Humanity for Prisoners

I have a question for my fellow believers: Why the silence on federal executions?   Readers of this column know that I really try to avoid political issues, and when I as much as dip my toe into the political mud puddle, I hear about it.   But when it comes to the death penalty, the gloves come off.   Here’s what has quietly been going on, with little publicity, and certainly little comment from religious sources (except the Catholics!): -Since July, when it resumed carrying out the death penalty after a 17-year hiatus, the present administration has executed eight federal inmates.   -The Justice Department plans to execute five more inmates before the next President, who opposes the death penalty, takes office. (The only woman on federal death row, Lisa Montgomery, who is a mentally ill victim of sex trafficking, is scheduled to be executed just 8 days before the inauguration!)   -A new rule published by the Justice Department will allow the use of ...

B ack in the 90s, when Maurice Carter was still in prison, he joked about the prison Thanksgiving menu that had been published to show just how well our prisoners are treated. The menu showed that they were getting a turkey dinner. Turns out it was turkey bologna, and the same old slop.   Truth be told, any publicity that attempts to show exemplary treatment of Michigan prisoners is baloney.   Would that menu were the worst thing to grumble about on Thanksgiving, 2020.   I’m not sure how prisoners are giving thanks this week. I don’t think I could do it. But, like the Apostle Paul who wrote some of his most powerful stuff while in prison, many of these men and women look beyond their present circumstances.   And that’s good, because in my two decades of work in this field, I’ve never seen anything this bad. A few days ago, the Editorial Board of the New York Times described it this way:   The American penal system is a perfect breeding ground for the v...

I love a good thriller, and Michael Connelly’s new book The Law of Innocence is one of the best I’ve read in a long time!   It reminds me of two very important points that we often ignore, or just don’t believe: The presumption of innocent until proven guilty just isn’t true, and never has been; and, defense attorneys have an unfair, uphill fight in U.S. courtrooms.   I still remember my thoughts, when covering my first trial as a young reporter. “Wow, the prosecutor has a strong edge, here!” But, in my naivete, I just assumed that’s the way it was supposed to be. We want bad guys off the street, right?   Connelly’s fictional defense attorney Mickey Haller insists that going to trial is really a gamble: The prosecution is always the house in this game. It holds the bank and deals the cards.   The plight worsens substantially for the accused if that person is poor and/or black.   Here in Michigan, the situation used to be terrible...one of the worst in ...

“So, how do you measure your success?”   The question came to us from a potential new staff member. The HFP team and members of our Human Relations Committee were conducting interviews for someone who may be called upon to help us raise funds. “When approaching foundations for money,” she said, “I have learned that they want to see positive results.” F air Question. Fair observation.   I have long held Father Greg Boyle’s opinion, that success is valuable only when it is a by-product of faith. As he puts it, success can be set up by choosing to work with those most likely to produce positive results, rather than those who most need support. In other words, HFP does not choose who it will help in order to stack the deck in the success column! We help everyone who asks.   The neat thing was the quick response to her question from the front lines...not with numbers, but with stories.   Susie told of a prisoner who had serious physical issues that made conditions...

Criticizing the media is a real challenge for me. You see, I am a part of it!   That’s right. Long before I was a prisoner advocate, I was a reporter, and a darn good one!   Today, I’m fuming about headlines in weekend MLive newspapers. Yet, I must confess that at one time I might have done the same thing! Might have, that is, before I got into this prisoner business.   Here are the headlines that raised my hackles: “ Three young women, bound, raped and strangled.” “The murders in Kalamazoo that summer nearly five decades ago left the community in fear.” “Now, the convicted killer wants to be a free man.”     The story is that of Michigan inmate Brent Koster who committed the crime when he was 15. He’s 64 now, and was granted a hearing because the Supreme Court has ruled that we can’t send juveniles to prison for life without parole. He’s been in prison for 45 years.   I voiced similar complaints in 2014 when the same writer, John Agar, gave the ...

Marcia and I were watching the news one evening last week, prior to the election. The non-stop political advertising was overbearing. TV news was filled with “what ifs;” and, opposing candidates and opposing parties were issuing dire warnings. I’m an old broadcaster and an old newsman, and all that stuff is ho hum to me.   But then, Channel 8’s investigative reporter Ken Kolker presented a lengthy expose' on what appeared to be a wrongful conviction. That started my blood boiling.   Listening to the U of M Innocence Clinic’s fine leader, David Moran, telling a story of shoddy police work and all the other ingredients that led to locking up an innocent man ruined the evening for me.   The prisoner’s name is Jeff Titus, he’s now 68. He’s been in prison 18 years, convicted in a cold case investigation. The actual crime, the shooting and killing of two hunters in a state game area, occurred 30 years ago.   Those who know Doug Tjapkes know that I got into this p...