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South Bend Redevelopment Commission <br />Regular Meeting –March 5, 2010 <br /> <br />6. NEW BUSINESS <br /> <br />A. Public Hearing <br /> <br />(1) continued… <br /> <br />HARDIE BLAKE, 144 N. Summit. There <br />are a couple of things I want to say. I <br />appreciate what Linda is doing, too, with <br />YouthBuild. Without the program, and a <br />primary target is the ex-offenders, who play a <br />major role in what we focus on. But it’s not <br />just ex-offenders. Initially, when the <br />program started, we had a hundred and fifty <br />that signed up to take our classes. One <br />hundred and twenty of those people went <br />through a boot camp. Out of that one week <br />boot camp, eighty-two actually finished the <br />boot camp. Then we entered into a ten-week <br />training. Sixty-seven completed the training. <br />Guys and ladies like these gentlemen here. I <br />think the experience for them all was similar <br />to what you hear from these. <br /> <br />There are a couple of things I want to say in <br />regards to that. I got called to jury duty not <br />too long ago. They said that we have to <br />make sure if we’re going to the jury that a <br />person is innocent until proven guilty. The <br />judge asked us if we had any problem with <br />that. I said, “I’ve got a problem with it. If <br />it’s true that you are innocent until you are <br />proven guilty, why do you treat a person <br />when you arrest them like they are guilty <br />until proven innocent? He said, “Mr. Blake, <br />I’m afraid we don’t have to give an answer to <br />a question like that.” So, they kicked me out <br />of the jury. I got excused. I figured I would. <br />But, generally, when a guy gets a felony, he <br />stays guilty and never gets proven innocent. <br />Even after they do their time, they still <br />continue to do time, except it’s in a different <br /> 15 <br /> <br />