Hotep,
Recently, lawmakers of Salt Lake City, Utah proposed a bill
that would reinstitute the firing squad as a solution to debates pertaining to
the lethal injection cocktail.
The
ongoing litigation stemming from the lethal injection protocol is obviously
getting the best of some chosen political leaders. The facts exposing the misuse of capital
punishment in this country are irrelevant when the blood lust for euthanizing a
death row prisoner is at stake. Give the
people what they want, right?
Well, as a republican representative of the people anxious
for state sanctioned murder, Paul Ray argues that a team of trained marksmen is
faster and more humane that the drawn-out deaths involved when lethal
injections go awry (e.g. Oklahoma and Arizona).
SMH. Ideas must be bulletproof
because that is one that should have been shot down long before it transitioned
into words leaving the mouth of a state representative.
It is this type of closed-mindedness that often leads to the
popular perception of death row prisoners being no more than soulless bodies
awaiting the “justice” that will release them from their own misery. This is why writing this particular article
is somewhat equivalent to making the arsonist the fire chief.
You see my current placement on North
Carolina’s death row qualifies me as one of those “soulless bodies”
anticipating a “humane” expiration by the hands of the state. But I represent a demographic of death row prisoners
maintaining famished souls – seeking nourishment through the platform of
learning chess.
Just follow my lead:
On 3/16/15, chess master, Mr. Eugene Brown returned to
domicile of North Carolina’s so called “worst of the worst.” Not only did he
bring masterful chess maneuvers and inspiring stories about his recent
teachings at Howard University, he was accompanied by Revrend Reggie Longcrier,
author of “From Disgrace to Dignity.”
It’s a memoir about the life of a street
hustler that refused to accept the cancellations created by anyone other than
himself. The good reverend makes it
crystal-clear that cancellations have no place in a spirit-filled existence.
“Changes override cancellations. You can’t let people tell you that there are
cancellations in your life. Only changes
will be made.” Somehow, I can see myself in these cool “old-heads.” Two
ex-offenders who got it together; figured it out and now relate so well with
those who currently combat the desolate rooted with incarceration.
The actions of these men are far from being gratuitous,
while emblematic of their wisdom indoctrinating hope into the minds of future
Lifers, as well as ex-offenders like themselves.
Mr. Eugene Brown speaks what I feel: “Brothers leave the prison and never give
anything back.” He even refers to his interactions with us as his “journey.” It
is rare for a volunteer to engage so closely with death row prisoners. Whenever
he takes a seat across the board from one of our chess representatives, the
silence of the room screams a harmonious pitch that proves to be therapeutic
for the volunteers and the prisoners alike.
A stalemate, resignation or checkmate is secondary to the
feast enabling our souls to swell with the aspirations of becoming something
more than a ward unable to see past the revolving doors of recidivism. Every eye within that conference room
collaborates in witnessing the history at hand.
“I want to talk to people that lived the life I lived.” Rev.
Longcrier has an unmistaken affinity with death row prisoners. In his early years of “doing time” he was
mentored by prisoners released from the “death house.” The reverend’s words are
my interpretation of giving the people what they want. Someone’s great idea that remains
bulletproof. Let the fire burn!
Keepin it 100,
MannofStat
Copyright © 2015 by Leroy Elwood Mann
