May, 2009 - Compassion on Death Row

Written by Death-Row Prisoners
140 W. South Boundary Street | Perrysburg, Ohio 43551
MAY 2009 | Volume 10 | Issue 48 (Bi-monthly)
Unfailing Love
They say you can’t live off it alone.
I disagree.
It’s like the life blood
Running through your veins.
It keeps you holding on,
When all you want to do is let go.
It’s the faint light
In the blackest of nights.
It’s a helping hand when you’ve fallen
And feel like you can’t get back up.
It’s never lost,
Only forgotten.
Tierra C. Gobble
Alabama Death Row
Wetumjpka, AL
Alone in the dark,
What might you find.
But not without cost,
Surrender is bliss.
How harsh is it real,
Cruel life is defined.
Through all that you face,
Are you not tired of the test?
What you see represents,
That you’re living a lie.
Look to the Lord,
He’ll mediate your case.
Will you find that place,
Where dreams go to die?
Victory is sweet,
Now you’re no longer lost.
Another link in the chain,
Now you’re out on that end.
Comfort is here,
On the wings of a Dove.
You can’t find the way,
Maybe down, but not out.
Blind sight such a gift,
What favor is this.
When you’re feelin’ the strain,
What words do you hear?
Finally found my place,
A place that will last.
Whose way is the play,
It’s on you to make the call.
Freedom is found,
In His unfailing love.
On you to stop the pain.
Editorial – TRUTH – For Our Children . . Page 2
Victim’s Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
The Day I Found Jesus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
Loneliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4
You See Me Better Than Anybody . . . . . Page 4
Dennis Skillicorn
Missouri Death Row
Mineral Point, MO
LIVE IT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5
Sorry for Eating the Peanuts . . . . . . . . . . Page 5
Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6
Sponsorship/Participation Form . . . . . . Page 7
Send Us Your Article or Letter . . . . . . . . Page 7
If I Were a Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8
TRUTH
For Our Children
Letters to the Editor are welcomed from
all prisoners (this includes non-death row
prisoners) and the outside community.
In submitting letters, we ask that compassionate and introspective guidelines
apply to your communications.
Limit size to 400 words or less. Letters
may be edited for clarity and space
considerations.
CONTACT US AT:
Letters to the Editor
COMPASSION
140 W. South Boundary Street
Perrysburg, OH 43551
COMPASSION OUTSIDE COORDINATOR
Email: [email protected]
TEL: 419-874-1333
FAX: 419-874-3441
WEBSITE ADDRESS:
www.compassionondeathrow.org
PUBLISHER
Compassion
EDITOR
Dennis J. Skillicorn
ASSISTANT EDITORS
Al Cunningham, Abu Ali Abdur-Rahman,
Nicole Diar, Konstantinos Fotopoulos,
Siddique Abdullah Hasan,
Michael Toney,
and Melvin Speight
COMPASSION ADVISORY BOARD
Death-Row Prisoners
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Anthony Bankston, Al Cunningham,
Michael Flinner, Glenn Helzer,
Matthew Marshall, Anthony Owens,
Leon Taylor
2
On March 25, 2009, Potosi Correctional Center hosted a
symposium on the needs of America’s youth. All the institutional organizations were
represented and members of the NAACP, Hospice, 4-H L.I.F.E., ICVC, Restorative Justice,
Full Circle and other therapeutic groups spoke on the growing need to reach out to our
young people. The following is an excerpt from what I shared.
“The need for change is obvious when we live in a country that has 2.3 million
incarcerated people. Recent studies show that 65 percent of incarcerated men have at
least one child, while an astounding 75% of incarcerated women also have children.
More than 10 million children have at least one parent or caregiver behind bars. As the
numbers continue to climb, so should our concern with this issue. We need to take the
initiative to stop this vicious cycle.
Children of incarcerated parents are far more inclined to become incarcerated
themselves. Why is that? To begin to answer that question, we must first take a look at
what we know about ourselves. Maybe we don’t see the errors in our own thinking, but
is where our choices brought us good enough for our own child? It is not fair to our young
people to pass on a defective thought process that ends spending one’s life in a cage.
We owe it to our young people to give them the right insight and life direction they
so desperately need. It is imperative that we give our young people realistic, applicable
solutions.
Children need guidance that is tailored to their specific needs. If we don’t know
about the specific things they need, then we need to do our homework. This may mean
spending time in the library or taking advantage of the tons of available literature. It is
important to educate ourselves first, if we ever hope to help someone else.
Children are impressionable and they will almost always take on the characteristics
they see in their role models. What kind of role models are we? Naturally, we want our
young people to be proud of us. So we glorify our lifestyles, even when the outcome has
been mostly bad.
