June 6, 2007

Dear Sis~
Today some guards from the Records Dept came and took a photograph of Emmett, a standard head shot type of photo the Dept of Corrections will release to the press following his execution seven days from now. This is the last thing they do before transporting the soon-to-be-dead prisoner to Greensville and I'm guessing Emmett will be taken away tomorrow. They used to take you to Greensville exactly 4 days prior to execution; that was the procedure for my first 7 years here, but lately they've kept us guessing; sometimes it's 8 days, more often it's been 6 or 5. Anyway, I spoke with Emmett out in the rec cages today, candidly discussing what's in store for him. These on-the-eve-of-execution conversations are never easy but Emmett is taking things well. He's still able to joke and smile, though he's acutely aware that there will be no reprive, that this is his final week on earth. Still, this must be a tough time for Emmett, alone in his cell, living in his own private slience, enduring his own solitude, knowing that each tray shoved in through the food slot marks another moment of his life drained away, that each sunrise streaming in through his little slot window moves him that much closer to his last one...
Well, that's enough morbid ruminating. I need to change the channel in my mind so I'm going to kick back, read a book and listen to some music.
Love, Bill