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03/18/2010 Will Texas Soon Execute Another Innocent Man? Our Reporting Challenges Verdict As Clock TicksThe Henry Watkins Skinner Case - By David ProtessMarch 15, 2010 Updated March 17, 2010 Texas Gov. Rick Perry is under fire for allegedly obstructing an investigation into the wrongful execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was put to death in 2004 -- despite forensic tests proving he did not murder his three young children. Four years earlier, Gary Graham was carried to Texas’ death chamber defiantly proclaiming his innocence in the face of new evidence that even the murder victim’s widow called “reasonable doubt.” Investigative stories have revealed that Ruben Cantu in 1989 and Carlos DeLuna in 1993 likely suffered the same unjust fate at the hands of Texas executioners. Now the clock is ticking on another Texas death row inmate who has steadfastly maintained his innocence – with credible evidence to support his claim. The condemned man is Henry Watkins “Hank” Skinner, and much of that evidence was unearthed by the Medill Innocence Project and reported in the January 28 and 29 editions of the Texas Tribune, "Case Open" and "Case Open: The Investigation". Yet, Skinner faces death by lethal injection on March 24, nine days from now. Texas continues to lead the nation in executions. But will the state earn the dubious distinction of executing five innocents in two decades? Hank Skinner’s fate lies in the hands of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Gov. Perry and the U.S. Supreme Court. Here is a synopsis of the case, spotlighting the evidence developed by Medill student-journalists who traveled to Texas’ death row and to the crime scene in search of the truth. For a more detailed account, read my testimony to the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the appeal by Skinner's lawyers to the Supreme Court. I will continue to report about the Skinner case on this site until it reaches finality.  Hank Skinner, January 20, 2010. Photograph courtesy of The Texas Tribune.Hank Skinner, January 20, 2010 Caleb Bryant Miller, The Texas Tribune Hank Skinner, age 47, was convicted of bludgeoning to death his live-in girlfriend, Twila Busby, and fatally stabbing her two adult sons in their Pampa, Texas home on New Year's Eve of 1993. Skinner was convicted of the crimes in 1994 and sentenced to death in 1995. He is scheduled to be executed on March 24. The state's case against Skinner was entirely circumstantial. He has consistently professed his innocence, there was no physical evidence linking him to the murder weapons and no eyewitness or apparent motive for the crime. Skinner indisputably was in the home at the time of the murders, but claims he had passed out from mixing large quantities of alcohol and codeine. When he awoke, he stumbled to a neighbor’s residence to report the murders, according to Skinner. But the neighbor, Andrea Reed, testified that Skinner made incriminating statements about the crime and ordered her not to call the police. That was enough for the jury to find him guilty, and, although Skinner had no history of violence that would remotely explain the horrific murders (his worst offense was a conviction for assault), he was sentenced to death. The Investigation The Medill Innocence Project first became involved in the case in the fall of 1999 when a reporter at the Associated Press in Houston raised questions about Skinner’s guilt. Eight investigative reporting students made two trips to the Panhandle town in 1999-2000 to interview sources and plow through documents. They returned with grave reservations about whether justice had been done. For one thing, Andrea Reed, the state’s star witness, recanted her trial testimony in an audio-taped interview. Reed told the student-journalists that she had been intimidated by the authorities into concocting a false story against Skinner. “I did not then and do not now feel like he was physically capable of hurting anybody,” Reed said. For another, toxicology tests on Skinner's blood indicated he would have lacked the strength, balance and agility to commit the triple homicide. Based on the crime scene evidence, the actual killer would have had to bludgeon Twila to death and then repeatedly stab her six foot, six inch son who was standing next to her, a near impossibility for Skinner -- whose blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit and contained a comparable level of codeine. Earlier this week, a new scientific report by one of the leading experts in the field of toxicology revealed that Skinner's incapacity at the time of the murders was more severe than originally believed. Dr. Harold