Dear Readers:
Today Gov Scott signed William's death warrant with an execution date of June 12th. Please see the Petition to the right of this post to sign it. We are working on many avenues and his attorneys are filing briefs for a stay of execution. Anything you can do to get the word out is greatly appreciated, as are your prayers. We are not giving up hope that Bill's sentence can be commuted to a life sentence.
Thank you very much.
Bill's sister, Lisa Van Poyck
Friday, May 03, 2013
Thursday, May 02, 2013
April 25, 2013
Dear Sis~
On April 10, Larry Mann was executed downstairs. Seven days later Governor Scott signed another death warrant, for a guy out of Orlando named Elmer Carroll, who happened to be my next door neighbor. We were out on the rec yard when a lieutenant holding a bunch of chains showed up and took Elmer away, and while they didn't tell him why they were taking him in I knew something was up. When I came back in, his cell was stripped and he was down on the bottom floor of Q-Wing on death watch. I didn't really know him; he only recently transferred in from the main D/R unit at UCI and we'd only exchanged an occasional nod or greeting. But I understand he's got an ugly case, the murder of a young girl, much like Larry Mann's case. The governor is wasting no time executing people, he's killing a guy every 60 days, as regular as a metronome. Still, that is insufficiently bloodthirsty for a majority of our state representatives. This morning I watched, on the local Public Television Channel, the floor debate in the House on a bill designed to "speed up the death penalty." Various politicians stood up to argue pro and con, and several invoked the Bible (notably the Old Testament) to justify killing us all as quickly as possible, while one guy repeatedly referred to all of us as "animals." I have not read the bill so all I know about its particulars is what I could glean from the comments made by those who spoke up for or against it. The bill contains a number of different measures not directly related to "speeding up" executions per se, but apparently it contains specific provisions designed to rapidly increase the rate of executions. One representative stated that if the bill becomes law (and it surely will) Florida "will execute between 13 and 90 prisoners in the next six months." I don't know if that's accurate but he must have had some basis to come up with those particular numbers. Those who argued against the bill, urging caution and reminding the crowd that Florida leads the nation (by far) in death row prisoners exonerated, often 10, 15, 20 years after conviction, were steamrolled down by the Republican supermajority and the bill passed by a wide margin. I assume it goes to the Senate next, where it will certainly pass, and will be signed into law by the governor. I'm trying to locate a copy of the bill so I can read it for myself (actually I should wait for the actual law that is eventually signed, because the Senate may amend the current bill in some respects) and when I do I'll bring you up to date. But right now things look dicey. I gotta tell you, listening to some of those representatives speaking in favor of the bill reminded me of the villagers with pitchforks charging Frankenstein's castle; the guys (and some gals) are literally clamoring for blood; to hear them talk you feel certain they'd love to come in here and kill us all personally, they have no qualms about killing as long as they can justify it to themselves. There was a lot of self-righteousness and hypocrisy in the air but they were too inflamed with bloodlust (and with their desire to be reelected) to smell it, or perceive the unseemliness of their eagerness to kill...
That's it for now, Sis. Give the doggies a tummy rub for me, and know that you are loved!
Bill
On April 10, Larry Mann was executed downstairs. Seven days later Governor Scott signed another death warrant, for a guy out of Orlando named Elmer Carroll, who happened to be my next door neighbor. We were out on the rec yard when a lieutenant holding a bunch of chains showed up and took Elmer away, and while they didn't tell him why they were taking him in I knew something was up. When I came back in, his cell was stripped and he was down on the bottom floor of Q-Wing on death watch. I didn't really know him; he only recently transferred in from the main D/R unit at UCI and we'd only exchanged an occasional nod or greeting. But I understand he's got an ugly case, the murder of a young girl, much like Larry Mann's case. The governor is wasting no time executing people, he's killing a guy every 60 days, as regular as a metronome. Still, that is insufficiently bloodthirsty for a majority of our state representatives. This morning I watched, on the local Public Television Channel, the floor debate in the House on a bill designed to "speed up the death penalty." Various politicians stood up to argue pro and con, and several invoked the Bible (notably the Old Testament) to justify killing us all as quickly as possible, while one guy repeatedly referred to all of us as "animals." I have not read the bill so all I know about its particulars is what I could glean from the comments made by those who spoke up for or against it. The bill contains a number of different measures not directly related to "speeding up" executions per se, but apparently it contains specific provisions designed to rapidly increase the rate of executions. One representative stated that if the bill becomes law (and it surely will) Florida "will execute between 13 and 90 prisoners in the next six months." I don't know if that's accurate but he must have had some basis to come up with those particular numbers. Those who argued against the bill, urging caution and reminding the crowd that Florida leads the nation (by far) in death row prisoners exonerated, often 10, 15, 20 years after conviction, were steamrolled down by the Republican supermajority and the bill passed by a wide margin. I assume it goes to the Senate next, where it will certainly pass, and will be signed into law by the governor. I'm trying to locate a copy of the bill so I can read it for myself (actually I should wait for the actual law that is eventually signed, because the Senate may amend the current bill in some respects) and when I do I'll bring you up to date. But right now things look dicey. I gotta tell you, listening to some of those representatives speaking in favor of the bill reminded me of the villagers with pitchforks charging Frankenstein's castle; the guys (and some gals) are literally clamoring for blood; to hear them talk you feel certain they'd love to come in here and kill us all personally, they have no qualms about killing as long as they can justify it to themselves. There was a lot of self-righteousness and hypocrisy in the air but they were too inflamed with bloodlust (and with their desire to be reelected) to smell it, or perceive the unseemliness of their eagerness to kill...
That's it for now, Sis. Give the doggies a tummy rub for me, and know that you are loved!
Bill
Monday, April 22, 2013
April 10,2013
Dear Sis~
The execution of Larry Mann occurred this evening as scheduled, making it the sixth execution under Gov Scott (it would be eighth, but two guys won stays of execution from the Federal courts and their cases have yet to be resolved). Meanwhile, the Evans Case is pending before the US Supreme Court, waiting to see if that court will grant certiorari review of the Ring v Arizona issue, which is the claim presented in Evans. The issue is whether Ring applies to Florida or, put another way, whether Florida's death penalty statue is unconstitutional pursuant to Ring. We've been waiting for 10 years for the US Supreme Court to address this claim and the Evans case presents the best opportunity yet given that, in Evans, a federal judge answered that question in the affirmative, ruling Florida's capital sentencing statute unconstitutional under the dictates of Ring. Arizona's death penalty statute is virtually identical to Florida's, almost word for word, and it's hard to imagine how the US Supreme Court could distinguish them if they accept the case. If the court agrees to take the case I fully expect them to strike down important aspects of Florida's capital statutory scheme, just as they did in Ring. And while the Supreme Court has previously held that Ring is not retroactive it will nonetheless have far-reaching ramifications for many of Florida's death row prisoners...
I was saddened to see that Annette Funicello died. Remember how you and I, at age 6 or 7, used to watch her on the Mickey Mouse Club, on our old black and white TV, back in the early 60's? We used to sing along to their song at the close of each episode, remember? Seeing her old black & white photo on the news, wearing her Mickey Mouse T-shirt and Mickey Mouse ears, really pulled me down the rabbit hole of nostalgia, flooding me with pleasant childhood memories, and there are way too few of those in my memory bank. Those were real days of innocence...
Speaking of old memories, I see someone has made a new movie called Kon-Tiki, based upon Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 sailing adventure, where he and about 5 other guys built a balsa wood raft in Peru and successfully sailed 4,500 miles across the Pacific (fighting sharks and storms) in order to prove his controversial theory that the Polynesian Islands were (or at least could have been) populated by ancient sailors from South America. As a kid I devoured his book, also called Kon-Tiki (which was the name of the raft), and of course I was lost in the grand adventure of it all; I dreamed of running off to South America, or some other exotic locale, to strike out and find my own excitement, to scratch that itch I always had, that ineffable urge to challenge boundaries and the status quo...
That's enough rambling for now, Sis. I'll write more soon.
Love,
Bill
The execution of Larry Mann occurred this evening as scheduled, making it the sixth execution under Gov Scott (it would be eighth, but two guys won stays of execution from the Federal courts and their cases have yet to be resolved). Meanwhile, the Evans Case is pending before the US Supreme Court, waiting to see if that court will grant certiorari review of the Ring v Arizona issue, which is the claim presented in Evans. The issue is whether Ring applies to Florida or, put another way, whether Florida's death penalty statue is unconstitutional pursuant to Ring. We've been waiting for 10 years for the US Supreme Court to address this claim and the Evans case presents the best opportunity yet given that, in Evans, a federal judge answered that question in the affirmative, ruling Florida's capital sentencing statute unconstitutional under the dictates of Ring. Arizona's death penalty statute is virtually identical to Florida's, almost word for word, and it's hard to imagine how the US Supreme Court could distinguish them if they accept the case. If the court agrees to take the case I fully expect them to strike down important aspects of Florida's capital statutory scheme, just as they did in Ring. And while the Supreme Court has previously held that Ring is not retroactive it will nonetheless have far-reaching ramifications for many of Florida's death row prisoners...
I was saddened to see that Annette Funicello died. Remember how you and I, at age 6 or 7, used to watch her on the Mickey Mouse Club, on our old black and white TV, back in the early 60's? We used to sing along to their song at the close of each episode, remember? Seeing her old black & white photo on the news, wearing her Mickey Mouse T-shirt and Mickey Mouse ears, really pulled me down the rabbit hole of nostalgia, flooding me with pleasant childhood memories, and there are way too few of those in my memory bank. Those were real days of innocence...
Speaking of old memories, I see someone has made a new movie called Kon-Tiki, based upon Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 sailing adventure, where he and about 5 other guys built a balsa wood raft in Peru and successfully sailed 4,500 miles across the Pacific (fighting sharks and storms) in order to prove his controversial theory that the Polynesian Islands were (or at least could have been) populated by ancient sailors from South America. As a kid I devoured his book, also called Kon-Tiki (which was the name of the raft), and of course I was lost in the grand adventure of it all; I dreamed of running off to South America, or some other exotic locale, to strike out and find my own excitement, to scratch that itch I always had, that ineffable urge to challenge boundaries and the status quo...
That's enough rambling for now, Sis. I'll write more soon.
Love,
Bill
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
March 9, 2013
Dear Sis~
On March 1, 2013, just three days after Paul Howell unexpectedly received his February 6th last minute stay of execution Gov. Scott, not letting any grass grow under his feet, signed another death warrant, setting an April 10 execution date for Larry Mann (well, technically the governor just signs a warrant authorizing an execution within a certain time frame, say between Feb 28th to April 15th, while the FSP warden sets the actual death date). I don't know Mann personally, though he's been on the row for 32 years. I know his case is out of Pinellas County (St. Petersburg and Clearwater) and the victim was a little girl, so it's a sad and tragic one. You know, I've spent four decades deeply immersed in legal work - long before I came to the row - and I commonly read, every week, all of the appellate decisions published in the Southern Reporters and Florida Law Weekly (also all the Federal equivalents) which includes all the capital appeals issued by the Florida Supreme Court. Consequently I've read and studied hundreds of death penalty decisions just from the Florida Supreme Court alone; these decisions describe, often in great detail, the events leading up to, through and following the homicide(s) in question. The ones involving child victims are, as you can imagine, the most difficult to digest, and it is not uncommon for me to cry over some of them, they can be so heartbreaking. I vividly recall reading one direct appeal decision, back in the 1980's (when I worked in the law library, here, before I came on the row), where a young mother was brutally murdered in her house over a period of time - an extended attack - and the entire episode was recorded because the woman had managed to dial 911 before dropping the phone. Consequently, the 911 operator listened to the entire attack (back then they lacked the technology to quickly discern the location of any 911 call) and the Supreme Court published the entire transcript as a part of its opinion. As I read the transcript - much screaming, yelling, praying, begging - and visualized the scene, it just became too much for me and I broke down, crying, then hurdled the book across my cell, cursing the person who did that horrible thing, and cursing a God who allowed it to happen. That incident is still indelibly burned into my mind. It's soul-searching cases like that which really challenge your opposition to the death penalty...
On a lighter note I caught two great PBS music shows (part of their regular fund-raising events) which I highly recommend to anyone. First was Andrea Borcelli (the great blind tenor) with Love in Portofino (Portofino is a small, picturesque fishing village in Italy; I was there in 1971). This program really showcases Borcelli's wide range and magnificent voice, no matter which genre he chooses to sing. His love and passion for music of all kinds really comes through here. He's a master! The second was Joe Bonamassa, the great blues guitarist. This show was completely acoustic and unforgettable. About a third of the way through the program Joe, on acoustic guitar, performed a tour de force piece which begins like a classical Spanish guitar riff and then morphs into an indescribable, wide-ranging, genre-busting extravaganza which is guaranteed (if you appreciate good music) to blow your mind. He gets a well-deserved standing ovation, and you'll be standing, too!
Just finished reading September Hope, by John C McManus, which very competently details the September 1944 Airborne invasion of Holland by American, British and Free Polish paratroopers. As you know, this is where Dad, then a Captain in the 82nd Airborne Division, lost his leg to a German mortar round. You'll be glad to know that Dad is mentioned and occasionally quoted, throughout the book. I was, however, a little surprised and dismayed to see me and my current situation mentioned in a footnote in the back (Chapter 15, note 5, page 485) where the author describes me as "a hardened criminal" currently on death row. I don't see myself as "a hardened criminal", but, being honest, I cannot fault an objective observer for describing me as such. That is certainly who I was, long ago...
That's it for now, Sis. Give yourself a hug for me!
