For the Living of These Days

This story is true; the names - all save mine - have been changed for obvious reasons. I retain my name for I need to be responsible for all that I say. I also wish to protect geographical locales and specific organizations.

My intention is to share the remarkable, albeit brief, pilgrimage of a young man on death row. The several roles that he played, given his restricting circumstances, are extraordinary and worthy of sharing.

My book title comes from Harry Emerson Fosdick's great hymn, God of Grace and God of Glory. It seemed apropos because my pen pal and I found that during our 13 years of corresponding, we needed God's power, wisdom and courage "for the living of our days!"

The bulk of this book consists of Joe's letters, reproduced verbatim except where changes were demanded for clarity. While some misspellings are left unchanged and some other punctuations would be preferable, my pen-pal's writing is left unchanged. Errors that he made I liken to a mathematics student who correctly solves a complex problem but gets the wrong answer due to a simple error in arithmetic. Joe's writings were understandable though not always polished; he is to be commended for improvement over time because he worked to that end.

The Beginning

Harry Joseph Prescott was on death row at a prison in one of our southern states. In mid-1990 he had been charged with, and later convicted of, killing a young woman, the daughter-in-law of a city official in that state. Joe, as he wished to be called, had been locked away for several years when he first wrote to me in late 1999. This is how the story began for me:
"Dear Mr. David Petty,

Hello! My name is Joseph Prescott. I go by Joe. Your name was given to me by someone whom might want to correspond with someone like me. I'm on death-row in ------. So, I'm looking for someone who is anti-death penalty and wishes to write to someone like me in this predicament.
At some point the state wishes to kill me. So I'm trying to find some distractions from the monotony and dreariness of this life that I have to endure, until then. Hopefully, it won't happen! If you're one of these people who has compassion and some human decency that you could spare me, I'd be able to look forward to the next day." (10-99).
"So," thought I, "who is this Harry Joseph Prescott? How did he get my name? Shall I become pen-pals with him?"

What was I to do? This was new territory for me. Though I earlier had taught senior college courses at a maximum-security prison in Texas, I had never met a death-row inmate. I wondered if it might be beneficial for both of us if we could correspond for a while. I decided to write back:

"Dear Joe,

Thank you for taking time to write to me, and please say thanks to the person who gave you my name. I am willing to correspond with you periodically, and I hope it will be mutually beneficial.
You have told me a little about yourself; I will return the favor. For almost 40 years I have claimed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He is the prime Motivator in my life, for in Him I am experiencing abundant life; and I have His promise of eternal life. My relationship with God, the Father, through His Son, Jesus Christ, has influenced practically all of my life since young adulthood. Whatever human decency and compassion I have comes from this relationship.
I am a retired teacher as is my wife; we have three sons and two daughters-in-law. For several years during my university teaching career, I was privileged to teach several sociology courses at a maximum-security unit of the Texas Department of Corrections.
If we continue to correspond, you can count on me to be truthful and candid with you; in turn, I expect the same from you. When you write again, please explain why you are on death-row." (10-13-99).

During the years that were to unfold for Joe and me, I had ample time to consider and reconsider my own and society's debates about how to deal with criminal offenders. As with many other social programs, we continue to experiment and change as we search for the best solutions.

While earlier I had interfaced with inmates who were enrolled in my college classes offered behind bars, soon-to-come was another opportunity that would run concurrently with my pen-paling with Joe. In September, 2001, I began to teach Bible classes weekly at a minimum-security unit at the Penitentiary of New Mexico. This program, called Community Bible Study (InPrison), gave me the time to interface with a different set of inmates, sex offenders and other kinds of addicts.

None of these were "lifers" (sentenced for life), so, all things being equal, each would one day be returned to society. Though I was forbidden to ask about their offense(s), a few would readily offer that information. As I had opportunity to stay in touch with several inmates following their release, I learned of their difficulties of being accepted (graciously or at all) back into the free community.

Rejections were especially grievous for the sex offenders, all of whom are required to register themselves in the states to which they return. One man, James, whom I drove to the airport on the day of his release, had an especially-difficult transition. In his native Ohio, as he attempted to align with a local church, he was informally rejected by members as they learned of his background. Cold shoulders, not second chances, were offered by that congregation. He called me periodically to bemoan his situation; and, when we last communicated, this situation had not been resolved.

As I struggled to understand reasons for these impasses, my scientific objectivity kicked in. I was looking at the situations only from my inmate-friend's point of view; society's views are equally important. Society has already been offended (violated) by an individual who has broken one or more of its laws. Society, then, has a right (and responsibility) to ask the offender of his/her future intentions.

Two other considerations are also vital: (1) the current recidivism rate and whether or not the offender is a repeater and (2) whether or not the individual is a sex offender and, more specifically, is s(he) a predator (a pedophile, rapist or the like). High recidivism rates demand that citizens be cautious.

Two hallmarks of Christianity are repentance (genuine contrition for having done wrong) and forgiveness (to pardon or excuse a wrong). When genuine, these combine to contribute to the doctrine of a "second chance." I invite my readers to join me in this continuing conflict with our law-violators and a proper meting out of justice and mercy for us all.