Kalant, an M.D. and Ph.D., reviewed the tests of Skinner's blood levels and concluded that a moderate drinker with that much alcohol and codeine would "almost certainly be comatose, and in some cases be near death or even dead." Even a heavier drinker like Skinner "would not be able to assess correctly where he was...would be very confused and badly impaired, and would have difficulty standing or walking in a coordinated manner." This latest finding is consistent with Andrea Reed's observation of Skinner when he entered her home after the murders: "He was falling into the walls and stuff. He was staggering, falling into stuff," she said in the taped interview. Other residents of Pampa told the student-journalists in videotaped interviews that the more likely perpetrator was Robert Donnell, Twila's uncle. Donnell had been “hitting on” his niece at a New Year’s Eve party shortly before the slayings. Rebuffing his advances, she left the party frightened, her uncle following behind, according to the witnesses. (A close friend of Twila’s said she confided to being raped by her uncle in the past.) The day after the crime, another witness claimed to have seen Donnell scrubbing the interior of his pick-up truck, removing the rubber floorboards and replacing the carpeting. Perhaps most telling, a windbreaker just like the one the uncle often wore was found at the scene – directly next to his niece’s body. The jacket was covered with human hairs and sweat. Yet evidence from the windbreaker has never been scientifically tested. Moreover, prosecutors have steadfastly opposed DNA tests on two blood-stained knives, skin cells found underneath Twila’s fingernails, vaginal swabs and hairs removed from her hand – even though forensic tests on one of the hairs proved it did not come from Skinner. (The physical evidence remains sealed, but the courts have acceded to prosecutors’ demands not to conduct the tests.) In a death row interview with the student-journalists, Skinner said he was innocent and welcomed new tests on the old evidence. "They have no right to kill me because I'm innocent, innocent, innocent."
Hank Skinner to the Texas Tribune, January 28, 2010. Another troubling aspect of the case is the background of Skinner's trial lawyer, Harold Lee Comer. Formerly the District Attorney of Gray County, Comer had prosecuted Skinner for two offenses, theft and assault. After resigning from office and pleading guilty in a drug scandal, Comer was appointed at taxpayer's expense to represent Skinner at his capital murder trial -- without the required hearing to determine whether he had a conflict-of-interest. The trial judge, a personal friend of Comer's, paid him roughly the same amount to represent Skinner as the former DA owed to the IRS. Comer failed to request DNA testing, or present compelling evidence about the alternative suspect. And, at the sentencing hearing, he failed to object to using Skinner's prior convictions -- which he had prosecuted -- to justify the death penalty. When the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the claim that Skinner had been ineffectively represented by Comer, a Texas court set his execution date. In light of the cases of Cameron Todd Willingham, Gary Graham, Ruben Cantu and Carlos DeLuna, the specter of wrongful executions now hangs over Texas' system of capital punishment. Will Texas next put to death a man who has steadfastly professed his innocence and whose lawyer was his legal adversary -- without even conducting DNA tests to be sure the right man will be punished for the crime? Not much time will tell. Updated March 17, 2010 Texas Appeals Court Denies Skinner's Habeas Application In a two-page order, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied the request by lawyers for condemned prisoner Henry Watkins Skinner to hold a hearing in the trial court on the evidence of his innocence and conduct DNA tests on items found at the murder scene. Those items include an untested rape kit, blood on two knives, hair found in the female victim's hand, skin found under her nails and a windbreaker that looked strikingly similar to one worn by an alternative suspect in the case. The appeal "is dismissed and his motion for a stay of execution is denied. Applicant's motion for additional time to conduct an investigation is also denied," said the court ruling. The legal team's habeas application contended that Skinner had been improperly denied a review of his case in the state court. But the panel of appellate judges ruled that Skinner's appeal involved a "subsequent" petition, meaning that the evidence already had been heard -- even though the record shows otherwise. "Because state officials continue to refuse to conduct