A few months ago, I spoke with a
good friend of mine who is still doing time in prison. It had been more than a
year since I had last spoken with him, yet I could feel his warmth and
gentleness as if we were in the same room together. It is true that the prison environment does
little to engender the core attributes of friendship like trust, empathy, and
compassion.Yet, many people had shown him extraordinary kindness during his two decades in prison, and had had learned to pass that kindness on to others.
I asked him how he’d been doing,
and he said to me, “Never been better!” His familiar positivity brought a smile
to my face. It was that bright optimism that drew me to him in the first place.
Being close to him lightened the shadows I still carried at that time, and gave
me hope for the future.
He had embraced faith while in
prison, and it became a living force within him. Unlike many people I meet out
here in the “free” world, he actually lived his faith. It propelled him into
service to others. He had been teaching newcomers in prison about sexual
assault prevention for nearly five years before I met him. When he wasn’t
teaching, he worked in the chapel as a clerk, where he could assist the
Chaplain and volunteers. Over time, they stopped seeing him as an inmate, and
put him in charge of facilitating the Friday night chapel services.
He told his story one Friday
night. I’ll never forget it. He had experienced a traumatic childhood, with a
chaotic home life and a father in prison. The turmoil led him to drugs and
unhealthy acquaintances. Weeks before his 19th birthday, he
accompanied two young men to buy some drugs. Unexpectedly, the two men attacked
the drug dealer and killed him. My friend was horrified.
He spent an
entire year in county jail claiming that he never had any intention of harming the
man who lost his life. The two men responsible for the murder quickly accepted
plea agreements that would assure them of release from prison in their late
30s. My friend dared to claim innocence, and asked for a trial. Under the law
of parties, my friend was charged and convicted of Capital Murder.
To punish him for refusing the plea agreement, the prosecutor demanded a sentence that would keep him in prison at least twice the length of time given to the actual murderers.
The judge agreed with the
prosecutor, so my friend won’t even be eligible for parole until 2033. His
right to appeal expired long ago. Unless Texas passes a law that makes my
friend eligible for a second look by the sentencing court, he will remain in
prison until he is at least 58 years old. Some states allow certain individuals,
like those who were children themselves at the time the crime was committed, to
appeal for a sentence reduction after serving a certain percentage of the
sentence. Such a law could be extended to those sentenced under the law of
parties, particularly when the actual murderer(s) received more lenient
sentences. Sadly, no such law exists in
Texas.
My friend had to learn to forgive
others in order to cope with injustice. After having served two decades in
prison, my friend learned that one of the men who had committed the murder was
on the unit awaiting parole release. The Chaplain accompanied my friend to the
release gate, where they met the man.
My friend looked the man in the eye and said, “I forgive you.” They shook hands, and the man departed the unit to begin his adult life outside of prison.
Both of the men who committed the
murder are now free from prison. They are living their lives, able to pursue
careers and family. Out here in the “free” world, the same prosecutor who
abandoned all sense of fairness, demanding that my friend serve 20 years for
being a party to a murder and an additional 60 years for daring to defend
himself in court, gets to sleep in a comfortable bed and perhaps enjoy a round
of golf this weekend. The judge who went along with the prosecutor, forgetting
his sworn duty to remain just and impartial, also gets to enjoy his life,
perhaps fishing along the Texas coast. My friend will experience none of these
things.
As for my friend, he’s “never
been better.” He’ll teach a class this week that will make prison safer. He’ll
share his kindness with people like me, helping them to heal and grow into the
men they were intended to be. People who experience his friendship will return
to the “free” world with a deeper commitment to improve the lives of others.
My friend will probably bring a message at the Friday night chapel service. He may talk about an ancient king named Solomon who knew a thing or two about justice. Perhaps my friend will teach others that, when it comes to matters of justice, where lives are at stake, one needs a double portion of wisdom.
Because wisdom is often lacking
in the Texas courts, we need a Second Look Law. It's also time to take a second look at Law of Parties.