We need to tell our children about the disappointments and pain our actions have
caused. It’s never easy to be honest about our own failures, but our children deserve
nothing short of the truth, even when that truth hurts.
We should be advocating education, creativity, individuality and leadership in all
that we say and do. We need to be better listeners and encourage our young people to
express themselves in healthy, productive ways, whether it be artistically, musically,
through sports and other social interaction. We need to be supportive when they do
express themselves.
Every day our young people are bombarded with mixed messages and negative
influences, but they need to get something different from those who are supposed to
care for them. We need to set boundaries and aid our spouses and caregivers by being
(continued on next page)
Forgiveness Gives
Victim’s Father Healing
Richard Nethercut’s 19 year-old daughter was raped and murdered in a Seattle hotel. Her assailant
was convicted of first-degree murder; after 17 years in prison, he was released on parole.
Dick has led Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) in Massachusetts prisons in memory of his
daughter. He is a strong believer in forgiveness and restorative justice. He
has forgiven the man who killed Jaina and is convinced that she approved of
this action.
Richard Nethercut
Dick writes: “I believe the work I do now in prison and with ex-prisoners
honors and gives significance to my daughter’s life. In forgiving her killer
without condoning his heinous action, I am free to get on with my life, no
longer imprisoned by rage and grief, and this has been very healing for me.”
Jaina Nethercut
The Day That I Found Jesus
O
ne rainy evening, I was so weak
The 14th of April was my destiny
Selfish motivations I never realized
Full of Satan’s demons, I took another man’s life
I thought of an answer to hide what I’d done
To kill other people who never hurt anyone
Coming to my senses, not afraid of what I did
Forced to face a challenge I knew I could not win
Leon V. Taylor
Missouri Death Row
Mineral Point, MO
Confusion and sorrow were tearing me apart
Then I cried out to Jesus to come inside my heart
Peace engulfed me quickly as His love began to flow
His warm and cleansing power ran deep within my soul
The day that I found Jesus was the day He set me free
His precious loving Spirit is now cleansing me.
His love is so pure, His strength is so sweet
The day that I found Jesus was the day I became complete
He said He’ll wash me fully, He promised to make me whole
The day that I found Jesus was the day He saved my soul
With Him I’ll be in Heaven, yeah, that’s where I’ll spend my life
The day I found Jesus was the day He opened my eyes
The day that I found Jesus was the day that I survived
Continued...
TRUTH – For Our Children
united against all the wrong choices
children can make for themselves.
Children may act as if they dislike
structure or discipline, when in reality
they crave it and they get comfort from
it because it shows them they are loved
and cared for.
Maybe you can’t see yourself helping
a young person on the outside. What
about that young offender in the cell next
to you? Not every person in prison has
a death sentence or life without parole.
In fact, some 96 percent of offenders
have release dates. We can be mentors
to these young offenders and encourage
them to get free of that destructive
lifestyle.
If you are one of those people who
do not like what they see, you are
actually a part of the solution. You can do
something about it – that is, if you really
want to see a change.
Dennis Skillicorn
Missouri Death Row
Mineral Point, MO
3
SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS
ARE NOW AVAILABLE
Half the funds from subscriptions and
undesignated donations to Compassion are
given as college scholarships to immediate
family members (parent, grandparent, child,
grandchild, sibling) of murdered victims.
If you or someone you know is a U.S. citizen
and is either attending or planning on attending
a college or university (academic or religious)
as a student and had a family member
murdered, please submit an application.
To obtain an application, write to Compassion
at 140 W. South Boundary St., Perrysburg,
Ohio 43551, or call (419) 874-1333. Please ask
for Compassion’s office. Or visit or website at
www.compassionondeathrow.org.
L O N E L I N E S S
The lonely heart dies from lack of love
But not from our Creator up above
Feelings of depression and gloom true
All the result of a distorted view
When emotions of abandonment arrive
For thoughts of love we must strive
Bringing what’s in darkness to light
Seeking that love which never takes flight
God’s love for you will never die
Never abandoning you from on high
So, brighten your mind and heart with this:
At every moment, your soul does God kiss.
Kevin Marinelli
Pennsylvania Death Row
Waynesburg, PA
Thank You
Death Row Prisoners
Please Write To Help Youth!
Compassion is gathering essays written
by death row prisoners on words of advice
on how juvenile offenders can best avoid
going back into prison. Recidivism rates
are very high among youth and your words
of encouragement and wisdom may save
a young person from having to reenter
the prison system. This book like “Today’s
Choices Affect Tomorrows Dreams” will
be sent without charge to at-risk youth in
juvenile detention facilities throughout the
United States. Send your submission to:
New Book Compassion
140 W. South Boundary
Perrysburg, OH 43551
Anything death-row prisoners write
may jeopardize their future appeals.