readily available DNA testing on evidence from the crime scene that could clear him, there remains a serious risk that Texas, one week from today, will execute an innocent man," said Rob Owen, lead counsel for Skinner, in a written statement. Owen added that he "remain[ed] hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court, which has often found it necessary to correct egregious injustices in Texas capital cases, will intervene to protect Mr. Skinner's right to pursue that DNA testing in federal court. "We also trust that Governor Perry, having heard the voices of Texans insisting that the death penalty not be carried out while there are unresolved doubts about a defendant's guilt, will do the right thing and postpone Mr. Skinner's execution until all the facts are in. "Time is growing short, and ultimately someone must have the courage and the common sense to step forward and ensure the reliability of this verdict through the best available scientific technology," Owen said. --David Protess http://www.medillinnocenceproject.org/skinner 03/01/2010 Abolish the Death PenaltyBy Gilles DENIZOT VOTE NOW @ http://tinyurl.change.org/TMCDB I would like to thank everyone who supported and voted for my idea during the first round. It qualified 1st in Human Rights category, and number 12th in overall classification, out of thousands of ideas. 1,105 people voted for "Abolish the Death Penalty", 101 votes away from the Top Ten! We can win this competition and present this idea to the Obama Administration in Washington! I hope you will cast your vote again, and invite all your friends to do so! As of Monday March 1, please go to Abolish the Death Penalty and VOTE! Here's an update by Change.org Congratulations on advancing to the final round! Gilles, We wanted to send you an official confirmation that your idea "Abolish the Death Penalty" has qualified 1st in Human Rights category for the final round of the Ideas for Change in America competition. Congratulations! Here's an outline of relevant information about the final round: 1. Voting will begin on Monday, March 1st at 1pm ET and end on Friday, March 12th at 5pm ET. 2. To provide an equal playing field, each idea will start anew with zero votes. This means anyone who voted for your idea in the first round will have to vote for your idea again in the final round in order to be counted. 3. The Top 10 rated ideas will be named "Top Ideas for Change in America" and be presented to relevant members of the Obama Administration following the close of voting. As a final note, we have been working in the background on our plans to help advance the 10 winning ideas after the conclusion of voting. We had originally planned an event in Washington, DC to announce the winners, but the overwhelming feedback has been that a one-time event would have less impact than focusing our resources on reaching out directly to relevant decision-makers to engage them on the winning ideas, and to working with each winner to create a grassroots campaign to promote their idea nationwide. So we will be heeding this feedback and starting to help build a broader campaign around each winning idea immediately after the final round of voting concludes. We're excited about the opportunity to work with each winner, and look forward to the change we can make together. Change.org 02/25/2010 Abolish the Death PenaltyBy Gilles DENIZOTThe death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. This cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is done in the name of justice. It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 2008, at least 2,390 people were executed in 25 countries around the world and 8,864 people were sentenced to death in 52 countries. Amnesty International reports that executions almost doubled in number from 1,252 in 2007. 95% of all known executions were carried out in only six countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Pakistan and Iraq. In December 2007 and 2008 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted resolutions 62/149 and 63/168, calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. The United States of America voted against. The United States of America is slowly turning against capital punishment. Yet, 52 human beings have been executed in 2009. It needs to stop, on a federal level, and in all states where capital punishment is still in practice. The death penalty: - denies the possibility of rehabilitation and reconciliation. - promotes simplistic responses to complex human problems, rather than pursuing explanations that could inform positive strategies. - prolongs the suffering of the murder victim’s family, and extends that suffering to the loved ones of the