Love,
Bill
On March 1, 2013, just three days after Paul Howell unexpectedly received his February 6th last minute stay of execution Gov. Scott, not letting any grass grow under his feet, signed another death warrant, setting an April 10 execution date for Larry Mann (well, technically the governor just signs a warrant authorizing an execution within a certain time frame, say between Feb 28th to April 15th, while the FSP warden sets the actual death date). I don't know Mann personally, though he's been on the row for 32 years. I know his case is out of Pinellas County (St. Petersburg and Clearwater) and the victim was a little girl, so it's a sad and tragic one. You know, I've spent four decades deeply immersed in legal work - long before I came to the row - and I commonly read, every week, all of the appellate decisions published in the Southern Reporters and Florida Law Weekly (also all the Federal equivalents) which includes all the capital appeals issued by the Florida Supreme Court. Consequently I've read and studied hundreds of death penalty decisions just from the Florida Supreme Court alone; these decisions describe, often in great detail, the events leading up to, through and following the homicide(s) in question. The ones involving child victims are, as you can imagine, the most difficult to digest, and it is not uncommon for me to cry over some of them, they can be so heartbreaking. I vividly recall reading one direct appeal decision, back in the 1980's (when I worked in the law library, here, before I came on the row), where a young mother was brutally murdered in her house over a period of time - an extended attack - and the entire episode was recorded because the woman had managed to dial 911 before dropping the phone. Consequently, the 911 operator listened to the entire attack (back then they lacked the technology to quickly discern the location of any 911 call) and the Supreme Court published the entire transcript as a part of its opinion. As I read the transcript - much screaming, yelling, praying, begging - and visualized the scene, it just became too much for me and I broke down, crying, then hurdled the book across my cell, cursing the person who did that horrible thing, and cursing a God who allowed it to happen. That incident is still indelibly burned into my mind. It's soul-searching cases like that which really challenge your opposition to the death penalty...
On a lighter note I caught two great PBS music shows (part of their regular fund-raising events) which I highly recommend to anyone. First was Andrea Borcelli (the great blind tenor) with Love in Portofino (Portofino is a small, picturesque fishing village in Italy; I was there in 1971). This program really showcases Borcelli's wide range and magnificent voice, no matter which genre he chooses to sing. His love and passion for music of all kinds really comes through here. He's a master! The second was Joe Bonamassa, the great blues guitarist. This show was completely acoustic and unforgettable. About a third of the way through the program Joe, on acoustic guitar, performed a tour de force piece which begins like a classical Spanish guitar riff and then morphs into an indescribable, wide-ranging, genre-busting extravaganza which is guaranteed (if you appreciate good music) to blow your mind. He gets a well-deserved standing ovation, and you'll be standing, too!
Just finished reading September Hope, by John C McManus, which very competently details the September 1944 Airborne invasion of Holland by American, British and Free Polish paratroopers. As you know, this is where Dad, then a Captain in the 82nd Airborne Division, lost his leg to a German mortar round. You'll be glad to know that Dad is mentioned and occasionally quoted, throughout the book. I was, however, a little surprised and dismayed to see me and my current situation mentioned in a footnote in the back (Chapter 15, note 5, page 485) where the author describes me as "a hardened criminal" currently on death row. I don't see myself as "a hardened criminal", but, being honest, I cannot fault an objective observer for describing me as such. That is certainly who I was, long ago...
That's it for now, Sis. Give yourself a hug for me!
Love,
Bill
Monday, March 04, 2013
February 27, 2013
Dear Sis~
My old pal Tom died on Friday, Feb 8th at 4:10 pm, alone in the clinic isolation cell at UCI. I hate that he died alone, locked in a tiny cell with no property (no radio, TV or anything to occupy his mind) and nobody to converse with, just laying on his bunk, staring at the ceiling, waiting for his final escape. His loved ones, who were able to travel from Texas and North Carolina to visit him for three hours just two days before he passed away wrote and told me that he was very weak and gaunt, could not keep down any food or liquids, but was lucid enough for a meaningful visit, though just barely so. Although I know his death was inevitable and imminent, I'm surprised at how much it has affected me. I've seen an awful lot of death during my many years in prison (way too much death, in all its myriad variations), including some friends, but Tom's has knocked the wind out of me. I still catch myself starting to call over to him when I read something interesting or see something on TV that would pique his interest, and I sometimes swear I hear his voice calling me. A part of me is happy for him because I know he's finally free, but I can't lie; I really miss him.
As you know, we had an execution scheduled for last night, a guy named Paul Howell, but some hours before his appointment with death the US Court of Appeals in Atlanta unexpectedly granted him an indefinite stay and ordered a briefing schedule to resolve his legal issue. Nowadays, last minute stays of execution are very rare (at least long-term indefinite stays are rare, as opposed to those brief stays that just keep you strapped to the gurney for an extra hour or two until the courts inevitably give you that final thumbs down). Later last night they moved Paul off death watch on Q-wing and put him in the lone empty cell on my floor. That's gotta be a Hell of a transition; you are hours away from execution, you've had your final visits (imagine how emotional that is), made your peace with the inevitable, perhaps eaten your last meal, then, in a finger snap, you're told you won't be dying after all (at least not that night) and you are back on a regular death row cell talking with the Fellas. I've seen a number of guys go through this over the years, one of whom was just twenty minutes from execution in the electric chair when he got his unexpected stay. They moved him next to me and I was startled to see that his hair had turned almost entirely white during the six weeks he was on death watch. He died quietly in his sleep from a heart attack about six years later, right here on this floor. Anyway, two of the last three guys whose death warrants have been signed by Governor Scott have received last minute stays of execution by the same Federal Appellate court and I'm wondering if this will give the Governor pause as far as signing any more warrants for awhile. We'll know soon enough...
That's it for now, Sis. Keep your chin up and stay out of mischief!
Love,
Bill
Thursday, February 14, 2013
February 14, 2013
February 14, 2013
Dear Sis~
For the past week this prison has been a beehive of activity with countless prisoners inducted to sweep, mop, scrub and paint the joint top to bottom in anticipation of the upcoming annual ACA (American Correctional Association) inspection (called "audits" in a vaguely Scientology lexicon). It sort of begs the question inasmuch as ACA inspections have become a sham. Back in the day ACA inspections actually meant something (if nothing else, we all ate well on inspection day)! The Association had a large measure of independence and was generally respected for its impartiality. Their standards were progressive and had teeth because their certification was coveted by prison systems eager to prove (to courts and those few lawmakers who actually cared) that they'd left the stone age and were treating prisoners like humans (or at least like mammals). But, over the last two decades, the ACA has been thoroughly infiltrated and taken over by a revolving door of correctional insiders (ex-wardens, ex-colonels, ex-Secretaries of Departments of Corrections) who moved in, started paying themselves huge salaries, and began spraining their wrists busily patting each others' backs in a self-congratulatory orgy. The standards have been substantially watered down and riddled with "exceptions" and exemptions and the inspections (with plenty of advance warning) have become rote routines. There's no drama with the certifications, which are virtually guaranteed for any prison willing to pay their fees. Now they just visit each Potemkin Village, walk a few hallways, visit a few carefully selected cells (but never talk to any actual prisoners), then rubber stamp their approval. Now it's akin to having the American Petroleum Institute award grades to Exxon-Mobil for its environmental policies or asking the National Rifle Association if it favors increased gun control legislation. The results are entirely predictable and equally meaningless. Hell, they don't even feed us a decent meal on inspection days anymore; they shovel out the same rotten slop we get every day, knowing the "Inspectors" couldn't care less...
If you get a chance to catch the PBS series Searching for Shakespeare, don't miss it. It's interesting on many levels and reminds me why he is the greatest wordsmith in the English language...
Ok, Sis, I'll wrap this up and post it so you can dig out of the latest blizzard.
Love,
Bill
Dear Sis~
For the past week this prison has been a beehive of activity with countless prisoners inducted to sweep, mop, scrub and paint the joint top to bottom in anticipation of the upcoming annual ACA (American Correctional Association) inspection (called "audits" in a vaguely Scientology lexicon). It sort of begs the question inasmuch as ACA inspections have become a sham. Back in the day ACA inspections actually meant something (if nothing else, we all ate well on inspection day)! The Association had a large measure of independence and was generally respected for its impartiality. Their standards were progressive and had teeth because their certification was coveted by prison systems eager to prove (to courts and those few lawmakers who actually cared) that they'd left the stone age and were treating prisoners like humans (or at least like mammals). But, over the last two decades, the ACA has been thoroughly infiltrated and taken over by a revolving door of correctional insiders (ex-wardens, ex-colonels, ex-Secretaries of Departments of Corrections) who moved in, started paying themselves huge salaries, and began spraining their wrists busily patting each others' backs in a self-congratulatory orgy. The standards have been substantially watered down and riddled with "exceptions" and exemptions and the inspections (with plenty of advance warning) have become rote routines. There's no drama with the certifications, which are virtually guaranteed for any prison willing to pay their fees. Now they just visit each Potemkin Village, walk a few hallways, visit a few carefully selected cells (but never talk to any actual prisoners), then rubber stamp their approval. Now it's akin to having the American Petroleum Institute award grades to Exxon-Mobil for its environmental policies or asking the National Rifle Association if it favors increased gun control legislation. The results are entirely predictable and equally meaningless. Hell, they don't even feed us a decent meal on inspection days anymore; they shovel out the same rotten slop we get every day, knowing the "Inspectors" couldn't care less...
If you get a chance to catch the PBS series Searching for Shakespeare, don't miss it. It's interesting on many levels and reminds me why he is the greatest wordsmith in the English language...
Ok, Sis, I'll wrap this up and post it so you can dig out of the latest blizzard.
Love,
Bill
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
February 27, 2013
Dear Sis~
On Monday my old friend Tom - just 4 months ago had a hale and hardy soul, now a mere envelope of cancer-gnawed flesh and bones - was removed from his cell by wheelchair, too weak to offer anything but meager protest, and transferred to the one place he dreaded going to, our notoriously filthy, blood spattered clinic holding cell, consigned to die in pain-soaked isolation. The image of him, barely able to croak a few words, weakly waving goodbye to me, his sunken, lingering eyes reflecting his recognition that he was going to his death, will forever be imprinted on my memory. I hate the idea that he'll die alone, surrounded by indifference and neglect. Tom was a unique character with a sharp, incisive mind and I already miss him. I confess that it is tiring to be surrounded by so much death - the dead and yet-to-be-dead - these past two decades, a struggle not be drenched in negativity, with precious little to mitigate my disappointments. Each day requires an act of will to wake up and set myself with a purpose, to believe this mortal life is more than just a play of shadows in a shadow box...
Speaking of which, a death row prisoner across the river at UCI committed suicide about 2 weeks ago (Carlos Delgado was his name), while 2 months ago a non-death row prisoner here hung himself. It's surprising to me that more prisoners here don't kill themselves given the long term extreme isolation and punitive conditions, the hopelessness that comes from being confined for years in a tiny cage with virtually no property and certainly no programs or anything to engage the mind or offer any shred of hope. I'm referring specifically to the 1,000 men in close management status here (close management being a euphemism for long-term solitary confinement lasting years and years). Death row conditions are marginally better; at least we get visits and we can buy a little TV or radio (or now an MP3 player), but the flip side is that we spend decades in these cells and unless you possess a stout mind (and body) this inevitably erodes your constitution, often without you even knowing it. I've seen too many men go insane, a sad and scary thing to behold, or just throw in the towel and kill themselves, or get the state to do it for them by giving up their appeals and demanding to be executed. The irony with Tom is that we often discussed, over the years, the extremely high percentage of D/R prisoners who die of cancer each year, more than 30 that I know of, and we half-jokingly wondered if there's something in the water here. Then in a blink of an eye Tom was struck by two - brain and lung cancers - and Tom's number was up. I wrote, as I promised I would, to Tom's people and told them what happened, that I don't expect him to live more than a few weeks at best, but I confided to one of his close friends (his closest, in fact) that a small part of me is happy for Tom because after 20+ years on death row and a lifetime spent behind bars he will soon be free...
I'll close with a quote, attributed to Brian Cox, given to me by a dear friend: "We are the cosmos made conscious and life is the means by which the universe understands itself." I believe that.
That's it for now, Sis. Give the doggies a scratch behind the ears for me.
Love,
Bill
On Monday my old friend Tom - just 4 months ago had a hale and hardy soul, now a mere envelope of cancer-gnawed flesh and bones - was removed from his cell by wheelchair, too weak to offer anything but meager protest, and transferred to the one place he dreaded going to, our notoriously filthy, blood spattered clinic holding cell, consigned to die in pain-soaked isolation. The image of him, barely able to croak a few words, weakly waving goodbye to me, his sunken, lingering eyes reflecting his recognition that he was going to his death, will forever be imprinted on my memory. I hate the idea that he'll die alone, surrounded by indifference and neglect. Tom was a unique character with a sharp, incisive mind and I already miss him. I confess that it is tiring to be surrounded by so much death - the dead and yet-to-be-dead - these past two decades, a struggle not be drenched in negativity, with precious little to mitigate my disappointments. Each day requires an act of will to wake up and set myself with a purpose, to believe this mortal life is more than just a play of shadows in a shadow box...