For articles Compassion wishes to
publish, we request prisoners furnish us
with their legal representatives’ names
and addresses, if possible, so they my
review their submission. Knowledge
of these facts may limit the scope of a
prisoner’s expressions.
All stories are subject to editing
for grammar, sentence
structure and clarity.
4
You see, when I was a kid, I had dreams
When I was young, I had potential,
But it was buried within, with no way to climb out.
The desire was there, hidden, disguised and sheltered,
Though barely a body scratched the surface
It wasn’t identified by an adult.
No one took the time to see it,
Or give it a face for others to admire;
The dreams were there, someplace, lingering alive.
And now this day, a 51-year-old-man,
A body on death row, living from one day until the next,
If you had known me as a child and then a teenager,
Would you have planted a seed in my heart to prevent me
From murdering two men, and spending nearly
Twenty-nine years on Nebraska’s death row?
Help a kid in need, so he won’t
come to prison instead.
Carey Dean Moore
Nebraska Death Row
Tecumseh, NE
Sorry for Eating the Peanuts
A man visits his aunt in the nursing home. It turns out that she is taking
a nap, so he just sits down in a chair in her room, flips through a few
magazines, and munches on some peanuts sitting in a bowl on the table.
Eventually the aunt wakes up, and her nephew realizes he’s absentmindedly finished the entire bowl.
“I’m so sorry, Auntie,” I’ve eaten all of your peanuts!”
“That’s okay, dearie,” the aunt replied. “After I’ve sucked the chocolate
off, I don’t care for them anyway.”
Submitted by Paul Goodwin
Missouri Death Row
Mineral Point, MO
Please Donate to Our
Scholarship Fund...
Death Row
Prisoners
Donate Art
For Scholarships
ART DONATED BY
LIVE IT!
E
ditor, diplomat and poet
James Russell Lowell had
a wonderful attitude. One
day, when passing a building in the
outskirts of town, he noticed an
identifying inscription: Home for
Incurable Children.
To a friend he remarked,
“They’ll get me in there someday.”
If he meant that he’d never been
cured of an overriding enthusiasm
for living, then I also hope they’ll
get me into a place like that some
day. I never want to outgrow my
zeal for life. I never want to become so jaded as to take living for
granted.
Whoever compiled this list knew
how to live with enthusiasm! Here’s
all the advice you’ll need to live well
and with zeal.
Life is beauty, appreciate it.
Life is a dream, realize it
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a sorrow, feel it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is an adventure, risk it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is a puzzle, solve it.
Life is opportunity, take it.
Life is a mission, fulfill it.
Life is life, live it.
Al Cunningham
California Death Row
San Quentin, CA
“The Elders”
by Robert Eagle Clayton
Executed in Oklahoma
March 1, 2001
Death Row Prisoners
Donate Art for Scholarships
Compassion is accepting original art
donations from death row prisoners.
When enough items are received they
will be sold with proceeds going to
award college scholarships to family
members of murder victims.
Mail your artwork contribution to:
Compassion
140 W. South Boundary St.
Perrysburg, OH 43551
5
Letters to the Editor
We receive numerous letters and articles from those in the general
prison population. This submission from a Texas prisoner encourages
readers to open their eyes.
It Is Not Just Another Day
Back in 1995, I was a very lost man. I did not know which way to turn. For most
of my life, I lived the street life. By the time I was 16 years old, I was in complete
control of the East Side Crips in Los Angeles. Violence was my way of life, and I
thought that I would only find peace when I found death. In fact, it was death that
I was seeking on that lonely day back in 1995. I had made a sharp knife and my life
was about to be over. I just could not live with all the hurt and pain that I had caused.
As I sat on my bed, there stood at my door a man who wanted to tell me about
Jesus Christ. At first, I could not understand why he was there, but as I listened
to his words, something in me cried out for a change. On that day, I found out that
knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, every day is a blessed day. This is why
it bothers me so much to hear men say, “It is just another day.”
I am nobody. I am just a man in prison who has opened the doors of his heart to
Christ. Today, if you are breathing God’s precious air, you still have a chance to be
saved. Some did not wake up this morning. Some people are not able to see their
children today. Some people will soon be forgotten. But today, right now, you are
alive and have that chance to seek forgiveness and receive eternal life.
So many men here on my unit say these words: “Man, it is just another day to
me.”
When I hear them say these words, I ask them, “What if you had died last
night? Did you write home? Did you tell your mother you loved her? Did you write to
your little brother or sister? What about your wife? If you did none of these things
yesterday, then today, you still have a chance to do them. So, it is not just another
day. It is a blessed day; a new day for you to realize that today could be your last day
to change.