condemned prisoner. - diverts resources and energy that could be better used to work against violent crime and assist those affected by it. - is a symptom of a culture of violence, not a solution to it. It is an affront to human dignity. - should be abolished in the USA. Now. Thank you all for voting! Gilles DENIZOT http://gillesdenizot.com/blog/ This Idea is supported by: - The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty - Journey of Hope... From Violence to Healing - Kids against the Death Penalty - Students against the Death Penalty - Texas Moratorium Network - Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty - Execution Chronicles - Coalition for Truth and Justice - World Coalition Against the Death Penalty - Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty - Death Penalty Action Network - various Amnesty International groups - and hundredths of abolitionists worldwide. - Abolish the Death Penalty, New York City, NY 11/13/2009 REGINALD BLANTONS LAST STATEMENTYes I do. I know ya'lls pain, believe me I shed plenty of tears behind Carlos. Carlos was my friend. I didn't murder him. This what is happening right now is an injustice. This doesn't solve anything. This will not bring back Carlos. Ya'll fought real hard here to prove my innocence. This is only the beginning. I love each and everyone dearly. My queen. I love you. Yaws, Julie I love yall. Stay strong, continue to fight. They are fixing to pump my veins with a lethal drug the American Veterinary Association won't even allow to be used on dogs. I say I am worse off than a dog. They want to kill me for this; I am not the man that did this. Fight on. I will see ya'll again. That's all I can say.After reg did his last statement, he smiled, they pronounced him dead at 6.21pm, but i know in my heart that Reg left this life 6.16pm 11/01/2009 Diary Entry November 1, 2009" I still can’t seem to get my mind off my daughter. I’ve always thought of her over the years... But now that I know there is a recent photo of her coming to me soon... I can not think of anything else... Mainly the shit gots me daydreaming that maybe I WILL be able to one day have contact with her... I wonder what she will think of me, after not having been in her life the first 14 years, what will she think if she finds out her real father is on death row???... IN HEART AND STRUGGLE" Tony Medina10/24/2009 Diary entry October 24, 2009Earlier tonight I had a good visit with my cuz tiff and her Husband, and of course it was a great surprise to see them after I changed my visit list and put them on.. But.. Shit, halfway thru the visit she told me that my mom had gotten a recent pic of my daughter... I couldn’t focus on anything for the rest of the visit or since then... I’m sitting here now, and my mind is all messed up... I’ve already walked back and forth between my bunk and the cage door so many times tonight I am dizzy! A RECENT PICTURE OF ' CEDES!!! I’ve dreamed about it, about seeing what my Princess looks like, I’ve dreamed about one day making contact with her.. BUT, so far it has always been a dream, held at arm’s length by the fucked up circumstances this life has thrown me in.. But to know that in a few days I will hopefully see a picture of her, the first picture in 6 - 7 years... I can’t stop thinking.. I can’t stop wondering what she is like, wondering what it would be like to one day talk to her, to hear her voice, to see her face to face... My little girl doesn’t even know about me, so I know I really am letting my self drift in a fukin-fantasy land... but for all these years it has been thoughts of my kids that have helped keep me grounded. Thinking about what matt and Jon are doing, and what Jon will think when he one day learns the truth of me being his father, thinking of Mercedes and if she’s still the little bad-ass people told me she was when she was young... so, now I am waiting to get a picture, and I can not help but dream... IN HEART AND STRUGGLE TONY MEDINA10/17/2009 DIARY ENTRY OCTOBER 17, 2009Wasn’t sure how soon I’d be back on these keys, but, tonight seemed like a good night for me to talk. My head is all fucked up, so I felt like maybe a little free-form conversation would do me good.We’re always being asked, how we "cope" with being in this cage for so long... I don’t think there can be a single "right" answer. Everyone has to deal with this shit their own way. For me, that has meant closing down and boxing up almost all of my so-called natural emotions and feelings. Then people say that this is WRONG!, that it is NOT GOOD for me.. No shit... BUT, it is the only way that I know for ME to survive this hell. How would you cope with a family that has for the most part turned its back? How would you cope with having 3 beautiful children you can not hold... but only being allowed to know and visit with one? My daughter Mercedes thinks another man is her father, and has never known anything about me, has never met my family, yet she is 14. My youngest is my son Jon, despite having the same mother as my oldest son; he also thinks another man is his father. I’m not "allowed" to correct this thinking, cause then maybe his mom will keep both my boys from my family. So I got to suck it up and "deal with it".