Speaking of which, a death row prisoner across the river at UCI committed suicide about 2 weeks ago (Carlos Delgado was his name), while 2 months ago a non-death row prisoner here hung himself. It's surprising to me that more prisoners here don't kill themselves given the long term extreme isolation and punitive conditions, the hopelessness that comes from being confined for years in a tiny cage with virtually no property and certainly no programs or anything to engage the mind or offer any shred of hope. I'm referring specifically to the 1,000 men in close management status here (close management being a euphemism for long-term solitary confinement lasting years and years). Death row conditions are marginally better; at least we get visits and we can buy a little TV or radio (or now an MP3 player), but the flip side is that we spend decades in these cells and unless you possess a stout mind (and body) this inevitably erodes your constitution, often without you even knowing it. I've seen too many men go insane, a sad and scary thing to behold, or just throw in the towel and kill themselves, or get the state to do it for them by giving up their appeals and demanding to be executed. The irony with Tom is that we often discussed, over the years, the extremely high percentage of D/R prisoners who die of cancer each year, more than 30 that I know of, and we half-jokingly wondered if there's something in the water here. Then in a blink of an eye Tom was struck by two - brain and lung cancers - and Tom's number was up. I wrote, as I promised I would, to Tom's people and told them what happened, that I don't expect him to live more than a few weeks at best, but I confided to one of his close friends (his closest, in fact) that a small part of me is happy for Tom because after 20+ years on death row and a lifetime spent behind bars he will soon be free...
I'll close with a quote, attributed to Brian Cox, given to me by a dear friend: "We are the cosmos made conscious and life is the means by which the universe understands itself." I believe that.
That's it for now, Sis. Give the doggies a scratch behind the ears for me.
Love,
Bill
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Jan 8, 2013
Dear Sis~
Another new year is upon us, but how much has really changed? I just read a disturbing article, including graphic photos, about the seemingly inevitable extinction of the African rhinoceros due to the relentless poaching pandemic engulfing Africa today. These magnificent creatures, like the equally majestic elephants, have survived millions of years, shrugging off the worst the natural world could throw at them, yet they are no match for the ignorance and greed of modern man. The slaughter of the rhinos is particularly senseless in that the desired product - their horns - are nothing more than compressed hair, a substance similar to fingernails, yet the wealthy buyers in the Asian markets, primarily China, ignorantly believe the ground up horns are aphrodisiacs. The level of stupidity is astounding and heartbreaking. The plains of Africa, including its best-known nature reserves, are littered with the butchered carcasses of these rhinos, shot dead, their horns brutally hacked off (sometimes while the rhino is still alive). This is not a new phenomenon; the battle has been going on for many years, but the poachers, heavily armed and driven by an economic model that values horns and ivory higher than gold, have inexorably gained the upper hand, and there now remain just a few thousand rhinos in the wild, a mere pittance of their former numbers. Courageous people are battling mightily to protect these beasts, but their future looks bleak. These grand animals, like their brethren the elephants, stand as a bitter rebuke to all of mankind, which has no right to extinct an entire species, to declare that such an animal will cease to exist forever more. This is a revealing statement on the nature of man, a commentary on what we value and what we, as a species, are willing to do to protect our own brethren here on Schoolhouse Earth. If we, collectively, cannot save the rhinos, elephants, polar bears and lions (yes, the African lion is now on the path to extinction in the wild), who are being consigned to history's ash heap solely by our actions, then we have abrogated any claim to stewardship over this planet and our own future here can rightfully be called into doubt. I say a pox on all of us if this is the way the future lays...
Well, so far, the governor has not signed any new death warrants (last year he signed his first death warrant of the year on January 2, 2012, wasting no time) but then it's only the eighth day of the new year. The urge to kill is strong in our blood, often more so in those who purport to be our leaders...
Enough editorializing for now, Sis. I'm gonna lay back and relax, take the afternoon off, chill, and listen to my little MP3 player (Ray Charles and the Count Basie Orchestra are on deck).
Love,
Bill
Another new year is upon us, but how much has really changed? I just read a disturbing article, including graphic photos, about the seemingly inevitable extinction of the African rhinoceros due to the relentless poaching pandemic engulfing Africa today. These magnificent creatures, like the equally majestic elephants, have survived millions of years, shrugging off the worst the natural world could throw at them, yet they are no match for the ignorance and greed of modern man. The slaughter of the rhinos is particularly senseless in that the desired product - their horns - are nothing more than compressed hair, a substance similar to fingernails, yet the wealthy buyers in the Asian markets, primarily China, ignorantly believe the ground up horns are aphrodisiacs. The level of stupidity is astounding and heartbreaking. The plains of Africa, including its best-known nature reserves, are littered with the butchered carcasses of these rhinos, shot dead, their horns brutally hacked off (sometimes while the rhino is still alive). This is not a new phenomenon; the battle has been going on for many years, but the poachers, heavily armed and driven by an economic model that values horns and ivory higher than gold, have inexorably gained the upper hand, and there now remain just a few thousand rhinos in the wild, a mere pittance of their former numbers. Courageous people are battling mightily to protect these beasts, but their future looks bleak. These grand animals, like their brethren the elephants, stand as a bitter rebuke to all of mankind, which has no right to extinct an entire species, to declare that such an animal will cease to exist forever more. This is a revealing statement on the nature of man, a commentary on what we value and what we, as a species, are willing to do to protect our own brethren here on Schoolhouse Earth. If we, collectively, cannot save the rhinos, elephants, polar bears and lions (yes, the African lion is now on the path to extinction in the wild), who are being consigned to history's ash heap solely by our actions, then we have abrogated any claim to stewardship over this planet and our own future here can rightfully be called into doubt. I say a pox on all of us if this is the way the future lays...
Well, so far, the governor has not signed any new death warrants (last year he signed his first death warrant of the year on January 2, 2012, wasting no time) but then it's only the eighth day of the new year. The urge to kill is strong in our blood, often more so in those who purport to be our leaders...
Enough editorializing for now, Sis. I'm gonna lay back and relax, take the afternoon off, chill, and listen to my little MP3 player (Ray Charles and the Count Basie Orchestra are on deck).
Love,
Bill
Monday, December 31, 2012
December 25, 2012
Dear Sis~
What a treat it was to visit with you on Christmas Day! My rare visits are my only real highlights of this otherwise spare existence, the only time - however briefly - I can put prison behind me, interact with free world people on an equal footing, almost as if I am free, sitting in a cafe discussing current events. Now I'm back in my cell where the Christ Spirit seems very far removed, hugging tight today's memories of our visit...
Last night on PBS I watched a great Christmas Special by Rod Stewart, Merry Christmas Baby, where he sang many of the classic Christmas songs, along with a few musical guests (like Ceelo Green), using a big band (lots of strings and horns) of fine musicians. I wouldn't normally associate Rod Stewart with Christmas songs, but he's the epitome of a real pro. The production values were top notch and Rod pulled it off with class and panache. By the way, on the subject of music, there's a new movie musical version of Les Misérables with Hugh Jackman and Russel Crowe which is getting good reviews. I read the book and saw an old version of the movie when I was a kid and I never forgot it; that's gotta be one of the best tales ever written, and besides being great entertainment it teaches some serious life lessons about the meaning of true justice, and the importance of compassion, understanding and forgiveness (not to mention common sense) when attempting to weigh a person's worth in the balance...
Well, you know that the execution took place as scheduled on December 11th, and I suspect Gov. Scott will sign another death warrant as soon as the new year gets ringed in (last year he signed his first warrant of 2012 on January 2nd). What a great way to start off your new year, huh? Deciding who to put to death. It's not something I could (or would) do, I know that...
On the subject of clemency, which we touched on during our visit, the last time a Florida governor granted clemency to anyone on death row was in 1983 or 1984. Nowadays very few governors have the political courage to grant clemency, to spare a life, despite the fact that there's no shortage of prisoners on the row who merit clemency. Ironically, history shows that in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's, governors - even in the deep south - freely exercised their powers of executive grace and granted clemency on a regular basis, without fear of being labeled "soft on crime". But nowadays most governors are scared to death to show mercy, afraid to be labeled soft on crime. Easier to just kill people off than to be merciful and risk any political kickback...
Ok, Sis, that's enough for now. It's time for me to hit the hay and get a good night's sleep. Be good and stay out of mischief!
Love,
Bill
Dear Sis~
What a treat it was to visit with you on Christmas Day! My rare visits are my only real highlights of this otherwise spare existence, the only time - however briefly - I can put prison behind me, interact with free world people on an equal footing, almost as if I am free, sitting in a cafe discussing current events. Now I'm back in my cell where the Christ Spirit seems very far removed, hugging tight today's memories of our visit...
Last night on PBS I watched a great Christmas Special by Rod Stewart, Merry Christmas Baby, where he sang many of the classic Christmas songs, along with a few musical guests (like Ceelo Green), using a big band (lots of strings and horns) of fine musicians. I wouldn't normally associate Rod Stewart with Christmas songs, but he's the epitome of a real pro. The production values were top notch and Rod pulled it off with class and panache. By the way, on the subject of music, there's a new movie musical version of Les Misérables with Hugh Jackman and Russel Crowe which is getting good reviews. I read the book and saw an old version of the movie when I was a kid and I never forgot it; that's gotta be one of the best tales ever written, and besides being great entertainment it teaches some serious life lessons about the meaning of true justice, and the importance of compassion, understanding and forgiveness (not to mention common sense) when attempting to weigh a person's worth in the balance...
Well, you know that the execution took place as scheduled on December 11th, and I suspect Gov. Scott will sign another death warrant as soon as the new year gets ringed in (last year he signed his first warrant of 2012 on January 2nd). What a great way to start off your new year, huh? Deciding who to put to death. It's not something I could (or would) do, I know that...
On the subject of clemency, which we touched on during our visit, the last time a Florida governor granted clemency to anyone on death row was in 1983 or 1984. Nowadays very few governors have the political courage to grant clemency, to spare a life, despite the fact that there's no shortage of prisoners on the row who merit clemency. Ironically, history shows that in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's, governors - even in the deep south - freely exercised their powers of executive grace and granted clemency on a regular basis, without fear of being labeled "soft on crime". But nowadays most governors are scared to death to show mercy, afraid to be labeled soft on crime. Easier to just kill people off than to be merciful and risk any political kickback...
Ok, Sis, that's enough for now. It's time for me to hit the hay and get a good night's sleep. Be good and stay out of mischief!
Love,
Bill
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Dec 10, 2012
Dear Sis~
We have another execution scheduled for tomorrow, which makes for a somber atmosphere here, at least for me. A surprisingly large percentage of these guys appear totally unaffected by the fact that one of their own is being put to death just 100 feet away. By habit, I meditate for the hour straddling the execution, which here in Florida is routinely scheduled for 6pm, and I've always gotta screen out the laughter of guys watching some sitcom, or other inane conversation going on. Some of these guys are actually unaware that an execution is occurring which shows you how clued in they are. Talk about lack of situational awareness! That aside, I'm wondering what a governor is thinking when he deliberately chooses to execute someone just before Christmas? He could have picked any date, but he chose this time. On the other hand, my trial judge picked Dec 22nd to sentence me to death. That was my Christmas gift...
At any rate, I'm not dwelling on the death and deprivation inhabiting this dump; at Christmas tie I'd like to focus on the good and positive things in my life - like the people who love and care about me - to remember what I have going for me instead of what is against me. When I look around me, and around the world in general, I consider myself blessed. Keeping things in perspective helps maintain the sanity and keeps bitterness and self-pity from infecting the heart...
Give yourself a big Christmas hug for me, Sis, and know that you are loved!
Light & Love,
Bill
Dear Sis~
We have another execution scheduled for tomorrow, which makes for a somber atmosphere here, at least for me. A surprisingly large percentage of these guys appear totally unaffected by the fact that one of their own is being put to death just 100 feet away. By habit, I meditate for the hour straddling the execution, which here in Florida is routinely scheduled for 6pm, and I've always gotta screen out the laughter of guys watching some sitcom, or other inane conversation going on. Some of these guys are actually unaware that an execution is occurring which shows you how clued in they are. Talk about lack of situational awareness! That aside, I'm wondering what a governor is thinking when he deliberately chooses to execute someone just before Christmas? He could have picked any date, but he chose this time. On the other hand, my trial judge picked Dec 22nd to sentence me to death. That was my Christmas gift...
At any rate, I'm not dwelling on the death and deprivation inhabiting this dump; at Christmas tie I'd like to focus on the good and positive things in my life - like the people who love and care about me - to remember what I have going for me instead of what is against me. When I look around me, and around the world in general, I consider myself blessed. Keeping things in perspective helps maintain the sanity and keeps bitterness and self-pity from infecting the heart...
Give yourself a big Christmas hug for me, Sis, and know that you are loved!
Light & Love,
Bill
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
November 8, 2012
Dear Sis ~
Well, apparently Governor Scott became frustrated with his inability to kill John Ferguson because last week he signed another death warrant, this time for Manny Pardo, an ex-policeman from Miami who, back in the 80's, killed at least 9 people over a period of time, later donning the Vigilante mantle, claiming they were all drug dealers and he was doing the citizenry a favor by ridding society of its dregs. Less valiant was the fact that he kept all the money, drugs and jewelry he robbed from them. Manny is scheduled to die on December 11th, just in time for Christmas...
Speaking of Ferguson, I don't recall if I told you what happened? He got a series of temporary stays from ever-higher courts until finally the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Atlanta, ordered a stay (which, I believe, was approved by the US Supreme Court) in order to resolve the issue of his sanity to be executed. Ferguson has been on the row for over 34 years and guys who know him ('cuz I don't) tell me he's been crazy for decades, which is why previous governors did not sign his death warrant earlier. I guess Scott wanted to test that theory, or else he's getting poor legal advice...
Another death row guy has died of cancer. I ran into Michael Bruno (whom I've known for over 20 years) in late July when I took a day trip to RMC (Regional Medical Center) for my upper GI tests. Bruno looked weak and had a persistent cough (the same cough Tom now has) and he'd just been diagnosed with lung cancer, with several spots on his lung X-Rays. Soon after he began radiation and chemo treatments; Tom saw him almost every day once Tom began his chemo and radiation regimen and Tom reported Bruno's condition to me each day. He seemed to be doing pretty well, but on Friday, October 19th, he suddenly got ill and two days later he was dead. The cause of death, we were told, was septic shock, and I'm guessing the infection found its way into his system via the "port" they'd inserted into his chest to funnel the chemo directly into his lung. Prisons are filthy so putting a port into a guy's chest while making him live in a cell is pretty much a prescription for disaster. This is especially true here in Florida where the DOC long ago quit issuing and buying (we used to manufacture them) the various cleaning chemicals we used to use to clean our cells and the whole prison, from powdered soap, liquid soap, disinfectants, bleach; all that is gone now and we must buy and use shampoo from the canteen to wash our clothes and clean our cells. This whole decrepit building is filthy and falling apart...