For the past two weeks here on my unit, I have been talking about this and it has
made some men stop and really think about their lives. I am asking you to please
take the time to tell others that tomorrow may not come. Yesterday is gone and
all you have is today. As long as you can breathe air, you have the chance to say
these words: “Father God, forgive me – a sinner – and save me.” So, today is not
just another day. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
(Psalms 118:24).
Alonzo Dixon
Richardson, Texas
6
Anthony Owens would like to share some
inspiration with others.
A Minute
or Two
Now let me take a few minutes out of
the hour
To show myself, deep down, I hold
the power
To change what bothers me the most
It’s my life and yes, I am the host
Like everybody else, I have my ups
and downs
Many cries, smiles and plenty of frowns
My eyes are held open, trying to see
That if I want change, it has to start
with me
So many things skipping through
my mind
Always taught good manners and try
to be kind
I’m not gonna play you, or lie like a rug
I have a good heart; all I need is a hug
I will feel free as a dove
One step closer to being with the people
I love
Forget the darkness; I’m trying to see light
It’s time I learn to get my mind right
If I don’t, I’ll always be in this mess
I want to head down
A wonderful road to success
Anthony Owens
Delano, CA
DEATH-ROW PRISONERS
WE NEED AN ARTICLE FROM YOU
Suggestions/Guidelines
q Write about something that impacted
your life.
q Write about something positive that
has happened in prison.
q Compose a poem to share with
Compassion readers.
q Write on what you have done to become
a better person.
Please mail your writings to:
COMPASSION
140 W. South Boundary St. | Perrysburg, OH 43551
“If you want to share someone else’s work, please be
sure you include the name of the author or its origin.”
q Avoid writing negatively about someone
else or a system.
q Avoid writing about your individual case.
q Avoid arguing against the death penalty.
q Your article does not have to be religious
in nature.
q Try to limit your article to 400 words or less.
q If possible, enclose a photo of yourself.
Thank you to our donors who are making this publication possible.
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Catholic Diocese of Toledo, OH
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Ken Cappelletty, Perrysburg, OH
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An Anonymous Friend
Holy Family Parish, Calendonia, MI
United Church of Christ, Cleveland, OH
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PATRONS ($100 OR MORE):
Niki Schwartz, Esq.
Molly C. Ott
St. Michael Ridge Catholic Church, Defiance, OH
St. Francis DeSales Parish, Toledo, OH
Rev. Daniel Ring
Sisters of St. Francis, Sylvania, OH
St. John Evangelist, Lima, OH
Martha Baldoni
GL & Lanelle Spence
Friendship Services
Peace Foundation
Grace Universal Community Church
Catholic Diocese of Youngstown
Arizonans to Abolish Death Penalty
OSF Mission Activites
Gesu Church, Toledo, OH
Sts Peter & Paul, Sandusky, OH
St. Mary’s Junction, Defiance, OH
Father John Graden Word Consultants
An Anonymous Friend
People of Faith Against the Death Penalty
Rev. Francis B. McDonald
Holy Trinity Church, Dayton, OH
Lima Serra Club
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Ursuline Convent of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Diocese Jefferson City, MO
St. Patrick Church, St. Charles, IL
Rev. Earl Loeffler
Dr. & Mrs. Steven Fox
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Corpus Christi Parish, Toledo OH
Jim Mann
Rev. Leo P. Riley
Charles Shaw
Rev. Robert Dendinger
Ramona Ripston
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
Sisters of Notre Dame, Toledo, OH
Sue Schroeder
Rev. James Peiffer
Martha May
Walter Foster
Charlie & Peg McDaniel
Sisters of the Precious Blood
St. Clarence Church, North Olmstead, OH
St. Johns Episcopal, Howell, MI
Sisters of Mercy of Americas
Diocese of Jefferson City. MO
Rev. Arturo Perez-Rodriguez
Alison Davis
St. Thomas Aquinas, Derry, NH
Alvera Sams
St. Mary Catholic Church, Defiance, OH
Pastor Rick Jaycees, Ellsworth, KS
St. Katharine Drexel, Frederick, MD
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Emmanual Church, Dayton, OH
Rev. Rick Friebel
Rev. Neil Kookoothe
Rev. Paul Dorley
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murdered victims.
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T hank you.
If I Were a Tree
If I were a tree
I’d want to be an apple tree
So I could bear lots of fruit for all to eat
And put my best fruit close to the ground
So the children will be able to reach it.
But lately, there hasn’t been any fruit growing
Because there hasn’t been anyone around
To water me and talk to me
I sit here in the dry ground, withered
and battered
By the wind and sun
And still
No one has come to check on me.
The children come to see me with
a huge smile
But when they see there is no fruit
They leave with saddened faces and tears
I will always love the fact
That people depend on me
But it saddens me when they forget
I’m alive
Simply because I’m a tree.
Antonio L. Doyle
Nevada Death Row
Ely, NV