-.. I got to deal with the courts turning down my appeals without ever giving me a real review. I got to deal with losing Brothers and friends to this system. I got to deal with all of this "alone"... How else can you do that and remain sane, unless you shut down.. People tell me I should just "pray" about it... Well, I’m not knocking that for some, but that’s not the path I walk. So, I sit in this cage day in and day out, and I watch the world pass me by... Sometime I wonder if I’ve gone about this all wrong. But I believe in FATE / DESTINY, and since the 3 sisters who spin out our fates hasn’t introduced me to my "soul mate", then I can only keep walking my solidarity path... IN HEART AND STRUGGLE.. TONY MEDINA 10/14/2009 DIARY ENTRY October 14, 2009Alright, I guess I can direct this to the world wide masses, meaning of course everyone spending time on this site.. It's been a very long Minute since I've sat down and put my fingers to walking across my typewriter in order to let my thoughts be known. . I always try to SAY I am going to be regular about this diary, yet always get sidetracked also you know. People look at us in these cages and think, "Shit they got it easy. No bills, free food, all the time in the world!" Want to trade??? Yea, we got all the time in the world.. All the time to watch Brothers and Homies get carried off to their murder, all the time to stress over appeals, even though it's almost impossible to get anything done on them. I'm blessed on that front with a nice legal team, but that don't stop me from stressing when the courts rubber stamp my ass out the door! Anyway, I'm going to make a new commitment with myself, I’m going to make the effort to hit this diary up on a semi-regular basis. We're starting fresh I guess you can say. I'm searching now for someone who will help me maintain that contact, and I'll get it done.. So, I'll be draping more words on all of you sometime in the future -IN HEART AND STRUGGLE" Tony Medina09/15/2009 PétitionPétition au gouverneur du Texas de suspendre toutes les exécutionsLe 17 février 2004, un homme a été exécuté à la prison de Huntsville, Texas. Il proclamait son innocence jusqu’au dernier moment, attaché sur la table d’exécution. Son nom était Cameron Todd Willingham et il a été exécuté pour avoir tué ses enfants en mettant le feu à la maison – crime, dont il a été innocenté début septembre 2009, grâce à une investigation approfondie par des experts sur les incendies provoquées. L'incendie était un accident. Pour Cameron Todd Willigham, les preuves arrivent 5 ans trop tard; il est mort. Il n'a que l'honneur d’être la première personne, qui a été officiellement déclarée innocente posthume…depuis la réintroduction de la peine de mort aux Etats Unies en 1976. Cela donne à réflèchir sur la justice, la peine de mort. A –t-elle une place dans notre monde d’aujourd’hui ? Avait elle eu une raison jadis ? Et surtout, pourquoi est-elle appliquée dans une des pays des plus avancés dans le monde ; les Etats –Unies, ne devraient-elles pas reviser leur systéme judiciaire ? Un moratoire sur les exécutions a été créé ce jour, par Texas Moratorium Network http://www.texasmoratorium.org/ et Seal of solidarity, http://www.seal-of-solidarity.com/ pour que, ensemble, Européens et Américains, nous poursuivons notre lutte contre la peine de mort. Une pétition en ligne est adressée au Gouverneur du Texas, Rick Perry, lui demandant qu’il déclare officiellement, qu’il y eu des erreurs judiciaires. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/execution-moratorium Ajoutez vos messages personnelles, en anglais de préférence : Qu’il déclare officiellement, qu’il y a eu erreur de justice Q’un être innocent a été exécuté. Que toutes les éxécutions soient suspendues. Merci Mourrtii 09/12/2009 CONTACT GOV. RICK PERRYCONTACT GOV. RICK PERRY ON BEHALF OF REGINALD BLANTONPlease write to the Texas Governor Rick Perry and urge him to halt the Execution of Reginald Blanton 999395, set for Tuesday October 27th 2009. If you live in the U.S. you can send Perry an email via his site website If you live outside the U.S., you can also use the form, but his form is set up to only accept U.S. addresses, so you have