I watched Runaway Train on TV again, a good movie based on an Eddie Bunker novel (Bunker served time in San Quentin) starring John Voight, Eric Roberts and a young, fresh-faced Rebecca De Mornay. The movie begins with a very accurate depiction of an old-school penitentiary; FSP was just like that (as was the Rock) back in the day. I can relate to the movie and the character played by Voight...
Nothing else to report from the Big House! Give yourself a hug for me.
Love,
Bill
Well, apparently Governor Scott became frustrated with his inability to kill John Ferguson because last week he signed another death warrant, this time for Manny Pardo, an ex-policeman from Miami who, back in the 80's, killed at least 9 people over a period of time, later donning the Vigilante mantle, claiming they were all drug dealers and he was doing the citizenry a favor by ridding society of its dregs. Less valiant was the fact that he kept all the money, drugs and jewelry he robbed from them. Manny is scheduled to die on December 11th, just in time for Christmas...
Speaking of Ferguson, I don't recall if I told you what happened? He got a series of temporary stays from ever-higher courts until finally the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Atlanta, ordered a stay (which, I believe, was approved by the US Supreme Court) in order to resolve the issue of his sanity to be executed. Ferguson has been on the row for over 34 years and guys who know him ('cuz I don't) tell me he's been crazy for decades, which is why previous governors did not sign his death warrant earlier. I guess Scott wanted to test that theory, or else he's getting poor legal advice...
Another death row guy has died of cancer. I ran into Michael Bruno (whom I've known for over 20 years) in late July when I took a day trip to RMC (Regional Medical Center) for my upper GI tests. Bruno looked weak and had a persistent cough (the same cough Tom now has) and he'd just been diagnosed with lung cancer, with several spots on his lung X-Rays. Soon after he began radiation and chemo treatments; Tom saw him almost every day once Tom began his chemo and radiation regimen and Tom reported Bruno's condition to me each day. He seemed to be doing pretty well, but on Friday, October 19th, he suddenly got ill and two days later he was dead. The cause of death, we were told, was septic shock, and I'm guessing the infection found its way into his system via the "port" they'd inserted into his chest to funnel the chemo directly into his lung. Prisons are filthy so putting a port into a guy's chest while making him live in a cell is pretty much a prescription for disaster. This is especially true here in Florida where the DOC long ago quit issuing and buying (we used to manufacture them) the various cleaning chemicals we used to use to clean our cells and the whole prison, from powdered soap, liquid soap, disinfectants, bleach; all that is gone now and we must buy and use shampoo from the canteen to wash our clothes and clean our cells. This whole decrepit building is filthy and falling apart...
I watched Runaway Train on TV again, a good movie based on an Eddie Bunker novel (Bunker served time in San Quentin) starring John Voight, Eric Roberts and a young, fresh-faced Rebecca De Mornay. The movie begins with a very accurate depiction of an old-school penitentiary; FSP was just like that (as was the Rock) back in the day. I can relate to the movie and the character played by Voight...
Nothing else to report from the Big House! Give yourself a hug for me.
Love,
Bill
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
October 25, 2012
Dear Sis~
Well, the execution has been cancelled, to the dismay of some around here. Ferguson was scheduled to die on the 16th, but just before then he got a 48-hour stay. Over the next week he got three such temporary stays from three different courts, with the sole issue being his sanity to be executed. Finally, it was supposed to happen for sure 2 days ago, on the 23rd, and we woke up to the standard execution-day procedures, eating all three meals very early, the entire prison being on lockdown, and all guards wearing their dress uniforms. As execution time (6:00 pm) neared the old white hearse pulled up outside the back sally port gate waiting to come in and pick up the body. As 6:00 came and went I assumed the execution had occurred but around 7:30 a guy on the other side of my wing, which looks out on the back gate and the rear of Q-wing (the death house), called me through the vent and said the hearse never came in, but instead had finally driven off. On the 11:00 news it was reported that the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Atlanta, had given Ferguson a stay of execution and that the US Supreme Court then approved the stay. (The accuracy of that precise chronology is debatable because reporters are notorious for mangling stories involving court decisions). At any rate, he got some kind of stay; how long that stay is remains unknown to me. I heard on one news report that the Eleventh Circuit granted the stay in order to decide "whether it is unconstitutional to execute the insane," which is an issue firmly settled by the US Supreme Court long ago in Ford v Wainwright. If that's an accurate statement (a big "IF") it indicates the Eleventh Circuit may be trying to find a way to undermine or circumvent Ford, a way to go ahead and execute insane prisoners. Any such ruling would toss the issue back to the Supreme Court, giving them an opportunity to recede from Ford if they so choose. Also on the 11:00 news was the results of their earlier poll question: "Should insane prisoners be executed?" Not surprisingly, 59% of the good citizens of Jacksonville answered in the affirmative. ("Yeah, that's right, let's kill all those crazy bastards!") Now we go back on lottery watch, waiting to see whose death warrant the governor signs next, which is a great mood elevator for the upcoming holidays...
Last night's mail brought me (and others) a notice that the mailroom had impounded and confiscated the latest issue of Newsweek because, the notice stated, it contained an article about "pot use in America." Censorship like this, which implies serious First Amendment principles, used to be, and is supposed to be, rare. Only when an article clearly and unequivocally creates a substantial threat to the security of a prison should it be censored. But, over the years, the Florida DOC has gotten progressively petty (and ignorant) on this issue (since the law now practically forbids prisoners from filing law suits anymore) until we've reached our present state where these impoundments have become almost daily and for the most absurd reasons imaginable. If I told you the reasons given for some of these censorships you would first laugh and then call me a liar. The main problem in the Florida DOC is their ill-thought-out policy where if I any peon in any mailroom in any prison in Florida (and we have well over 100 prisons and institutions) decides that something they see in an incoming magazine or newspaper is objectionable to them, a notice immediately goes out to all the prisons and they must all, immediately, seize and confiscate all those incoming magazines or newspapers. So, we are at the mercy of the dumbest, most ignorant or biased mailroom employee in the state; their opinion spreads through the DOC like rings in a pond when a pebble is thrown in. As a result, you get things like their impoundment of this month's Esquire because it "shows sexual activity." (Any Esquire subscriber knows it does not contain "sexual activity") or the impoundment of my Field and Stream for a little story on how a person lost in the wilderness can "start a fire from tree bark." (the prison declared this a security threat for teaching us how to commit arson). When the prisons go to seizing mainstream magazines like Newsweek for having articles about "pot use in America" you know the mental patients are in charge of the asylum. (Whoa! News Alert! People in America smoke pot! What a security threat!) No court in America would sanction this blatantly unconstitutional censorship but nowadays, with nothing to keep them in check (lawsuit-wise) the prisons do just whatever the hell they want to, knowing they are immune from challenge...
Well, Sis, that's all the news from here for now. Hopefully, I'll enjoy a quiet holiday season, which is about the most, and best, I can hope for.
Love, Bill
Dear Sis~
Well, the execution has been cancelled, to the dismay of some around here. Ferguson was scheduled to die on the 16th, but just before then he got a 48-hour stay. Over the next week he got three such temporary stays from three different courts, with the sole issue being his sanity to be executed. Finally, it was supposed to happen for sure 2 days ago, on the 23rd, and we woke up to the standard execution-day procedures, eating all three meals very early, the entire prison being on lockdown, and all guards wearing their dress uniforms. As execution time (6:00 pm) neared the old white hearse pulled up outside the back sally port gate waiting to come in and pick up the body. As 6:00 came and went I assumed the execution had occurred but around 7:30 a guy on the other side of my wing, which looks out on the back gate and the rear of Q-wing (the death house), called me through the vent and said the hearse never came in, but instead had finally driven off. On the 11:00 news it was reported that the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Atlanta, had given Ferguson a stay of execution and that the US Supreme Court then approved the stay. (The accuracy of that precise chronology is debatable because reporters are notorious for mangling stories involving court decisions). At any rate, he got some kind of stay; how long that stay is remains unknown to me. I heard on one news report that the Eleventh Circuit granted the stay in order to decide "whether it is unconstitutional to execute the insane," which is an issue firmly settled by the US Supreme Court long ago in Ford v Wainwright. If that's an accurate statement (a big "IF") it indicates the Eleventh Circuit may be trying to find a way to undermine or circumvent Ford, a way to go ahead and execute insane prisoners. Any such ruling would toss the issue back to the Supreme Court, giving them an opportunity to recede from Ford if they so choose. Also on the 11:00 news was the results of their earlier poll question: "Should insane prisoners be executed?" Not surprisingly, 59% of the good citizens of Jacksonville answered in the affirmative. ("Yeah, that's right, let's kill all those crazy bastards!") Now we go back on lottery watch, waiting to see whose death warrant the governor signs next, which is a great mood elevator for the upcoming holidays...
Last night's mail brought me (and others) a notice that the mailroom had impounded and confiscated the latest issue of Newsweek because, the notice stated, it contained an article about "pot use in America." Censorship like this, which implies serious First Amendment principles, used to be, and is supposed to be, rare. Only when an article clearly and unequivocally creates a substantial threat to the security of a prison should it be censored. But, over the years, the Florida DOC has gotten progressively petty (and ignorant) on this issue (since the law now practically forbids prisoners from filing law suits anymore) until we've reached our present state where these impoundments have become almost daily and for the most absurd reasons imaginable. If I told you the reasons given for some of these censorships you would first laugh and then call me a liar. The main problem in the Florida DOC is their ill-thought-out policy where if I any peon in any mailroom in any prison in Florida (and we have well over 100 prisons and institutions) decides that something they see in an incoming magazine or newspaper is objectionable to them, a notice immediately goes out to all the prisons and they must all, immediately, seize and confiscate all those incoming magazines or newspapers. So, we are at the mercy of the dumbest, most ignorant or biased mailroom employee in the state; their opinion spreads through the DOC like rings in a pond when a pebble is thrown in. As a result, you get things like their impoundment of this month's Esquire because it "shows sexual activity." (Any Esquire subscriber knows it does not contain "sexual activity") or the impoundment of my Field and Stream for a little story on how a person lost in the wilderness can "start a fire from tree bark." (the prison declared this a security threat for teaching us how to commit arson). When the prisons go to seizing mainstream magazines like Newsweek for having articles about "pot use in America" you know the mental patients are in charge of the asylum. (Whoa! News Alert! People in America smoke pot! What a security threat!) No court in America would sanction this blatantly unconstitutional censorship but nowadays, with nothing to keep them in check (lawsuit-wise) the prisons do just whatever the hell they want to, knowing they are immune from challenge...
Well, Sis, that's all the news from here for now. Hopefully, I'll enjoy a quiet holiday season, which is about the most, and best, I can hope for.
Love, Bill
Thursday, October 11, 2012
October 2, 2012
Dear Sis~
Last week Gov. Scott issued a temporary stay of execution for John Ferguson, the Miami native who was scheduled to die on Oct. 16th. The purpose is so that doctors can examine him and assess his sanity. As I'd speculated in a previous letter this guy has a long history of mental illness which is one reason why he's been on death row for 34 years. My understanding is that previous governors, being aware of his mental issues, bypassed him when deciding whose death warrant to sign. At any rate being insane as a factual or medical matter, as opposed to a legal matter, does not guarantee he'll be spared. You can be 100% Looney Tunes from a medical perspective and still be declared legally sane because they involve different standards. More importantly it will be Simon simple for the state to find a doctor or two who will declare him sane no matter how profound his psychosis. The state keeps on call a large battery of quack psychiatrists (their "expert witnesses") who will testify very predictably (and profitably) in the state's favor. Here's the really peculiar thing, in my opinion. The whole reason behind not executing a crazy person is the idea that it is "inhumane" to kill someone who is not aware of why he is being put to death. Think about that. Yeah, it's O.K. to cold-bloodedly and premeditatedly kill people, but only if they know why they're being killed. In other words, the "bad" part is not the actual killing, it's the possibility that the about-to-be-killed guy may not grasp why he's being killed. ("We want this guy to know why we're killing him!!!) Is it just me or does this seem like an odd arrangement of priorities? This is the kind of twisted reasoning you end up with here, where logic dives down the rabbit hole, when you try to parse the justifications for executing your fellow citizens...
Here's an update on my friend Tom. When I last wrote he'd been taken away in an ambulance on the night of Sept. 11th after spending 14 or 15 post-seizure days futilely trying to convince the medical staff here that he was dying. Well, within hours of arriving at Shands Hospital in Gainesville surgeons performed emergency brain surgery and removed a golf ball-sized tumor which proved to be cancerous. An MRI also revealed a "large mass" in his chest which was also determined to be cancerous. Just 18 hours after his brain surgery prison officials (over the surgeon's objections) removed Tom from the hospital and returned him here to his cell. I stuck my mirror out, upon hearing the door roll, and saw Tom, a big bandage on his head, tottering slowly and unsteadily down the tier to his cell. That was on the 13th. For the next 5 days he laid on his bunk, often moaning, while receiving no medication at all (despite the surgeons having prescribed many drugs). Finally, after 5 days he began getting some, but not all, of the prescribed meds (no pain meds, of course). Importantly, he did not get the most crucial one, the one to stop his brain from swelling. So he was suffering mightily until just 5 or 6 days ago when he finally saw a free-world oncologist who was shocked that he was not getting the brain swelling medication. After another 3 days he finally began getting that one and he told me the relief was immediate. I knew it was bad when he kept telling me he had fluid coming out of his ears. He's been told he'll get chemo and radiation treatment but that remains to be seen. If the prison has their way he'll get nothing. (It kills me to read or hear about citizens crying about all the "great, free medical care" prisoners get. They are so clueless about what really goes on in prisons and about the criminally negligent medical personnel who commonly work in jails and prisons, many of whom have been barred from treating free-world patients, but who get to work in prisons under special laws that permit such). The only reason Tom is alive is because he managed to get to a real hospital, out of the grasp of FSP's quacks...
