Din Celaj
My name is Din Celaj. I am a federal prisoner from the Southern District of New York.
In 2006 I posed as an undercover police officer and robbed a number of illegal drug dealers in and around New York. Since the law defined (and protected) the drugs sold by these individuals as "commodities in commerce", these robberies were prosecutable under the so-called "Hobbs Act". (18 U.S.C. 1951)
At 23 years old I was arrested by the real police and, after more than 2 years in pre-trial detention, legal proceedings and trial, I was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson to a mere 30 days for the actual robberies - and an astonishing 50 years for 'carrying and brandishing a firearm', while committing them., (U.S. v. Din Celaj, S.D.N.Y.(2010) (601 months) And why such an unusual sentence - uncommon leniency alongside extraordinary harshness? The 30 days, said Judge Patterson, upon his consideration of the "victims" of my offenses and absence of any danger to the law-abiding public at large, was "just punishment for the offense". The extra 50 years, he said, which, against his judgment he was legally bound (A.K.A. “trial penalty” ) to impose in my case, was based on the mandatory minimums and consecutive applications associated with possessing a firearm during a "crime of violence". (18 U.S.C. 924(c)) In other words, through this unusual sentence, Judge Patterson was making a statement. Just as the Honorable John Gleeson made clear in U.S. v. Holloway, E.D.N.Y.(1997) - a "carjacking" case from the Eastern District of New York where, as in my case, these Section 924(c) enhancements were "stacked" - Judge Patterson was an opponent of such a draconian mandate, an outspoken critic of the overly harsh mandatory minimums and consecutive-to-each-other requirements associated with all Section 924 convictions.
In the Holloway case Judge Gleeson stated, "Section 924(c) counts are a triple threat. First, they carry mandatory sentences, which by definition take a degree of judging out of the sentencing. Second, they result in onerous enhancements for 'second or subsequent' convictions. That sounds like a typical recidivism enhancement until you consider that a 'second or subsequent' conviction can occur in the same trial as the first one, as they did here. Third, the mandatory sentences required by 924(c) are also mandatorily consecutive to one another and to all other sentences in the case. As a result, cases like Holloway's produce sentences that would be laughable if only there weren't real people on the receiving end of them."
Like the Honorable John Gleeson, Judge Patterson felt that, in passing these laws, Congress had exceeded both their proper function and the parameters of the Constitution. And that not only were these and other such provisions disregarding the Eighth Amendment's protection against 'cruel and unusual punishment', they were functioning in opposition to their intended purpose, which was to promote respect for the law.
Nevertheless, after countless protests from these and other such fair-minded jurists, and decades of anecdotal evidence of their harm - and even after the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 2011 'Report To Congress', echoing the similar positions of sitting Judges in every district, strongly recommending that they lower the mandatory minimums prison sentences in this Section and allow for concurrent sentences on "stacked" 924(c) counts - these overly harsh provisions remain in place.
But with these things said, I am not seeking anyone's sympathy. Nor is the purpose of this letter to try and excuse or justify my actions. I know that no matter the "victim", the robbery of any person is inexcusable. Rather than attempting to defend the indefensible, it is my intent here to simply put a human face on the injustice of these sentencing provisions.
Coming to America, from Albania...my story.
Like many other European families oppressed by their governments and struggling to survive in a culture of ethnic cleansing, and unimaginable poverty, and hoping to someday escape it all, with dreams of a better life for his wife & 5 children, with a 'do or die' determination to earn the small fortune he would need to return and bring us back to join him, my father arrived here first, in 1989. I was six years old when he departed Albania, and for the next six years, along with my four siblings, I watched my mother , struggle every day just to feed us, scraping and scraping just to provide us one meal a day.
Sadly, not long after our father left for America, in the absence of his protection, my mother was savagely assaulted by a family member, nearly raped by him right in front of us. Fortunately, my young hands found a large stick and I hit him over the head, preventing him from succeeding. In some small European nations such as Albania, the daily hunger, fear and oppression work to destroy hope, brings out the best and worst in people. For survival, loved ones will sometimes turn against one another, do unspeakable things.
In 1995 after six long years every day was a struggle for our family's survival, the finally got “the call “ from our father, saying he had earned enough for our new start. y, in 1995, the call came from him and our nightmare ended. He returned for us and brought us to the United States, New York City. America, land of the free, what a beautiful sight to see for the first time, coming from Albania. Upon our arrival, we settled into a one-bedroom apartment in the Bronx, Speaking no English at all, my parents found jobs cleaning office buildings at night. And my brothers and sisters and I, we were enrolled in public school. It was there, in the New York public school system, as I struggled on my own to transition from child of Albania to child of America, that my father's dream for me began to fall apart. On its own, the fact that none of us spoke English was always a reason for ridicule. Added to this was the obvious fact that all of our clothes were second hand, mostly donations from other immigrant families in the neighborhood. These two worked together as a very effective ostracizer and, ultimately, resulted in my education consisting more of learning to use my fists, and less about knowledge to advance my position in life. In time, this part of my "education" would lead to my being suspended from school, repeatedly. Until finally one day when a couple of boys in my class began ridiculing a Mexican girl about her Spanish and made her cry, a young girl whose command of the English language was no better than my own. Suddenly I had a flashback of my mother's assault, and attacked them. After that suspension, I never returned to school.