to choose a U.S. state, such as TX, and then in the body of your letter, put your full actual address, including your actual country, so that he knows where you actually live. You can send Perry a letter in the postal mail to the mailing address: Office of the Governor P.O. Box 12428 Austin, Texas 78711-2428 You can also call him on the phone and leave him a message: Information and Referral Hotline [for Texas callers] : (800) 843-5789 Citizen’s Opinion Hotline [for Texas callers] : (800) 252-9600 Information and Referral and Opinion Hotline [for Austin, Texas and out-of-state callers] : (512) 463-1782 Office of the Governor Main Switchboard [office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST] : (512) 463-2000 Citizen’s Assistance Telecommunications Device If you are using a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD), call 711 to reach Relay Texas Office of the Governor Fax: (512) 463-1849 09/10/2009 EXECUTION MORATORIUMhttp://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/execution-moratoriumOn February 17th 2004 a man was executed in Huntsville, Texas who continued to proclaim his innocence while strapped to the execution gurney. His name was Cameron Todd Willingham, and he died for the crime of having committed murder by arson in the deaths of his children - a crime of which he indeed has now been proven innocent, giving him the dubious honor of becoming the first person since the reintroduction of the death penalty in the United States in 1976 who may now officially be declared innocent - ....posthumously. Reason to celebrate, to protest, to fear? Maybe all of that, or none, but most of all it's a reason to take stock and reflect - is the death penalty really still adequate in this day and age - was it ever adequate as a means of punishment - and does it really fit the justice system of one of the most advanced countries in the modern world? Any of us active for a prisoner on death row, or participating in campaigns or organizations for the abolition of the death penalty would strongly affirm to the negative, but we are also aware that any decisions on this issue ultimately are made by the United States government and by state governments in the U.S. However, the issues and problems that keep surrounding this particular part of the US justice system, culminating in the new evidence of an inappropriate death verdict having actually been carried out in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, can but be of great worry to any concerned citizen - be it of the United States or any other freedom-loving country - who believes in fair trials and a functioning justice system that actually serves its people. Therefore, as concerned US- and international citizens, we ask for an immediate introduction of a U.S.-wide execution moratorium combined with the opportunity for all prisoners currently on death row in the United States to be allowed to present at court any new evidence proving his/her wrongful conviction and/or the inappropriateness of his/her death sentence. The United States has motivated and inspired the world on many positive issues - let's work together to also make it so on the issue of a fair and adequate justice system. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/execution-moratorium Seal of Solidarity & Texas Moratorium Network 09/10/2009 - Sign petition for Rick Perry to admit Todd Willingham was innocentPlease sign the petition to Governor Rick Perry and the State of Texas to acknowledge that the fire in the Cameron Todd Willingham case was not arson, therefore no crime was committed and on February 17, 2004, Texas executed an innocent man.http://camerontoddwillingham.com/?page_id=6 Read the 16,000 word New Yorker article about the innocent person executed by Texas. http://su.pr/44Tm0v 09/07/2009 - Miscarriage of Justice?Miscarriage of Justice?Since a few days, all international Newspapers report about Cameron Todd Willingham. He died on the 17th of February 2004 on death row at Huntsville, Texas. EXECUTED. Was it a Miscarriage of Justice? An innocent man who was executed? The media claims that this was a scandal created by the American justice system. They talk about Cameron Todd Willingham being the first person since the reintroducion of the death penalty in 1976 who will be officially and factually declared innocent - ....posthumously.. more ... 