Dear Sis~
Last week Gov. Scott issued a temporary stay of execution for John Ferguson, the Miami native who was scheduled to die on Oct. 16th. The purpose is so that doctors can examine him and assess his sanity. As I'd speculated in a previous letter this guy has a long history of mental illness which is one reason why he's been on death row for 34 years. My understanding is that previous governors, being aware of his mental issues, bypassed him when deciding whose death warrant to sign. At any rate being insane as a factual or medical matter, as opposed to a legal matter, does not guarantee he'll be spared. You can be 100% Looney Tunes from a medical perspective and still be declared legally sane because they involve different standards. More importantly it will be Simon simple for the state to find a doctor or two who will declare him sane no matter how profound his psychosis. The state keeps on call a large battery of quack psychiatrists (their "expert witnesses") who will testify very predictably (and profitably) in the state's favor. Here's the really peculiar thing, in my opinion. The whole reason behind not executing a crazy person is the idea that it is "inhumane" to kill someone who is not aware of why he is being put to death. Think about that. Yeah, it's O.K. to cold-bloodedly and premeditatedly kill people, but only if they know why they're being killed. In other words, the "bad" part is not the actual killing, it's the possibility that the about-to-be-killed guy may not grasp why he's being killed. ("We want this guy to know why we're killing him!!!) Is it just me or does this seem like an odd arrangement of priorities? This is the kind of twisted reasoning you end up with here, where logic dives down the rabbit hole, when you try to parse the justifications for executing your fellow citizens...
Here's an update on my friend Tom. When I last wrote he'd been taken away in an ambulance on the night of Sept. 11th after spending 14 or 15 post-seizure days futilely trying to convince the medical staff here that he was dying. Well, within hours of arriving at Shands Hospital in Gainesville surgeons performed emergency brain surgery and removed a golf ball-sized tumor which proved to be cancerous. An MRI also revealed a "large mass" in his chest which was also determined to be cancerous. Just 18 hours after his brain surgery prison officials (over the surgeon's objections) removed Tom from the hospital and returned him here to his cell. I stuck my mirror out, upon hearing the door roll, and saw Tom, a big bandage on his head, tottering slowly and unsteadily down the tier to his cell. That was on the 13th. For the next 5 days he laid on his bunk, often moaning, while receiving no medication at all (despite the surgeons having prescribed many drugs). Finally, after 5 days he began getting some, but not all, of the prescribed meds (no pain meds, of course). Importantly, he did not get the most crucial one, the one to stop his brain from swelling. So he was suffering mightily until just 5 or 6 days ago when he finally saw a free-world oncologist who was shocked that he was not getting the brain swelling medication. After another 3 days he finally began getting that one and he told me the relief was immediate. I knew it was bad when he kept telling me he had fluid coming out of his ears. He's been told he'll get chemo and radiation treatment but that remains to be seen. If the prison has their way he'll get nothing. (It kills me to read or hear about citizens crying about all the "great, free medical care" prisoners get. They are so clueless about what really goes on in prisons and about the criminally negligent medical personnel who commonly work in jails and prisons, many of whom have been barred from treating free-world patients, but who get to work in prisons under special laws that permit such). The only reason Tom is alive is because he managed to get to a real hospital, out of the grasp of FSP's quacks...
Ok, Sis, that's the news from here - some of it anyway - so I'll post this now and hit the hay. Give yourself a big hug from me!
Love,
Bill
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Sept 13, 2012
Dear Sis~
Here's a snapshot of the type of medical care we get here. In the early morning hours of August 30, my friend Tom, who lived 2 cells down from me groggily awoke to find his face and pillow covered in blood and his tongue bitten about half off. He had no memory of what occurred. That morning his speech was slurred (over and above his extreme difficulty in speaking with a then-swollen, bloody tongue) and I noticed his thinking was confused. I told him he'd most likely had a seizure in his sleep (he has no history of seizures) and that because he was on high cholesterol medication he may have had a small stroke. Over the following days Tom suffered progressively severe headaches almost constantly and began sleeping excessively. His speech became increasingly slurred and his mental faculties were clearly compromised. I, and others, constantly urged Tom to try to get up to the clinic to see a doctor (even though the two doctors here are notorious quacks) and so he began trying to stop any passing nurses (who go down our row to deliver medications to some) to explain his situation, but none of them were interested. Most just said "put in a sick call slip." At my urging Tom declared a "medical emergency" which is supposed to get you right up to the clinic. But instead, a nurse came to the wing, briefly examined Tom's swollen (and now infected) tongue, gave him two Tylenol and told him he was just "out of luck" since no doctor was on duty on a Saturday night.
Meanwhile, day by day, Tom got worse. He knew something was wrong with him but seemed unable to figure out what to do. I wrote up a sick call slip for him (by this time his handwriting was illegible and he could not put his thoughts together) and the next day a "nurse" or M.T. (medical technician) came to "examine" him. He listened as Tom labored to explain what happened, starting with the seizure, then told Tom "Well, some people do this [bite their tongues almost in half] to get attention." The M.T. then walked away. By this time about 8-9 days had gone by. On Sept 6 Tom went to the clinic for his "dental request" because he'd also broken some teeth. Pursuant to this prison's recently enacted policy he was forced to lay on his back, reclined, in the dentist's chair for two hours with his hands handcuffed behind his back with the "black box" on (a very painful device which locks your hands rigidly in place in the handcuffs). The dentist fixed one of his 6 broken teeth and prescribed a "rinse twice-a-day for his lacerated, infected tongue, but refused to help him see a doctor (who was just 20 feet away) to treat the real problem, the symptoms following his unexplained seizure. When Tom returned to his cell his extreme distress was evident and when the 'cuffs were removed and he tried to move his arms in front of him he found one of his shoulders was dislocated. His wrists were red, swollen and completely numb. Somehow he managed to pop his shoulder back in place.
At this point I began writing grievances for him, grieving the medical department's refusal to let him see a doctor. I submitted another sick call form for him, and when the nurse or M.T. (we don't know who is a nurse and who is an M.T.) came to see him the next day he told Tom he had to submit a third sick call form before he could see a doctor (this is the medical department's recently enacted policy, requiring all prisoners to submit three (3) separate sick call forms (costing us $5.00 each time; we must pay a $5.00 co-payment every time we submit a sick call form) before we can actually see a doctor (this effectively triples the mandatory co-payment, from $5.00 to $15.00).
By this time all of us prisoners knew Tom was seriously messed up and was deteriorating daily; the headaches were driving him nuts and his thinking was labored and scattered. His speech was almost unintelligible. I felt that he was dying. All the wing officers knew he was messed up, and Tom desperately tried to explain his situation to any passing nurse or M.T., begging for help, to no avail. Everyone just ignored his pleas for help. It was painful for me to watch this unfold. Finally, two nights ago, on Tuesday September 11 at 7:40pm I heard Tom collapse in his cell. Tom called out to me, very weakly, for help. I immediately began yelling and banging for the wing sergeant, screaming "man down" and "medical emergency." When the sergeant came he immediately saw how serious it was and he called the clinic to bring a wheelchair. After 20 minutes of trying to coax a disabled Tom into stripping (for the obligatory strip search) and to climb on his bunk, face the wall, and put his hands behind his back, the officers finally entered his cell and handcuffed and shackled him. They put Tom in a wheelchair and took him to the clinic. By this time it was past 8:00. Around 10:15 a freeworld ambulance came through the back gate, then departed, lights flashing, taking Tom to a hospital in Gainesville or Jacksonville (we heard differing reports). I sat down and wrote to Tom's people, and one of his lawyers, telling them what had happened. The next day (yesterday) I was reliably informed that Tom was at that moment undergoing brain surgery. Clearly, he'd had a stroke or aneurysm of some sort, perhaps a series of them, and his life was hanging in the balance. What I know for certain was that he spent 13 days in his cell begging everyone in the medical department for help, a man clearly in need of immediate medical attention, and nobody would give him the time of day. Had he simply been able to see a doctor after his initial seizure (which was a classic warning sign) all the rest could have been avoided. As it is I don't know if Tom is alive, or will survive, or will ever be the person he once was, physically or mentally. He may be a vegetable for all I know. This type of treatment is typical here at F.S.P and this is why I always tell you how thankful I am for my good health, because if you get seriously sick in a Florida prison, and especially this one, you will probably just die. Nobody here gives a damn, especially those working in the medical department. (It takes awhile to stop being shocked at seeing doctors and nurses who are absolutely indifferent to a prisoner's serious medical problems. I stopped being shocked decades ago after seeing too many friends left to die alone in their cells)...
Light & Love,
Bill
Here's a snapshot of the type of medical care we get here. In the early morning hours of August 30, my friend Tom, who lived 2 cells down from me groggily awoke to find his face and pillow covered in blood and his tongue bitten about half off. He had no memory of what occurred. That morning his speech was slurred (over and above his extreme difficulty in speaking with a then-swollen, bloody tongue) and I noticed his thinking was confused. I told him he'd most likely had a seizure in his sleep (he has no history of seizures) and that because he was on high cholesterol medication he may have had a small stroke. Over the following days Tom suffered progressively severe headaches almost constantly and began sleeping excessively. His speech became increasingly slurred and his mental faculties were clearly compromised. I, and others, constantly urged Tom to try to get up to the clinic to see a doctor (even though the two doctors here are notorious quacks) and so he began trying to stop any passing nurses (who go down our row to deliver medications to some) to explain his situation, but none of them were interested. Most just said "put in a sick call slip." At my urging Tom declared a "medical emergency" which is supposed to get you right up to the clinic. But instead, a nurse came to the wing, briefly examined Tom's swollen (and now infected) tongue, gave him two Tylenol and told him he was just "out of luck" since no doctor was on duty on a Saturday night.
Meanwhile, day by day, Tom got worse. He knew something was wrong with him but seemed unable to figure out what to do. I wrote up a sick call slip for him (by this time his handwriting was illegible and he could not put his thoughts together) and the next day a "nurse" or M.T. (medical technician) came to "examine" him. He listened as Tom labored to explain what happened, starting with the seizure, then told Tom "Well, some people do this [bite their tongues almost in half] to get attention." The M.T. then walked away. By this time about 8-9 days had gone by. On Sept 6 Tom went to the clinic for his "dental request" because he'd also broken some teeth. Pursuant to this prison's recently enacted policy he was forced to lay on his back, reclined, in the dentist's chair for two hours with his hands handcuffed behind his back with the "black box" on (a very painful device which locks your hands rigidly in place in the handcuffs). The dentist fixed one of his 6 broken teeth and prescribed a "rinse twice-a-day for his lacerated, infected tongue, but refused to help him see a doctor (who was just 20 feet away) to treat the real problem, the symptoms following his unexplained seizure. When Tom returned to his cell his extreme distress was evident and when the 'cuffs were removed and he tried to move his arms in front of him he found one of his shoulders was dislocated. His wrists were red, swollen and completely numb. Somehow he managed to pop his shoulder back in place.
At this point I began writing grievances for him, grieving the medical department's refusal to let him see a doctor. I submitted another sick call form for him, and when the nurse or M.T. (we don't know who is a nurse and who is an M.T.) came to see him the next day he told Tom he had to submit a third sick call form before he could see a doctor (this is the medical department's recently enacted policy, requiring all prisoners to submit three (3) separate sick call forms (costing us $5.00 each time; we must pay a $5.00 co-payment every time we submit a sick call form) before we can actually see a doctor (this effectively triples the mandatory co-payment, from $5.00 to $15.00).
By this time all of us prisoners knew Tom was seriously messed up and was deteriorating daily; the headaches were driving him nuts and his thinking was labored and scattered. His speech was almost unintelligible. I felt that he was dying. All the wing officers knew he was messed up, and Tom desperately tried to explain his situation to any passing nurse or M.T., begging for help, to no avail. Everyone just ignored his pleas for help. It was painful for me to watch this unfold. Finally, two nights ago, on Tuesday September 11 at 7:40pm I heard Tom collapse in his cell. Tom called out to me, very weakly, for help. I immediately began yelling and banging for the wing sergeant, screaming "man down" and "medical emergency." When the sergeant came he immediately saw how serious it was and he called the clinic to bring a wheelchair. After 20 minutes of trying to coax a disabled Tom into stripping (for the obligatory strip search) and to climb on his bunk, face the wall, and put his hands behind his back, the officers finally entered his cell and handcuffed and shackled him. They put Tom in a wheelchair and took him to the clinic. By this time it was past 8:00. Around 10:15 a freeworld ambulance came through the back gate, then departed, lights flashing, taking Tom to a hospital in Gainesville or Jacksonville (we heard differing reports). I sat down and wrote to Tom's people, and one of his lawyers, telling them what had happened. The next day (yesterday) I was reliably informed that Tom was at that moment undergoing brain surgery. Clearly, he'd had a stroke or aneurysm of some sort, perhaps a series of them, and his life was hanging in the balance. What I know for certain was that he spent 13 days in his cell begging everyone in the medical department for help, a man clearly in need of immediate medical attention, and nobody would give him the time of day. Had he simply been able to see a doctor after his initial seizure (which was a classic warning sign) all the rest could have been avoided. As it is I don't know if Tom is alive, or will survive, or will ever be the person he once was, physically or mentally. He may be a vegetable for all I know. This type of treatment is typical here at F.S.P and this is why I always tell you how thankful I am for my good health, because if you get seriously sick in a Florida prison, and especially this one, you will probably just die. Nobody here gives a damn, especially those working in the medical department. (It takes awhile to stop being shocked at seeing doctors and nurses who are absolutely indifferent to a prisoner's serious medical problems. I stopped being shocked decades ago after seeing too many friends left to die alone in their cells)...