With both of my parents working nights and sleeping days, and no supervision, I began roaming the streets, in the company of the older boys in the neighborhood. Naturally looking up to them and influenced by them, pretty soon I was stealing cars, holding and selling drugs for them, anything they asked me to do in return for their acceptance.Not surprisingly, in time (at 17) I was caught burglarizing a business and was sent away to a state prison for five years.
Regrettably, soon after my release from New York state prison I returned to the way of life I learned in my youth and knew best, returned right back to a life of committing crimes...a mistake that followed a very predictable path, beginning with my stealing drugs from the neighborhood drug dealers, and progressing to robbing them at gunpoint taking their cash. I have had alot of time to think & what I deeply regret most is the shame and grief those actions have brought upon my loving family, especially my mother and father, the two people who suffered through so much to bring me into this great country, and now visit me in federal prison and long for my return home. Sadly, they are my true victims.
On December 7, 2012 I married my long-time girlfriend & am very sad to not be building a family of my own, Hoping for a second chance and new beginning, with her, I and many of our family and friends, including members of 'FAMM' (Families Against Mandatory Minimums), are reaching out to people like Judge's Patterson and Gleeson, those who have recognized the extraordinary injustice of these Section 924(c) enhancements, and are actively campaigning to have them changed. Or preferably, abolished. Sadly though Judge Patterson has passed away since my incarceration & I am not quite sure what to do next.
I am hoping to compel another far minded like Judge John Gleeson and U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch who agreed that "even people who are indisputably guilty of violent crimes deserve justice" and reduced his 691 month sentence by more than 30 years. Today we are sharing my story and reaching out to you and anyone else who may be willing to listen and possibly support us in finding the same measure of relief. If you are willing to lend your support, or help in any way, my family and I would greatly appreciate hearing from you.
In closing here, I would just like to admit that, while admittedly I made a number of very foolish mistakes in my youth, with the promise of a wonderful new beginning and future with my loving wife Nicole, I am now committed to charting a different course for the remainder of my life. And in particular, committed to honor the sacrifices made by my dear mother and father to bring me to this great land of the free. I thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Respectfully,
Din Celaj
In 2006 I posed as an undercover police officer and robbed a number of illegal drug dealers in and around New York. Since the law defined (and protected) the drugs sold by these individuals as "commodities in commerce", these robberies were prosecutable under the so-called "Hobbs Act". (18 U.S.C. 1951)
At 23 years old I was arrested by the real police and, after more than 2 years in pre-trial detention, legal proceedings and trial, I was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson to a mere 30 days for the actual robberies - and an astonishing 50 years for 'carrying and brandishing a firearm', while committing them., (U.S. v. Din Celaj, S.D.N.Y.(2010) (601 months) And why such an unusual sentence - uncommon leniency alongside extraordinary harshness? The 30 days, said Judge Patterson, upon his consideration of the "victims" of my offenses and absence of any danger to the law-abiding public at large, was "just punishment for the offense". The extra 50 years, he said, which, against his judgment he was legally bound (A.K.A. “trial penalty” ) to impose in my case, was based on the mandatory minimums and consecutive applications associated with possessing a firearm during a "crime of violence". (18 U.S.C. 924(c)) In other words, through this unusual sentence, Judge Patterson was making a statement. Just as the Honorable John Gleeson made clear in U.S. v. Holloway, E.D.N.Y.(1997) - a "carjacking" case from the Eastern District of New York where, as in my case, these Section 924(c) enhancements were "stacked" - Judge Patterson was an opponent of such a draconian mandate, an outspoken critic of the overly harsh mandatory minimums and consecutive-to-each-other requirements associated with all Section 924 convictions.
In the Holloway case Judge Gleeson stated, "Section 924(c) counts are a triple threat. First, they carry mandatory sentences, which by definition take a degree of judging out of the sentencing. Second, they result in onerous enhancements for 'second or subsequent' convictions. That sounds like a typical recidivism enhancement until you consider that a 'second or subsequent' conviction can occur in the same trial as the first one, as they did here. Third, the mandatory sentences required by 924(c) are also mandatorily consecutive to one another and to all other sentences in the case. As a result, cases like Holloway's produce sentences that would be laughable if only there weren't real people on the receiving end of them."
Like the Honorable John Gleeson, Judge Patterson felt that, in passing these laws, Congress had exceeded both their proper function and the parameters of the Constitution. And that not only were these and other such provisions disregarding the Eighth Amendment's protection against 'cruel and unusual punishment', they were functioning in opposition to their intended purpose, which was to promote respect for the law.
