Every holiday season I pull out my short stack of DVD’s that I think I must see during the Thanksgiving and New Year’s holidays. A classic favorite of mine is the pessimistic, but lovable Charlie Brown and his pathetic little tree with ten pine needles still hanging on. I still get tears at the end as Linus reads the Christmas story from the book of Luke in the Bible.
Today it was with great disappointment and sadness that I learned the first woman ever to be sentenced to death in Tennessee, Gaile Owens, is a step closer to execution. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied her habeas petition in a 2-1 decision. Gil Merritt, a Nashville-based Judge and long-time Martha Ingram date, filed the dissenting opinion.
After reading the article, it left me feeling as bleak as Charlie Brown’s tiny tree. It’s been a while since I posted anything to the blog and now is as good a time as any.
As we rush around in our yearly hubbub of holiday activities, my dear friend Tim McKinney sits on Death Row praying that 2009 will bring good news in his own appeal. Reading Gaile Owens’s story today reminded me once again how difficult it is for someone on Death Row to receive a new trial or be exonerated. While it does and can happen, it’s not a frequent occurrence.
December is one of the hardest to endure behind bars. It’s a constant reminder of how cut off from the world and your loved ones you really are, not that you can forget it the other eleven months of the year. While family and friends are celebrating the season with parties, gift exchanges and holiday meals, you are in your tiny cell with only a telephone call to connect you to your family – that is if you have the money on your prison “account” to make the call. You get a couple of hours of visiting time on the actual holiday and a meal that tries really hard to mimic what Mom or Grandma would cook but fails to have the same comfort and enjoyment. There’s no Christmas tree with twinkling lights, no Christmas music or egg nog. If you receive a gift, your family has to order from a specific catalog on file at the prison and they certainly can’t bring it to you wrapped in pretty paper with bows. Most come from very poor families that can‘t even do that much. So it ends up being just another day behind bars. I dare a free man or woman to try and make it through the day with a positive attitude under those same terms.
Many people ask me why I choose to visit someone on Death Row; after all, aren’t they horrible criminals that deserve to die? Certainly many have committed “horrible” acts by human standards but I just can not resolve in my heart and mind that killing for a killing is the answer. It certainly doesn’t bring the victim back or remove the hurt from the victim’s families or even that of the accused’s family. It’s a no-win situation and heartbreaking on all accounts.
When asked, I politely listen to their take on the Death Penalty and explain as best I can that for me, it’s a heart thing. While society has stamped them as an undesirable and most even have families that have turned their backs or never been there to start with, every person is worthy of compassion. I do it because not every one on Death Row committed the crime they are charged with. They are innocent or mentally ill and need help or did not commit a crime that warrants a death sentence. In Tim’s case, he is an innocent man with proof that he is innocent. I can not speak to Gaile Owens’s innocence or guilt but I do know that if she is executed, our state takes another step back in becoming a beacon of change and hope for all mankind.
Ironically enough, on Monday of this week a recommendation was made from the Tennessee Committee to Study the Administration of the Death Penalty for the Tennessee General Assembly create an independent commission to oversee capital defense in Tennessee based on the “woefully inadequate defense many capital defendants receive at trial.” According to Stacy Rector, executive director of the anti-death penalty Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killings (TCASK), the case of Gaile Owens is a prime example of these problems. It’s definitely the case for Tim.
Each time I think about it, I just want to go to my friend and hug him and let him know that he is loved and that miracles DO happen, even in 2008. My prayer is that 2009 will bring hope for him and others in his situation. As I mentioned, I know nothing about Gaile Owens but I pray for her too. It’s not my place to judge my brothers and sisters. We all make mistakes and we are all a fine line between freedom and bondage, whether physically, emotionally or mentally.
President-Elect Obama based his entire campaign on the “Need for Change”. I’d say Tennessee continues to earn the right to be on the short list, yet I believe there is always hope where change is concerned.
Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown.