Light & Love,
Bill
Friday, September 14, 2012
Sept 5, 2012
Dear Sis~
Gov. Scott has broken his 5-month hiatus on killing people by signing a death warrant for John Ferguson, a guy out of Miami. With 34 years on the row and eight murder convictions Ferguson was an easy target (I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did; I'm guessing there were some exceptional circumstances in his appellate proceedings, perhaps some substantial questions about his sanity or mental retardation). I don't know this guy personally, but I vaguely recall his case(s), which, if I'm not mistaken, involved multiple incidents of drug related home invasions where everyone inside was killed. I believe he had other co-defendants who were executed long ago, but possibly I'm confusing him with some other cases. Anyway, the death machine has been cranked up, and like some ancient South Pacific volcano, will now be regularly eating up its quota of human sacrifices. It's time to mollify the God of Revenge with the spilling of blood! After all, nothing proclaims our modernity and civilization like the methodical, premeditated killing of our own citizens...
On a more pleasant note I greatly enjoyed our 3-day visit over the Labor Day weekend. Stepping out of this tiny cell and into the visiting park is, well, it's sort of indescribable. For those few hours it's like being in the "real world", like another dimension or reality where all my senses are heightened and magnified and everything is well in the world. Then I return to my cell and enter a drab, colorless almost two-dimensional realm which works mightily to suck all the energy and life force from the marrow of my soul. After 24 years in a 6' x 9' cell this world is about all I know, or at least, it is a real struggle to remind myself that this world, like Plato's shadows on the cave wall, is just a poor reflection of reality. So, I treasure all of my visits, as few as they are, but especially those with you...
My neighbor Carl was moved a few cells down the row when his sink water (both hot and cold, or more accurately, cold and cold since we have no hot water in our sinks) quit working. After about 6 days in a cell without water they just moved him into an empty cell rather than get the inmate plumbers to fix it. That's typical here, where this decrepit, 52-year old building is falling apart due to a complete lack of preventative maintenance and equal lack of competence. This place is a dump. I came here in 1974, 38 years ago, and I've never seen this prison so poorly run and poorly maintained. Apathy abounds. Now, with an empty cell next to mine I've got to wonder who my next neighbor will be; hopefully someone who is not crazy, who yells and bangs all day and night (we get our share of them)...
That's about it for now, Sis. Keep your chin up and a smile on your face!
Love & Peace,
Bill
Gov. Scott has broken his 5-month hiatus on killing people by signing a death warrant for John Ferguson, a guy out of Miami. With 34 years on the row and eight murder convictions Ferguson was an easy target (I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did; I'm guessing there were some exceptional circumstances in his appellate proceedings, perhaps some substantial questions about his sanity or mental retardation). I don't know this guy personally, but I vaguely recall his case(s), which, if I'm not mistaken, involved multiple incidents of drug related home invasions where everyone inside was killed. I believe he had other co-defendants who were executed long ago, but possibly I'm confusing him with some other cases. Anyway, the death machine has been cranked up, and like some ancient South Pacific volcano, will now be regularly eating up its quota of human sacrifices. It's time to mollify the God of Revenge with the spilling of blood! After all, nothing proclaims our modernity and civilization like the methodical, premeditated killing of our own citizens...
On a more pleasant note I greatly enjoyed our 3-day visit over the Labor Day weekend. Stepping out of this tiny cell and into the visiting park is, well, it's sort of indescribable. For those few hours it's like being in the "real world", like another dimension or reality where all my senses are heightened and magnified and everything is well in the world. Then I return to my cell and enter a drab, colorless almost two-dimensional realm which works mightily to suck all the energy and life force from the marrow of my soul. After 24 years in a 6' x 9' cell this world is about all I know, or at least, it is a real struggle to remind myself that this world, like Plato's shadows on the cave wall, is just a poor reflection of reality. So, I treasure all of my visits, as few as they are, but especially those with you...
My neighbor Carl was moved a few cells down the row when his sink water (both hot and cold, or more accurately, cold and cold since we have no hot water in our sinks) quit working. After about 6 days in a cell without water they just moved him into an empty cell rather than get the inmate plumbers to fix it. That's typical here, where this decrepit, 52-year old building is falling apart due to a complete lack of preventative maintenance and equal lack of competence. This place is a dump. I came here in 1974, 38 years ago, and I've never seen this prison so poorly run and poorly maintained. Apathy abounds. Now, with an empty cell next to mine I've got to wonder who my next neighbor will be; hopefully someone who is not crazy, who yells and bangs all day and night (we get our share of them)...
That's about it for now, Sis. Keep your chin up and a smile on your face!
Love & Peace,
Bill
Thursday, August 09, 2012
August 5, 2012
Dear Sis ~
Having a certain degree of free time to enjoy (no legal work on the agenda) I finished reading James Ford Rhodes' History of the Civil War 1861-1865, a concise, one-volume history which is surprisingly comprehensive given the scope of the subject mater. I've read many a history of this war over the decades (I find myself returning to this terrible conflagration time and again) and this is a good one, both being scholarly yet written at the layman's level, and noteworthy for its objectivity. Rhodes originally authored a seven-volume history of the United States covering the period from 1850-1877 and written (or at least begun) in 1891, including five volumes covering the war. Later on, beginning in 1913, he produced the single volume I just read, published in 1917, and for which Rhodes was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for history. What's interesting about this book is that Rhodes was able to, and did, interview a lot of the survivors of the war for his source materials and in that sense he was "closer" to the actual events (he was a teenager himself during the war) than writers of later generations, a fact which subtly makes itself apparent in this book, both by his vernacular and perspective. Another thing that struck me, and this was surprising, or at least unexpected, was how much the language and rhetoric of the southern politicians who were vigorously advocating for secession, and war with the Union, matches (often word for word) the rhetoric of today's contemporary Tea Party advocates, from "state's rights" arguments right on down the line. Whenever I read a history of our civil war I'm again powerfully reminded of what a bloody and violent people we are; it seems to be in our DNA, in our sinews and bones, this deep need to resort to bloodletting to resolve our disputes. You cannot be a serious historian of this nation without coming to this conclusion, for there have been precious few years in the last 240 where we have not been at war with some nation of peoples, somewhere. We claim to be a peaceful nation but the cold facts prove that to be a lie...
Well, Governor Scott has been taking a brief respite from his prior busy schedule of signing death warrants (our last execution was April 12th) but I've heard from a reasonably reliable source (an attorney in a position to know) that he will soon resume. I've even heard three specific names mentioned but I won't repeat them here. I've often wondered how a governor makes this decision. Does he wake up one day and tell himself "time to kill someone"? How does he choose the particular prisoner from the long list of available names? Under Florida's system the governor has sole discretion as to who to kill, how many to kill, and at what pace. It's totally subjective on his part, and necessarily arbitrary and capricious. Maybe he just throws a dart at the list. Nobody knows, except the governor and those closest to him. Only the governor knows if this decision(s) weigh on his heart and mind...
Alright, Sis, I'll close this up and mail it off. Give yourself a hug for me and give the doggies a rub on their snouts!
Love & Peace,
Bill
Having a certain degree of free time to enjoy (no legal work on the agenda) I finished reading James Ford Rhodes' History of the Civil War 1861-1865, a concise, one-volume history which is surprisingly comprehensive given the scope of the subject mater. I've read many a history of this war over the decades (I find myself returning to this terrible conflagration time and again) and this is a good one, both being scholarly yet written at the layman's level, and noteworthy for its objectivity. Rhodes originally authored a seven-volume history of the United States covering the period from 1850-1877 and written (or at least begun) in 1891, including five volumes covering the war. Later on, beginning in 1913, he produced the single volume I just read, published in 1917, and for which Rhodes was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for history. What's interesting about this book is that Rhodes was able to, and did, interview a lot of the survivors of the war for his source materials and in that sense he was "closer" to the actual events (he was a teenager himself during the war) than writers of later generations, a fact which subtly makes itself apparent in this book, both by his vernacular and perspective. Another thing that struck me, and this was surprising, or at least unexpected, was how much the language and rhetoric of the southern politicians who were vigorously advocating for secession, and war with the Union, matches (often word for word) the rhetoric of today's contemporary Tea Party advocates, from "state's rights" arguments right on down the line. Whenever I read a history of our civil war I'm again powerfully reminded of what a bloody and violent people we are; it seems to be in our DNA, in our sinews and bones, this deep need to resort to bloodletting to resolve our disputes. You cannot be a serious historian of this nation without coming to this conclusion, for there have been precious few years in the last 240 where we have not been at war with some nation of peoples, somewhere. We claim to be a peaceful nation but the cold facts prove that to be a lie...
Well, Governor Scott has been taking a brief respite from his prior busy schedule of signing death warrants (our last execution was April 12th) but I've heard from a reasonably reliable source (an attorney in a position to know) that he will soon resume. I've even heard three specific names mentioned but I won't repeat them here. I've often wondered how a governor makes this decision. Does he wake up one day and tell himself "time to kill someone"? How does he choose the particular prisoner from the long list of available names? Under Florida's system the governor has sole discretion as to who to kill, how many to kill, and at what pace. It's totally subjective on his part, and necessarily arbitrary and capricious. Maybe he just throws a dart at the list. Nobody knows, except the governor and those closest to him. Only the governor knows if this decision(s) weigh on his heart and mind...
Alright, Sis, I'll close this up and mail it off. Give yourself a hug for me and give the doggies a rub on their snouts!
Love & Peace,
Bill
Saturday, July 14, 2012
July 8, 2012
Dear Sis~
I've just finished reading A Byzantine Journey, by John Ash, which I've been determined to read for almost two decades when a 1995 book review caught my attention and I scribbled a note to myself to find the book, a note I squirreled away and carried around in my files ever since until I finally got tired of seeing it and, through the gracious help of a friend, I was able to make the desire manifest itself. You don't have to be a history buff, as I am admittedly am, to appreciate this lively and well-written book, a combination travel-guide and history review of the mysterious and enigmatic Byzantine empire. The author began (and ended) his journey in Istanbul, traveling from historic town to town across modern-day Turkey, visiting the medieval sites, ruins and architectural wonders of the ancient Eastern Holy Roman Empire, recounting the history and long-forgotten battles at each stop. This is not a dry, historical tutelage; it's a lively and beautifully written account of a thousand-plus years of remarkable history, covering everything from art and architecture to the religions, cultures and ways of life of the countless exotic peoples who fought and died over Cappadocia and the Anatolian plateau, a vast struggle between east and west, between Muslim and Christian, and two different ideas of civilization and life itself. This is a book that invites reflection and will make you think. I thoroughly enjoyed it...
I may have already told you how this new, very confrontational and punitive-minded administration has recently banned chicken from our menu. We used to get a baked chicken thigh about every two weeks, which was the last "real" meat left on our entire menu (all other "meat" has long ago been replaced with an inedible soy-based patty). The new warden deemed that the tiny bone in our tiny chicken legs (they look like pigeon legs already) are a "security threat" since, in his view, someone may use such a bone to fashion a weapon. This ridiculous assertion is simply a pretext for him to continue to impose his draconian will upon us and to make our lives even more miserable. This guy has serious issues and he's been taking them out on us since he arrived here...
That's it for now, Sis, from the (very hot and stifling) Big House where global warming is not an imaginary and liberal scam to us! I'll write again soon.
Light & Love,
Bill
I've just finished reading A Byzantine Journey, by John Ash, which I've been determined to read for almost two decades when a 1995 book review caught my attention and I scribbled a note to myself to find the book, a note I squirreled away and carried around in my files ever since until I finally got tired of seeing it and, through the gracious help of a friend, I was able to make the desire manifest itself. You don't have to be a history buff, as I am admittedly am, to appreciate this lively and well-written book, a combination travel-guide and history review of the mysterious and enigmatic Byzantine empire. The author began (and ended) his journey in Istanbul, traveling from historic town to town across modern-day Turkey, visiting the medieval sites, ruins and architectural wonders of the ancient Eastern Holy Roman Empire, recounting the history and long-forgotten battles at each stop. This is not a dry, historical tutelage; it's a lively and beautifully written account of a thousand-plus years of remarkable history, covering everything from art and architecture to the religions, cultures and ways of life of the countless exotic peoples who fought and died over Cappadocia and the Anatolian plateau, a vast struggle between east and west, between Muslim and Christian, and two different ideas of civilization and life itself. This is a book that invites reflection and will make you think. I thoroughly enjoyed it...
I may have already told you how this new, very confrontational and punitive-minded administration has recently banned chicken from our menu. We used to get a baked chicken thigh about every two weeks, which was the last "real" meat left on our entire menu (all other "meat" has long ago been replaced with an inedible soy-based patty). The new warden deemed that the tiny bone in our tiny chicken legs (they look like pigeon legs already) are a "security threat" since, in his view, someone may use such a bone to fashion a weapon. This ridiculous assertion is simply a pretext for him to continue to impose his draconian will upon us and to make our lives even more miserable. This guy has serious issues and he's been taking them out on us since he arrived here...
That's it for now, Sis, from the (very hot and stifling) Big House where global warming is not an imaginary and liberal scam to us! I'll write again soon.