08/16/2009 - New Petition for Tony FordHi allWe have a new updated petition for Tony which we hope you will sign - please sign even if you have already signed the original petition. Please forward widely! http://www.petitiononline.com/TonyFord/petition.html In struggle Rachael 07/29/2009 - Death Salivates October 27th 2009 Execution Date2pm. 7-16-09. I just woke up. I had slept for exactly 8 hours. I am a night owl. Yet, I was not rejuvenated. I did not feel balanced. I told myself that something was happening in the Universe. In the distant dark galaxy of my being I felt something approaching. I’d had an earlier hunch but dispelled it with my exhale. I grabbed all my senses; all of my energy and brought them inside, concentrating it. Concentrating on soothing the waters of what I thought was a turbulent mind-body. Here I was, doing the same thing today. An hour went by. I was frustrated because my meditation yielded very little. I decided to conclude my meditation with the Tripod Pose, a Hatha Yoga posture where I ease into a headstand, feet in the sky, while focusing on my breathing. This pose is designed to calm your mind-body. I felt it might do the trick. It has always worked in the past.I heard the gate pop. Then there were jangling keys as somebody made their way upstairs to 2 row where I was encaged. I brought my attention back, like, “Get back over here!” Like that. Then my sense went back outside. “Blanton! What are you doing? The Major wants to talk to you,” said the Sergeant. I eased out of my posture and into another called Child Pose before getting up and telling the Sergeant I had been meditating and needed some time to brush my teeth. I brought my attention fully back and noticed that I was nervous. I knew what it was. Damn! I knew what it was… I gave the Sergeant my jumpsuit, sort of spun while shaking out my boxers to try to keep from having to degrade myself by stripping completely naked and having to turn around and spread my…well, you know. The Sergeant wasn’t tripping today. He told me to just come on. I didn’t like that. He was being a (little) nice. That was not a good sign. Not good at all… Damn! We get out in the hallway and he asked me if I knew what this was about. But it was the way he said it. He said it like he knew what it was about. Damn. I told him I did. I saw the nurse and asked him if he had my morphine shot. Ha, ha, um, ha, *ahem*. That did not make me feel any better. I tried though. I just decided to stay quiet the rest of the way. We get in the Major’s office. I sit down and cross my legs, looking him square in the eye, all sorts of emotions flowing through me: Anger, embarrassment, sadness…”What’s up, Major?” I asked. In a slow and somber tone he told me that I had an execution date and he was going to explain a few things to me and have me moved to Death Watch. He said that he’d just found out himself. All I could see in my mind was my Queen. All I could feel is what she would feel. I thought I was going to be sick. I tried to hide it. I knew what time it was. I knew this was coming. And after the march we just had outside of the courthouse in San Antonio, I knew that the D.A.’s weren’t going to hesitate to immediately set a murder date for me. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. It just wasn’t. Maybe I was naive. Me, the “realist”, naïve. The courts were going to see the injustice and refuse to let me be railroaded. Yet they railroaded me. It was like the many stories I’ve read about battered women. She’s getting beat by her husband. She knows that he’s going to keep on beating her. He’s vicious. She knows he’s going to stop. He’s a good man. Everything was suddenly happening so fast. Everything was surreal. Yet I had been preparing for this for 9 years. No! You cannot prepare for something like this. You just can’t. 28 years young. Just the other day that one officer cried when she found out how young I was; how much I remind her of her own kids. I hate too much life where the said only dwelt death. I have too much life pouring out of me to prepare to die. Die? Die for what?! Ya’ll are trying to kill, wrongly, a loving, beautiful man. Not a killer. Not a monster. A man with a family. A beautiful, loving wife. A beautiful, loving step-son. My Mama. My people. My people need me. You are trying to steal me away from the people who need me. The Major tells me about the number of witnesses I can have; talks about a last will. A last will, ya’ll! A “last will”?! What about my will to live?! The Major talks…I drift in and out of even being there at all. He talks about disposition of any trust funds, disposition of personal property. He talks of my last meal; how they won’t get me any lobster or shrimp, or T-bone steak. He was trying to make light of the situation. But there was nothing “light” about it – at all. It was heavy; heavy like my consciousness. “Lobster ?!” I don’t give a damn about a last meal! REG BLANTON 1981 - ???? Reginalds... 07/22/2009 - Please read reginalds writings
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