Lam Vo

2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

‘Want to spend the rest of your life in prison?’: A Judge’s Advice & Some Murky Testimony

January 9, 2013 Debora Gordon 1

“You’re only 19 or so,” Lam’s judge said to him at the hearing. “I’m sure it’s difficult to conceive or imagine that many years in custody. But I think that leads some people to go to trial and after they get a sentence with life, then think, ‘what did I do? I’m here for the rest of my life, most likely.’ There’s not a huge difference, I don’t see, between 20 years and 25 years, when it means you get out. You can have a life. And quite frankly, for a fleeting moment, I thought, ‘Oh you want a trial? You want to spend the rest of your life in prison?’’’ […]

2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

Snail Mail Part III: Is Forgiveness for the Victim or the Forgiven?

December 19, 2012 Debora Gordon 0

“On the topic of forgiveness. I have always felt we all deserve a second chance.Would I be able to forgive the person who rape and killed my daughter? I can’t say for sure because I would know. But I’ve forgiven the people or person who shot me. If you think about it, I put myself in that situation and that was part of the gang banging life style. So why should I keep that hatred for them when I am moving on in life.” […]

2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

Snail Mail Part II: A Mellow or a Violent Guy?

December 19, 2012 Debora Gordon 0

“Being locked (up) is not a good thing but for some like me, we need a scary situation to set us straight. If only there were a machine who can tell if a person has truly learn and have change for the better. I would be release real soon. Being in here has stop a lot of my plans and goals but I look at is this is time to build a better me for the future. It is what it is.” […]

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2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

Fall 2007: Lam Writes About His Crime

November 13, 2012 0

The essay described an evening in May or June of that year, in which he was riding around Oakland in a car with some other teenage boys he claimed not to know very well. At some point during long the way, they gave Lam a gun, and the boys together attempted to rob a corner store.
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No Picture
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

‘Lam Jail, Lam Jail’

October 25, 2012 0

Towards the end of the very last week, his mother came to see me unexpectedly. No one on our staff knew Vietnamese, and she spoke virtually no English. All she could really say was “Lam jail, Lam jail.” […]