great oz, but it is always inspiring and a pleasure to speak with Ben as well as a kick to my perspective whenever I have the urge to complain about anything EVER. He is anxious about today as is everyone who knows anything about his case. Our conversation was mostly about that, a little about books and what he is currently reading, and some about the lost kids who end up in jail due to placing value on the wrong thing (being gansta) and what can be [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Ben&#8217;s Blog Post</title>
		<link>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/04/bens-blog-post-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/04/bens-blog-post-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:36:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ben</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ben Spencer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Imprisonment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dallascandobetter.org/?p=872</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hello Again,                                                                        March 21,2010 Sunday 6:45 PM Its been awhile since I’ve written so, I figured I would drop a few lines. First to say thank you to all the lovely people of Dallas. Especially those who are supportive of Dallas Can Do Better and its efforts to improve upon this great city. While Dallas is making great strides in making improvements, we must keep in mind that it can only do as good as its citizens. The only changes that are bound to be made are those that we push and strive for. Due to my current situation, it is my prayer that efforts will continue to be made in addressing the matters of injustice that has been imposed upon various citizens of Dallas, including myself. It’s sad to say, but the “justice” system only works when we make it work. We cant assume that just because an individual had been charged with an offense and appears in a court room, that the individual is guilty fo the alleged offense. We should compel our police and investigators to do a better job at gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses. They need to also do a better job at checking the [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>My First Visit To Benjamine Spencer</title>
		<link>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/03/my-first-visit/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dallascandobetter.org/2010/03/my-first-visit/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:58:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>sallysbaxter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ben Spencer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Imprisonment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dallascandobetter.org/blog2/?p=793</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tuesday March 2, was my first visit and on my way out my 3 yr old daughter asked if I was going to open the box and get him out. I wish it was that easy. My guess is that something I said about the size or shape of a jail cell, or maybe the look of one of the buildings from our rally in front of the jail &#38; court has given her the impression that he is in a ‘box’. I anticipated learning more about Ben but learned more about myself, and other prisoners and visitors as well. What I learned is that he talks as much as me, he has a good sense of humor and is as nice as everyone says. He also looks a lot different than the picture I have. I see it often because it&#8217;s on our Facebook group, our website, postcards and my t-shirts. He said it was taken in &#8217;03 or &#8217;04 and the change in his appearance over 6 years made me think about how long he has been in limbo, just waiting on others to finally realize he&#8217;s an innocent man that we locked up so many years ago. [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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