Light & Love,
Bill
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
To the readers of this blog...see link below
The following link is to a blog that will interest our readers:
Minutes Before Six
Minutes Before Six 
minutesbeforesix.blogspot.com/
Please look into this as it is a very well laid out blog with heartfelt entries from other Death Row Inmates in Texas and across the country.
Friday, June 15, 2012
June 10, 2012
Dear Sis~
It's been pouring rain, off and on, for the past 7-8 days and according to the local weather girl, the next 5-6 days will bring the same. Everything here in this big concrete prison (which lacks any effective ventilation) is damp and musty; it's like living in an old castle but without any notions of romanticism or adventure, more like the castle's dungeon, in fact. This morning I saw a few rays of sunshine and thought there'd be a day-long respite so I went ahead with my regular weekend routing of scrubbing my floor, then doing my laundry. This was a mistake. About the time I finished and began hanging my sheets, T-shirts and drawers on my makeshift clothesline, the heavens opened up and a powerful thunderstorm moved in. It's been homesteading this area for hours now and the humidity is so thick that water is drizzling down my walls and the decades-old, multi-layered paint is blistering out, with water trapped in balloon-like knots from water weeping right through the concrete. This happens all over the building whenever we get any prolonged rainstorms. As you know from your visits, the roof leaks badly all over and the prison is strewn with plastic 5-gallon buckets catching the water. Doing my own laundry (most of us do it) has become even more of an imperative over the last year or two. For starters, you cannot exchange your state clothes for clean stuff at the weekly laundry exchange because all the laundry issues now are old, ripped-up rags, stuff right out of a cartoon version of the rags Napoleon's army wore as they withdrew from Russia. There is no money available here for any new clothing. The sheets, towels, socks, T-shirts and drawers are almost black with filth; they look like what mechanics use in garages to clean up with. The laundry has taken to cutting all the sheets in half lengthwise and cutting all the towels in half (sewing up the edges) to try to make things stretch. More basic than that, though, is that for at least a year, maybe two, the laundry has simply quit using any soap when it "washes" the clothes. They stuff they pass out stinks worse than it does when it's turned in. If you do get something from the laundry, the first thing you and have to do is wash it. Most people do what I do, they bribe someone to get ahold of a couple of new sheets and a new towel, and then they just keep them, washing them by hand every week. Since we cannot obtain any laundry soap (for reasons unknown they stopped selling it to us 10 years ago) we've gotta use canteen-bought shampoo to do our laundry (VO-5 is the cheapest). And of course, we've gotta wash all our stuff in our toilets; this sounds gross to the uninitiated, but we keep our stainless steel toilets scrubbed clean. You then plug it up and flush it until it fills, then add shampoo and laundry and go to work. This is old-school and is universal in prisons around the country (although 95% of prisons have made this obsolete by offering real laundry services. But Florida in general and Florida State Prison in particular are 30 years behind the times and the administration seems to revel in its backwardness). Hell, this prison doesn't even have hot water to the cells. Anyway, Sis, that's it for now from the rainy Big House. I'll write again soon when the sun comes out!
Love,
Bill
Dear Sis~
It's been pouring rain, off and on, for the past 7-8 days and according to the local weather girl, the next 5-6 days will bring the same. Everything here in this big concrete prison (which lacks any effective ventilation) is damp and musty; it's like living in an old castle but without any notions of romanticism or adventure, more like the castle's dungeon, in fact. This morning I saw a few rays of sunshine and thought there'd be a day-long respite so I went ahead with my regular weekend routing of scrubbing my floor, then doing my laundry. This was a mistake. About the time I finished and began hanging my sheets, T-shirts and drawers on my makeshift clothesline, the heavens opened up and a powerful thunderstorm moved in. It's been homesteading this area for hours now and the humidity is so thick that water is drizzling down my walls and the decades-old, multi-layered paint is blistering out, with water trapped in balloon-like knots from water weeping right through the concrete. This happens all over the building whenever we get any prolonged rainstorms. As you know from your visits, the roof leaks badly all over and the prison is strewn with plastic 5-gallon buckets catching the water. Doing my own laundry (most of us do it) has become even more of an imperative over the last year or two. For starters, you cannot exchange your state clothes for clean stuff at the weekly laundry exchange because all the laundry issues now are old, ripped-up rags, stuff right out of a cartoon version of the rags Napoleon's army wore as they withdrew from Russia. There is no money available here for any new clothing. The sheets, towels, socks, T-shirts and drawers are almost black with filth; they look like what mechanics use in garages to clean up with. The laundry has taken to cutting all the sheets in half lengthwise and cutting all the towels in half (sewing up the edges) to try to make things stretch. More basic than that, though, is that for at least a year, maybe two, the laundry has simply quit using any soap when it "washes" the clothes. They stuff they pass out stinks worse than it does when it's turned in. If you do get something from the laundry, the first thing you and have to do is wash it. Most people do what I do, they bribe someone to get ahold of a couple of new sheets and a new towel, and then they just keep them, washing them by hand every week. Since we cannot obtain any laundry soap (for reasons unknown they stopped selling it to us 10 years ago) we've gotta use canteen-bought shampoo to do our laundry (VO-5 is the cheapest). And of course, we've gotta wash all our stuff in our toilets; this sounds gross to the uninitiated, but we keep our stainless steel toilets scrubbed clean. You then plug it up and flush it until it fills, then add shampoo and laundry and go to work. This is old-school and is universal in prisons around the country (although 95% of prisons have made this obsolete by offering real laundry services. But Florida in general and Florida State Prison in particular are 30 years behind the times and the administration seems to revel in its backwardness). Hell, this prison doesn't even have hot water to the cells. Anyway, Sis, that's it for now from the rainy Big House. I'll write again soon when the sun comes out!
Love,
Bill
Monday, May 14, 2012
May 10, 2012
Dear Sis~
The other day I watched Papillion, starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, on my little TV. I vividly recall buying this book at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome in the summer of 1971, picking the paperback off a wire-frame book rack, then reading it cover to cover over the next few days. At the time, through the lens of a 16-year old, the story seemed adventuresome and exciting and I enjoyed the movie, too, when I saw it perhaps 10 years later. But this time it was more depressing than epic, a story too closely paralleling my own, a life squandered in the bowels of an oppressive prison system. Instead of inspiring, the movie was just sad. Funny what 30 years of experience can do to your perspective...
That's all for now, Sis (no new death warrants, knock on wood).
Love,
Bill
Monday, April 16, 2012
April 12, 2012
Dear Sis~
The execution of David Alan Gore took place as scheduled at 6:00 this evening, just a short while ago. He was convicted of horrible crimes, which makes it easier for folks, acting by proxy, to justify and applaud their own premeditated taking of another human life. Here in the 21st century we still revel in medieval solutions. But as someone wiser than me once opined, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
I've just read a great book, Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand (who also authored Seabiscuit) which is an autobiography of sorts of a remarkable guy, Louis Zamperini, and which is aptly subtitled "A World War II story of survival, resilience, and redemption." Young Zamperini reminds me of myself as a youth, impetuous, hard-headed and defiant to a fault. Like him as a kid I was my own worst enemy. In our respective youths we trod many of the same paths. Fortunately for him, unlike me, Zamperini found the strength of character to change the course of his downward spiral before it became too late. I like Laura's dedication page which simply states, "For the wounded and the lost." I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great tale of redemption, made better by the knowledge that it is a true story.
Before I close I'll recommend three recent articles about our criminal justice system/prison system which should give pause to any thinking person. The first is a brief one-page overview which sort of sets the table, Incarceration Nation, by Fareed Zakaria, in the April 2, 2012 Time Magazine. (http://www.timemagazine.com/incarcerationnation). The other two, which are more in-depth, are Injustice System, by Conrad Black, in National Review online (www.nationalreview.com/blogs/print/294490) and Rethinking Solitary Confinement, by Erica Goode, in the March 11, 2012, New York Times. (http://www.newyorktimes.com/rethinkingsolitaryconfinement/ericagoode). As someone who has spent his life behind bars I can verify that these articles speak the truth and are on point, and they speak to what we want to be and become as a nation. They ought to be mandatory reading in law schools and criminal justice classes across America.
Light & Love,
Bill
The execution of David Alan Gore took place as scheduled at 6:00 this evening, just a short while ago. He was convicted of horrible crimes, which makes it easier for folks, acting by proxy, to justify and applaud their own premeditated taking of another human life. Here in the 21st century we still revel in medieval solutions. But as someone wiser than me once opined, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
I've just read a great book, Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand (who also authored Seabiscuit) which is an autobiography of sorts of a remarkable guy, Louis Zamperini, and which is aptly subtitled "A World War II story of survival, resilience, and redemption." Young Zamperini reminds me of myself as a youth, impetuous, hard-headed and defiant to a fault. Like him as a kid I was my own worst enemy. In our respective youths we trod many of the same paths. Fortunately for him, unlike me, Zamperini found the strength of character to change the course of his downward spiral before it became too late. I like Laura's dedication page which simply states, "For the wounded and the lost." I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great tale of redemption, made better by the knowledge that it is a true story.
Before I close I'll recommend three recent articles about our criminal justice system/prison system which should give pause to any thinking person. The first is a brief one-page overview which sort of sets the table, Incarceration Nation, by Fareed Zakaria, in the April 2, 2012 Time Magazine. (http://www.timemagazine.com/incarcerationnation). The other two, which are more in-depth, are Injustice System, by Conrad Black, in National Review online (www.nationalreview.com/blogs/print/294490) and Rethinking Solitary Confinement, by Erica Goode, in the March 11, 2012, New York Times. (http://www.newyorktimes.com/rethinkingsolitaryconfinement/ericagoode). As someone who has spent his life behind bars I can verify that these articles speak the truth and are on point, and they speak to what we want to be and become as a nation. They ought to be mandatory reading in law schools and criminal justice classes across America.
Light & Love,
Bill
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
March 20, 2012
Dear Sis~
I believe you already know we have another execution coming up, this one scheduled for April 12, a guy named David Gore (whom I don't know) who has been on the row for 28 years now. I'm told - but don't know for sure - that he's an ex-cop, and a serial killer. This will be Gov. Scott's fourth execution in seven months which is an historically fast clip for Florida. Traditionally, over the last few decades, Florida's execution rate averaged about 21/2 annually, but Scott has made it clear that he wants to kill a lot of guys. At this pace he'll knock off six or more per year, a sobering statistic for someone like me who is in the crosshairs...
Our local PBS station broadcasts the oral arguments of the Florida Supreme Court and I catch them whenever I can. We see all the arguments, civil and criminal, capital cases and otherwise. It's interesting to see the dynamics of the court as it wrestles with different cases and issues, and interesting to watch the various lawyers in action, lawyers who range from brilliant (mostly the big civil cases where lots of money is at stake) to mediocre, to inept and incompetent (a lot of capital appellate attorneys fall into this category, particularly those from the "registry"). Ex-Supreme Court Justice Cantero made the same observation some years back, stating that "the worst lawyering the court has seen" came from the appointed capital appellate attorneys who appeared before them. This is not all of them, of course. There's a small handful who are exceptional. But far too many are mediocre at best and an alarming number are completely incompetent. Unfortunately, when it comes to capital law, when the attorney screws up the client may well pay with his life. Recently we watched an oral argument made by an attorney who I am very familiar with. The prisoner lives on my floor and I know his case very well, having discussed it with him for over a year, and having read a lot of his record on appeal, and all of his appellate briefs. But when it came time for the oral argument this lawyer became a bumbling dunce. He was totally unprepared and demonstrated no familiarity with the issues being raised in the brief, which he supposedly authored. He repeatedly conceded legal and factual points he never should have conceded and which were contrary to his positions taken in the briefs. His hands were visibly shaking and he often appeared lost. It was embarrassing to watch this inept performance and very discouraging considering the consequences. I've seen this particular attorney perform numerous times (he regularly represents capital prisoners) and he's constantly below par; he was at his worst this last time and I could hear his client (who lives just two cells away from me) groaning and muttering with each incompetent statement ...
That's it for now, Sis. I'll write again next week!
Love,
Bill
I believe you already know we have another execution coming up, this one scheduled for April 12, a guy named David Gore (whom I don't know) who has been on the row for 28 years now. I'm told - but don't know for sure - that he's an ex-cop, and a serial killer. This will be Gov. Scott's fourth execution in seven months which is an historically fast clip for Florida. Traditionally, over the last few decades, Florida's execution rate averaged about 21/2 annually, but Scott has made it clear that he wants to kill a lot of guys. At this pace he'll knock off six or more per year, a sobering statistic for someone like me who is in the crosshairs...
Our local PBS station broadcasts the oral arguments of the Florida Supreme Court and I catch them whenever I can. We see all the arguments, civil and criminal, capital cases and otherwise. It's interesting to see the dynamics of the court as it wrestles with different cases and issues, and interesting to watch the various lawyers in action, lawyers who range from brilliant (mostly the big civil cases where lots of money is at stake) to mediocre, to inept and incompetent (a lot of capital appellate attorneys fall into this category, particularly those from the "registry"). Ex-Supreme Court Justice Cantero made the same observation some years back, stating that "the worst lawyering the court has seen" came from the appointed capital appellate attorneys who appeared before them. This is not all of them, of course. There's a small handful who are exceptional. But far too many are mediocre at best and an alarming number are completely incompetent. Unfortunately, when it comes to capital law, when the attorney screws up the client may well pay with his life. Recently we watched an oral argument made by an attorney who I am very familiar with. The prisoner lives on my floor and I know his case very well, having discussed it with him for over a year, and having read a lot of his record on appeal, and all of his appellate briefs. But when it came time for the oral argument this lawyer became a bumbling dunce. He was totally unprepared and demonstrated no familiarity with the issues being raised in the brief, which he supposedly authored. He repeatedly conceded legal and factual points he never should have conceded and which were contrary to his positions taken in the briefs. His hands were visibly shaking and he often appeared lost. It was embarrassing to watch this inept performance and very discouraging considering the consequences. I've seen this particular attorney perform numerous times (he regularly represents capital prisoners) and he's constantly below par; he was at his worst this last time and I could hear his client (who lives just two cells away from me) groaning and muttering with each incompetent statement ...
