The Tibetan Buddhists teach that all matter is an illusion, and that from the moment we are born our life is like sand dropping lightly from the neck of the hourglass. This is true for some more than others. This week, I (J) spent the week in Alabama, visiting my client, who is awaiting execution on Alabama’s death row. I also interviewed his entire family and many friends. Alabama’s death row is located at Holman Prison in Atmore, AL, about 60 miles from Mobile, around the corner from Hell and 20,000 leagues from Heaven.
Holman is a small prison. From the outside, it looks like Robbin Island, where Mandela was jailed, or even Guantanamo Bay. It is surrounded by 20-foot tall fencing and electrically charged barbed wire. An intimidating guard tower welcomes visitors. As I walked up to the attorney entrance, the Big Boss Man in the tower shouted down to me in a rude Southern drawl, “Can I help you???” “I’m here on an attorney visit, sir.” “OK,” he replied.
If you have ever visited anyone in jail, and if you are black, you most likely have, you know that waiting is the name of the game. It took the guards about 45 minutes to bring my client into the attorney visiting room, which was essentially a fiberglass encased fish bowl with a few tables and chairs scattered around. I was nervous about meeting my client. Part of me was scared. I had lost sleep the night before.
When my client entered the room, I stood up and shook his hand. He is diminutive, standing about 5′6″ and weighing about 145. We talked for about 4 hours, covering his upbringing, early life and time on death row. The brutality, loneliness and deprivation of his childhood make it impossible for me to judge him or anything he has allegedly done. It is a matter of public record that he was molested and beaten by numerous family members, that he was bounced back and forth between foster homes, and that he has spent the majority of his young life fighting just to survive. It is a matter of my personal opinion, however, that he is one of the most brilliant people I have ever met. He knows world politics as well as anyone on this blog (including Dina and DV), and his understanding of spiritual matters is astounding. I actually learned alot by talking to him. With another upbringing, he could have been anything he wanted.
TheStateOf . . . Alabama now wishes to run electronic currents through his body until he dies. I am opposed to this and any other form of capital punishment. Human life is sacred, and always redeemable, if not in our eyes, then in the eyes of Our Lord. I will do everything in my power to stop this from happening.
Filed under: Law
