True Confessions of a Prisoner/Death Row Groupie or My Background History and Current Experiences as a Prisoner Rights/Anti-Death Penalty Activist By: Deborah Kendrick The first time Sister Helen Prejean saw death row inmate Patrick Sonnier’s face, she was shocked. “I could not believe how human his face was,” she said of the man who was executed for the murder of two teenagers in Louisiana in 1978. “He had a presence.” (excerpt from the book Dead Man Walking) I am an advocate for men who are in prison. I advocate for them because I believe that even though they have committed crimes, some heinous crimes, that they still have worth and that essentially all men are good. I believe that the majority of men who are in prison are there because their sense of self worth and goodness has been viciously and systematically been chipped away at from the time they were young boys. I’ve been doing actual prisoner advocacy work for about 10 years now – although I don’t really call it advocacy work and sometimes still don’t call it that. The fact is – I feel like I am just doing something to help out someone in need. I use the term “prisoner advocacy” because I feel it may make an impression on someone I need to get information from – such as a governmental entity. The title seems to make it easier to pry the info I need out of them. (LOL) The beginning? I watched a movie called “BLOW” about George Jung, the biggest cocaine trafficker in the history of the US during the late 1970′s and early 1980′s. The psychology of “George” fascinated me. It was hard for me to understand why a person from, what seemed to be a reasonably normal, middle class family would turn to crime. So, on a whim, I wrote to him, never really expecting a reply. After all, the man was/is a celebrity of sorts. He had a book written about him and now a movie starring Johnny Depp! Surprisingly enough, a few months later I received a letter from him. His first letters were typical letters that anyone of his fame and notoriety might write – very condescending. Eventually though, he and I became friendly and the two of us ended up corresponding for about 2 years before we amicably parted ways. As a side note – George is NOTHING like the doddering idiot they portray him to be at the end of the movie. He is very much mentally stable and able to handle his affairs with great care. One must remember that the movie was written to attract an audience, to make money and even to attract a certain amount of sympathy to George’s situation. Though many of the scenes in the movie are based on fact – they are greatly exaggerated or dramatized for effect. George Jung is intelligent and a shrewd as anyone can be. One only needs to talk with his sister (which I have) to understand that the movie portrays George to be a much different person than he actually is. Throughout this time I decided, because of George’s mindset, to look into the psychological effects of long-term incarceration. I’ve always been fascinated with psychology and found the criminal mind to be especially interesting. During my research I ran across a prison pen pal website and thought I might be able to get some insight from the website or possibly even from the bios of the guys in the ads. I saw the photo and bio of “Jimmyjames” and was drawn to him. He and I wrote to each other from March 2005 until he was released from a Texas prison in 2010. After we had been writing for about 6 months I made my first trip to Texas to visit him – the first visit he had, had during the 7 years he had already been incarcerated. I began to fly to Texas once or twice a year to visit other inmates I have met along the way. Jimmyjames became one of the best friends I’ve ever had in my life. It was through Jimmy that I learned most of the realities of what prison is like for those who are incarcerated and how to avoid the pitfalls that come with dealing with criminals. He clued me in on the tactics they would use on me to get me to send them money, etc. “Jimmyjames” is a nickname I gave him when we first “met”. Let’s see… What kind of things do I do as a prisoner rights advocate/activist? I contact prison rank, wardens, regional directors, ombudsman, attorneys, advocacy groups, etc., on their behalf when a problem comes up or when they aren’t able to get any reasonable response themselves. I’ve typed many a prisoner manuscript and submitted them to various magazines, media outlets, legal entities, etc. I keep in contact with their families and, if necessary, I sometimes try to bridge the gap that has been formed. I try to find answers to certain legal questions they may have or point them in the direction of someone who can answer their questions. Sometimes I go on the hunt for an attorney – often for someone willing to work on a pro-bono basis. I assist in some of the easier legal procedures like getting paperwork together for divorces, Interstate Compact transfers to other states upon their release, making copies of their cases (if available to me via the Internet/PACER). Sometimes I am asked to locate a family member or an old friend or girlfriend – but I am very careful with this kind of request. If located I do NOT give the info directly to the guys. I ask the person I have located if they want to be in contact with this offender and after giving them the contact information I leave it up to them to contact the offender for themselves. This is something that many offenders take offense to because they want me to give them the persons address – but it is very necessary to insure the safety and privacy of the “lost” loved one. I’ve also run my own prisoner advocacy website and Facebook page called Words Within The Walls - and I am looking into eventually opening a ‘free books for prisoners’ organization of my own. I’ve actively protested the death penalty – even on the steps of the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC. I do lots of other things as well – but mostly I try to just be a friend. People often ask me how I feel about the death penalty. I am AGAINST it – in all circumstances – no matter how heinous the crime. I know its cliché, but how can we say that it is wrong to kill and then turn around and kill them? People like to use the biblical phrase of “an eye for an eye” however if they were to read the actual, entire quote they would see that that statement merely states that the punishment should equal the crime. It does not give US the right to kill. ”Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Romans 12:19) Murder is murder. Taking the life of another human being is murder – no matter who does it – even if it’s the state. This doesn’t, in any way, mean that I am unsympathetic to the victims and their families. I have a good heart and OF COURSE I feel bad for them. My heart aches because I know how I would feel if the situation were reversed. I just don’t believe that they will really get the closure they really need to move on with their lives by the death of one more person. And what about the family of the person to be executed? Should they have to suffer as well? I’ve written to and become friends with several men on death row. Roy. I met him because of some work I was doing with an anti death penalty group based out of Texas’ death row called The DRIVE Movement. Till the end, Roy claimed to be innocent of the crime for which he was executed (murdered). I was on the phone with a guard at the death house when they took Roy. It was very hard. I had scheduled a visit to my Texas inmates for the day after, and when I got home I had a letter from Roy, written the night before they took him, asking me to send his “real” last words out to his loved ones and friends because he knew that he would not be in the state of mind to remember it all when he was asked if he had any last words. Then there was Bryan. I met Bryan through another friend of mine on Texas’ Death Row named Steve, who was executed on September 13, 2011. Bryan and I wrote for several months before he was executed (murdered) by the state of Texas. Bryan was funny and cheerful. He admitted to his crime – all aspects of it, and although, of course, he did not want to die and was against the death penalty, he accepted his fate. Steven was the classic example of how the lack of parental involvement can lead to this ending. His mother and father were both drug addicts, their relationship was volatile, they neglected the needs of their child in deference to their own needs and wants. His parents separated when Steven was still very young. At the age of 14 Steven was already a heroin addict. He had been hospitalized in a mental health facility because of his behavior but upon return to his mother, he was again left unsupervised. She didn’t even see to it that he took his psych medications. Steven was diagnosed as bi-polar. He began cutting himself and burning himself with cigarettes which he continued throughout the time I knew him until his death. I questioned him about this once and he said that it was the only way he was able to feel anything. So sad. I wanted to just reach through the glass and hug him. I have one friend, Troy, whose sentence was commuted to LWOP (Life Without Parole) because of the terrible childhood he had. His crime was horrible – yet when talking to me I see nothing of the man who could have done such a terrible thing. I began writing to Troy in 2005. I helped him throughout his appeal process and was naturally very ecstatic when the courts commuted his sentence. It is a very sad thing for me to go back in my memory about these men. We did not have time for the nuances and niceties of becoming friends over a gradual timeframe so we opened ourselves and our hearts immediately and communicated as though we had known each other throughout our lives. I miss them. I loved them. My current projects, aside running of Words Within The Walls, is to post, on a monthly basis, the information on all of the upcoming executions so that people who are also sympathetic to the cause can contact the condemned with their words of support, or make last minute appeals on behalf of the person to be executed. As well, I have just become affiliated with a non-profit organization called The Other Victims Advocacy (TOVA also has a Facebook page) which guides the family member of the accused through the criminal justice process. In case you are interested, I am a Paralegal, and additionally I have extensive, college level work in both Psychology and Criminal Justice. I am not a religious person, not in the traditional definition of “religious”. I like to use biblical quotes though, because so many of the people who judge these men claim to be followers of Jesus Christ and his teachings. Jesus, as I have come to understand, would not have judged these men in the way these so called “followers” have done. Therefore in closing I leave you with these words: “He who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone…” (St. John 8:7) “Therefore thou art inexcusable, oh man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for werein thou judest another, thou condensemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.” (Romans 2:1) And finally to those of you who DO make judgment without giving equal time and consideration to the other side and for those of you who support the death penalty… “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Deborah Kendrick Prisoner Rights Advocate Anti-Death Penalty Activist Pro-Male Activist wordswithinthewalls.webs theothervictimsadvocacy/
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 13:12:43 +0000
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