That's it for now, Sis. I'll write again next week!
Love,
Bill
Thursday, February 23, 2012
February 15, 2012
Dear Sis~
Robert Waterhouse was scheduled for execution at 6:00pm this evening. In accordance with the established execution protocol he was strapped to the gurney and the needles were inserted into each arm about 45 minutes prior to his appointed time. Just before 6:00, however, he received a 45-minute stay which morphed into an almost 3-hour endurance test as he remained on the gurney as the seconds, minutes and then hours slid by at an excruciatingly slow pace, waiting for someone to tell him if hope was at hand, if he would live or die. Just before 9:00 he received his answer, the plungers were depressed, the syringes emptied and he was summarily killed. Here on the row we can discern the approximate time of death when we see the old white Cadillac hearse trundle in through the back sally port gate to pick up the body, the same familiar 1960's era hearse I've watched for almost 40 years, coming in to retrieve the bodies of murdered prisoners, which used to happen on a regular basis back when I was in open population. I've seen a lot of guys, both friends and foes, carted off in that old hearse. Anyway, pause for a moment to imagine being on that gurney for over three hours, the needles in your arms. You've already come to terms with your imminent death, you are reconciled with the reality that this is it, this is how you will die, that there will be no reprieve. Then, at the last moment, a cruel trick, you're given that slim hope, which you instinctively grasp. Some court, somewhere, has given you a temporary stay. You stare at the ceiling while the clock on the wall ticks away. You are totally alone, not a friendly soul in sight, surrounded by grim-faced men who are determined to kill you. Your heart pounds, your body feels electrified and every second seems like an eternity as a Kaleidoscope of wild thoughts crash around franticly in your compressed mind. After 3 hours you are drained, exhausted, terrorized, and then the phone on the wall rings and you're told it's time to die. To me this is cruel and unusual punishment by any definition. Consider this: Florida, like every other death penalty state, uses a list of statutory aggravators which the jury and judge use and weigh in determining whether to impose a death sentence. As an example, some of the aggravators are, the victim was young; the victim was elderly; the victim was a law enforcement officer; the homicide occurred during the course of a felony, etc... Well, the Florida Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the two (2) most serious aggravators in Florida's capital sentencing scheme are: 1) Heinous, Atrocious and cruel (HAC); and 2) Cold, Calculated and Premeditated (CCP). The Court has, in a slew of cases, held that the HAC applies when a victim is held captive and conscious and knows he is about to die; forcing a victim to consider his imminent death while he is helpless to escape it constitutes HAC. Likewise, CCP applies when there is "heightened premeditation", over and above "regular" premeditation, and when the killing is the result of a well thought out plan. By that definition HAC and CCP apply to all executions where we spend years reflecting on our imminent death and the killing is done with heightened premeditation, part of a well thought out plan or scheme...Just a little something to consider...
You know, from time to time, I write about America becoming a "prison nation", and about the prison industrial complex here; some readers may doubt what I say given my status as a prisoner (sour grapes and all). Anyone interested should read an excellent article by Adam Gopnik titled The Caging of America, in the January 30, 2012 issue of The New Yorker. It should be mandatory reading in all law schools and all Criminal Justice classes in colleges across the nation...
That's it for now!
Love,
Bill
Robert Waterhouse was scheduled for execution at 6:00pm this evening. In accordance with the established execution protocol he was strapped to the gurney and the needles were inserted into each arm about 45 minutes prior to his appointed time. Just before 6:00, however, he received a 45-minute stay which morphed into an almost 3-hour endurance test as he remained on the gurney as the seconds, minutes and then hours slid by at an excruciatingly slow pace, waiting for someone to tell him if hope was at hand, if he would live or die. Just before 9:00 he received his answer, the plungers were depressed, the syringes emptied and he was summarily killed. Here on the row we can discern the approximate time of death when we see the old white Cadillac hearse trundle in through the back sally port gate to pick up the body, the same familiar 1960's era hearse I've watched for almost 40 years, coming in to retrieve the bodies of murdered prisoners, which used to happen on a regular basis back when I was in open population. I've seen a lot of guys, both friends and foes, carted off in that old hearse. Anyway, pause for a moment to imagine being on that gurney for over three hours, the needles in your arms. You've already come to terms with your imminent death, you are reconciled with the reality that this is it, this is how you will die, that there will be no reprieve. Then, at the last moment, a cruel trick, you're given that slim hope, which you instinctively grasp. Some court, somewhere, has given you a temporary stay. You stare at the ceiling while the clock on the wall ticks away. You are totally alone, not a friendly soul in sight, surrounded by grim-faced men who are determined to kill you. Your heart pounds, your body feels electrified and every second seems like an eternity as a Kaleidoscope of wild thoughts crash around franticly in your compressed mind. After 3 hours you are drained, exhausted, terrorized, and then the phone on the wall rings and you're told it's time to die. To me this is cruel and unusual punishment by any definition. Consider this: Florida, like every other death penalty state, uses a list of statutory aggravators which the jury and judge use and weigh in determining whether to impose a death sentence. As an example, some of the aggravators are, the victim was young; the victim was elderly; the victim was a law enforcement officer; the homicide occurred during the course of a felony, etc... Well, the Florida Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the two (2) most serious aggravators in Florida's capital sentencing scheme are: 1) Heinous, Atrocious and cruel (HAC); and 2) Cold, Calculated and Premeditated (CCP). The Court has, in a slew of cases, held that the HAC applies when a victim is held captive and conscious and knows he is about to die; forcing a victim to consider his imminent death while he is helpless to escape it constitutes HAC. Likewise, CCP applies when there is "heightened premeditation", over and above "regular" premeditation, and when the killing is the result of a well thought out plan. By that definition HAC and CCP apply to all executions where we spend years reflecting on our imminent death and the killing is done with heightened premeditation, part of a well thought out plan or scheme...Just a little something to consider...
You know, from time to time, I write about America becoming a "prison nation", and about the prison industrial complex here; some readers may doubt what I say given my status as a prisoner (sour grapes and all). Anyone interested should read an excellent article by Adam Gopnik titled The Caging of America, in the January 30, 2012 issue of The New Yorker. It should be mandatory reading in all law schools and all Criminal Justice classes in colleges across the nation...
That's it for now!
Love,
Bill
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Feb 9, 2012
Dear Sis~
Yesterday the prison was locked down all day for the standard "mock execution", the practice run which occurs a week prior to the actual premeditated killing. For the mock execution they lock down the joint, bring in an array of big wigs, and go through a dry run to make sure the death machine is in working order, everyone on their toes. The big wigs are just voyeurs, here to vicariously kill someone while allowing themselves the bare moral cover of not actually pushing the knife between the ribs. Their minions do the actual dirty deed while they can go home with technically clean hands. These mock executions are as depressing as the real thing, in the sense that it's dispiriting to watch an entire organization (a prison, with all its constituent parts) so seriously dedicate their time and energies to practice killing a fellow human being, as if this is a good and natural thing to do. It takes some peculiar mental (not to mention moral) gymnastics to justify this to oneself, but we humans have proven ourselves immensely adept at self-delusion and hypocrisy, especially when we bring religion into the equation. We are really, really good at killing others in the name of God. We are a strange species, aren't we? To those who argue that the death penalty isn't killing (or murder, which is merely a legal definition) because it is all done "according to the law", I'd remind them that the Nazis did everything they did "according to the law". The Nazis, for all their terrible deeds, were sticklers for following the law; they found their refuge in the law, meticulously following the letter of the law before they enslaved and/or executed their victims. "We were just following the law" is a lame excuse when you are the one writing the laws in the first instance...Godspeed to Gabby Gifford who is retiring after her term expires. I hope one day she'll resume her life of public service 'cuz this nation needs a lot more like her.
Gotta go, Sis, I've got work to do. Be good and keep smiling!
Light & Love,
Bill
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Jan 22, 2012
We had a bad stabbing last week over on one of the other (non-death row) wings. A young white guy named Milkshake, who is rather slow and weighs barely 130 pounds, stabbed another guy who was trapped in the high-security, single-man phone booth sized shower, stabbing him repeatedly through the bars with a foot-long shank. This was the third or fourth time Milkshake has stuck someone; it doesn't take a lot to get him motivated. This entire 1,300 man maximum security prison is a locked down joint. Everyone is in their cells 24/7 (except the runarounds who are out of their cells a little more than others). There is no open population here, so theoretically there should be very few acts of violence. This place is a lot better than it was in the 70's and 80's when it was a serious killing grounds. Still, we had a recent murder here, and this stabbing was only the most recent in a string of them. But, there will be no repercussions to any staff, nobody will lose their jobs or be disciplined in any manner even though these stabbings and murders cannot occur without serious breaches of security. Like most prisons and prison systems, the staff at the top (warden, assistant warden, etc.) views their top priority as protecting themselves and their staff. There is no real accountability, no serious oversight ('cuz nobody really cares what goes on in prisons). Prisons are uniformly inept, corrupt, incompetent and hidebound. If there was any accountability the warden here would have been fired long ago. He's the worse warden I've ever encountered in my 40+ years in the prison system. But he's very safe here, ensconced in this parallel universe, this bastion of incompetence, and in fact will surely be promoted in due time. That's the way it happens in the Florida Dept of Corrections; the bad apples get promoted while the good ones are forced out...
Well, the Miami Dolphins finally hired a new Head Couch, a guy named Joe Philbin, who was the well-respected offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. In his first statement Philbin promised that the Dolphins will now be implementing a fast-paced, uptempo aggressive offense, which is exactly what I've been hoping for. Ever since Dan Marion retired the Dolphins have been saddled with mediocre quarterbacks and conservative coaches who employed safe, plodding run-oriented offenses, coaches who play not to lose rather than playing to win. Maybe now we've it a home run by hiring Philbin...
That's it for now, Sis. I'll write you again later in the week. Meanwhile, keep your chin up and your thoughts positive!Love, Bill
Sunday, January 22, 2012
To the Readers
Dear Readers:
Bill's books, Quietus and The Third Pillar of Wisdom are e-books on Amazon and have been reduced in price to 99 cents each! Bill thanks all his readers for their support throughout the years and hopes you enjoy his books as well. Thanks!
Bill's books, Quietus and The Third Pillar of Wisdom are e-books on Amazon and have been reduced in price to 99 cents each! Bill thanks all his readers for their support throughout the years and hopes you enjoy his books as well. Thanks!
Monday, January 09, 2012
January 4, 2012 The New Year
Dear Sis~
The search team came and tore up my cell last week; it was a surgical strike (they came for me alone) and I was later told that "someone" wrote a snitch kite on me claiming (falsely) I had a weapon in my cell. I'm fairly certain it was someone trying to get a DR (disciplinary report) dismissed by dropping a dime on me on the hope they'd shake me down and find something, any kind of contraband, and the rat would then get credit for it. But I had no contraband so the snitch struck out. If the administration had any integrity they'd write the rat a DR for "lying to staff." I spent several hours putting my cell back in order; it looked like a hurricane came through, all my property scattered everywhere. This is the kind of bullshit you have to put up with in prison; it's the nature of the beast. Hell, it happens on the streets, too, though. Informants are master manipulators and the police routinely play their game even though they know the rats often fabricate stories and evidence to their own ends...
I just learned that Governor Scott has signed another death warrant and someone is on death watch on the bottom floor of Q-wing. Scott didn't waste any time after the holidays; he seems determined to execute a record number of people at the pace he is setting. I don't know whose warrant got signed, so I don't know if it's someone I know. All I know is that he came from UCI, across the river, where most of the 390 death row prisoners are housed (only 60 of us are kept here at FSP). This is a depressing turn of events, a lousy way to begin the new year, at least from my perspective. The execution, when it occurs, will undoubtedly please some people, so it's all a matter of perspective...
With that morbid news I'll close this up and mail it off. Keep your chin up, Sis, and keep smiling!
Light & Love,
Bill
Note: The prisoner on death watch is Robert Waterhouse and his execution is set for Feb 15th...
Monday, December 12, 2011
December 7, 2011 - Pearl Harbor Memorial
Dear Sis~
It's Pearl Harbor Day; there are very few World War II veterans left alive, and only a handful who experienced the attack on Pearl Harbor. How the world has changed in the last 70 years! And yet, from a war and violence perspective, humanity has not changed at all...
About three days ago a guy on the row named Willie Davis hung himself over at the main death row unit at UCI, across the river. Suicide is a common last resort to the despondent and/or mentally ill on death row. Then today, on E wing (housing close management prisoners, not D/R) a guy dove head first over the second floor rail, handcuffed behind his back, landing on his head and splitting open his skull. He was life-lighted out of here in critical condition. This guy was known to be mentally unstable. This prison is a warehouse, they just stick guys in these solitary confinement cells, locked down 24/7 for years and years, virtually devoid of any property, with no help or programs available, so their mental deterioration is inevitable...
I'm watching all these Republican wannabees fighting for the Republican nomination and all I can think about is how Dad, a lifelong Republican, must be spinning in his grave as these clowns purport to represent the party of Lincoln. The eventual nomination will be Mitt or Newt and I suspect that many Republicans will sit on their hands at election time, a pox on both of them. It's sad that these two buffoons are the best the GOP can come up with, but certainly a Godsend for Obama, who must be thanking his lucky stars!
Love & Peace,
Bill
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