We the Carpio family are looking for relief to get the current life sentencing of 42 year old Esteban "Steven" Carpio reduced to have a possibility of parole. 

Steven has been in prison in Rhode Island at The Rhode Island Maximum Security Prison in Cranston, RI since 2005 after having a mental breakdown that resulted in his detainment and the death of Rhode Island Detective James Allen.

We believe that the events leading to the incident and trail were rooted in a general neglect and prejudice towards people of color. News articles paint him as a monster cop killer filled with falsehoods about the events leading to the death of Allen as well as events afterwards.    

With a history of mental health issues in our family Steven had fallen ill in 2005 even leaving his home in Rhode Island to visit us in Boston, Massachusetts distraught and frantic for relief. I remember less than two weeks before the incident, as a child, my brother laying face down on our living room couch with my mother sitting with him trying to soothe his racing thoughts. He was hearing and seeing things that were not there the "devil" and "demons" trying to invade his mind leaving him with no chance for reprieve. Hoping to get help for him my mother brought him to a local hospital where he was checked on. The most that was done for him was him receiving some sleeping medication even after being placed in a locked padded room. Though he was dangerous enough to be restrained the hospital released him back into the world where within the next two weeks he was found after having knocked over a elderly woman and seen by eye witnesses to be pacing back and forth. Being detained and placed into a room not normally used for interrogations, no video or audio recordings being taken, he was being pressured into admitting to things he hadn't done all while under intense emotional and mental duress. Feeling threatened by the officer in front of him a struggle ensued resulting in the death of Allen where Steven then leapt out of a second story window hobbling away with broken bones where he was arrested over an hour later with no resistance. A mentally unstable man then was beaten nearly half to death by officers in the Rhode Island Police Department brought into trial with a broken jaw and a face mask to cover it up. A full police force presence for the trail made it almost impossible for him to receive a fair and just sentencing. 

News articles are inconsistent and filled with lies about how the events transpired, there is not even any true evidence of the crime because of the shady way that the police handled the incident. Hospitals did not give him the proper treatment he deserved or needed and let a individual who was possibly dangerous to himself and others back into the populous. We truly believe that if he had not been a person of color somewhere along the line with multiple hospital visits he would have been held or placed into a specialized mental health facility. Maybe if he had not been a person of color they would have had him in a room with recording devices where there would be evidence of abuse from officers instead of a "cop killer's" words against a police force. Even if this was not an issue of race there were multiple points along the way were my brother was handled inappropriately and obvious misconduct from the Rhode Island Police.        

We just want the possibility for our Steven to come out of this a better man and a chance to live his life. Since in prison he has been on anti-psychotics and done everything he could to stay out of trouble. He has never seen his own son outside of a courtroom or prison visitations. As a family we miss him and want to see him cutting hair in a barbershop and making music like he always had been. He is not a malicious or evil person, he was just sick and needed help like so many others with mental health issues, a Schizophrenic ignored and abused by the system because of low social status, race, etc.. 

We hope with the support of the people we can get notice from the RI Gov. and Steven can at least have a chance of being able to after 15 years embrace his family and see his daughter graduate from college, and his son from high school as a free man.

Thank you for your time, and any support you can give.    

The Google Drive document below is a copy of a letter sent to the Governor's Office in Rhode Island outlining the time of events and what we hope for our Steven, though we never received acknowledgement of the letter being accepted 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AvFwtlB-GWB_-q4pKe4gnfwK7N8Aahde/view?usp=sharing