Nevertheless, after countless protests from these and other such fair-minded jurists, and decades of anecdotal evidence of their harm - and even after the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 2011 'Report To Congress', echoing the similar positions of sitting Judges in every district, strongly recommending that they lower the mandatory minimums prison sentences in this Section and allow for concurrent sentences on "stacked" 924(c) counts - these overly harsh provisions remain in place.
But with these things said, I am not seeking anyone's sympathy. Nor is the purpose of this letter to try and excuse or justify my actions. I know that no matter the "victim", the robbery of any person is inexcusable. Rather than attempting to defend the indefensible, it is my intent here to simply put a human face on the injustice of these sentencing provisions.
Coming to America, from Albania...my story.
Like many other European families oppressed by their governments and struggling to survive in a culture of ethnic cleansing, and unimaginable poverty, and hoping to someday escape it all, with dreams of a better life for his wife & 5 children, with a 'do or die' determination to earn the small fortune he would need to return and bring us back to join him, my father arrived here first, in 1989. I was six years old when he departed Albania, and for the next six years, along with my four siblings, I watched my mother , struggle every day just to feed us, scraping and scraping just to provide us one meal a day.
Sadly, not long after our father left for America, in the absence of his protection, my mother was savagely assaulted by a family member, nearly raped by him right in front of us. Fortunately, my young hands found a large stick and I hit him over the head, preventing him from succeeding. In some small European nations such as Albania, the daily hunger, fear and oppression work to destroy hope, brings out the best and worst in people. For survival, loved ones will sometimes turn against one another, do unspeakable things.
In 1995 after six long years every day was a struggle for our family's survival, the finally got “the call “ from our father, saying he had earned enough for our new start. y, in 1995, the call came from him and our nightmare ended. He returned for us and brought us to the United States, New York City. America, land of the free, what a beautiful sight to see for the first time, coming from Albania. Upon our arrival, we settled into a one-bedroom apartment in the Bronx, Speaking no English at all, my parents found jobs cleaning office buildings at night. And my brothers and sisters and I, we were enrolled in public school. It was there, in the New York public school system, as I struggled on my own to transition from child of Albania to child of America, that my father's dream for me began to fall apart. On its own, the fact that none of us spoke English was always a reason for ridicule. Added to this was the obvious fact that all of our clothes were second hand, mostly donations from other immigrant families in the neighborhood. These two worked together as a very effective ostracizer and, ultimately, resulted in my education consisting more of learning to use my fists, and less about knowledge to advance my position in life. In time, this part of my "education" would lead to my being suspended from school, repeatedly. Until finally one day when a couple of boys in my class began ridiculing a Mexican girl about her Spanish and made her cry, a young girl whose command of the English language was no better than my own. Suddenly I had a flashback of my mother's assault, and attacked them. After that suspension, I never returned to school.
With both of my parents working nights and sleeping days, and no supervision, I began roaming the streets, in the company of the older boys in the neighborhood. Naturally looking up to them and influenced by them, pretty soon I was stealing cars, holding and selling drugs for them, anything they asked me to do in return for their acceptance.Not surprisingly, in time (at 17) I was caught burglarizing a business and was sent away to a state prison for five years.
Regrettably, soon after my release from New York state prison I returned to the way of life I learned in my youth and knew best, returned right back to a life of committing crimes...a mistake that followed a very predictable path, beginning with my stealing drugs from the neighborhood drug dealers, and progressing to robbing them at gunpoint taking their cash. I have had alot of time to think & what I deeply regret most is the shame and grief those actions have brought upon my loving family, especially my mother and father, the two people who suffered through so much to bring me into this great country, and now visit me in federal prison and long for my return home. Sadly, they are my true victims.
On December 7, 2012 I married my long-time girlfriend & am very sad to not be building a family of my own, Hoping for a second chance and new beginning, with her, I and many of our family and friends, including members of 'FAMM' (Families Against Mandatory Minimums), are reaching out to people like Judge's Patterson and Gleeson, those who have recognized the extraordinary injustice of these Section 924(c) enhancements, and are actively campaigning to have them changed. Or preferably, abolished. Sadly though Judge Patterson has passed away since my incarceration & I am not quite sure what to do next.
I am hoping to compel another far minded like Judge John Gleeson and U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch who agreed that "even people who are indisputably guilty of violent crimes deserve justice" and reduced his 691 month sentence by more than 30 years. Today we are sharing my story and reaching out to you and anyone else who may be willing to listen and possibly support us in finding the same measure of relief. If you are willing to lend your support, or help in any way, my family and I would greatly appreciate hearing from you.
In closing here, I would just like to admit that, while admittedly I made a number of very foolish mistakes in my youth, with the promise of a wonderful new beginning and future with my loving wife Nicole, I am now committed to charting a different course for the remainder of my life. And in particular, committed to honor the sacrifices made by my dear mother and father to bring me to this great land of the free. I thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Respectfully,
Din Celaj
