Humanity for Prisoners

What a surprise (and an honor!) when an activist organist in England contacted me recently. Reprieve, a human rights group that opposes the death penalty, had heard of my personal experience in witnessing an execution. The resulting interview,  with a panel of researchers in another country via Zoom, was most interesting!   My feelings about the death penalty are well known, and I have posted numerous essays on this website regarding my 2007 experience in witnessing the execution of a friend and client.   But now about the new research.   The lengthy, in-depth report by Reprieve, made major news this week in the United States, both in the New York Times and National Public Radio!   The focus was on botched executions, and there was one statistic in particular that wasn’t anticipated. The research found, among other things, that Black people had 220% higher odds of suffering a botched lethal injection execution than white people!   That new insight just adds another way Black

Eighth Amendment, Bill of Rights: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Prisons are a hot spot for violations of the 8 th Amendment!   Since I got into this prisoner advocacy business a few decades ago, I have seen flagrant examples of “cruel and unusual punishments.” It is not uncommon for HFP team members to deal with topics like---   -Solitary confinement -Medical care or lack thereof -Mental health issues -Excessive force -Sexual and psychological abuse Etc.   The 8 th Amendment has been our ammunition for fighting cruel and unusual punishment, but now I’m hearing that there’s a possibility that even this weapon might get weakened. Here’s a notice I received from the Marshall Project this week:   When the U.S. Supreme Court hears the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson later this month, the justices will consider how far cities can go in policing homeless people. But just as the court sw

Some of my Hollander friends and I used to jokingly say that to friends who were not of Dutch descent.   On a more serious note, though, I’m saddened by the way we treat people who are not the same as we are. Daily we hear about attacks on Jews, Palestinians, Muslims, Blacks, gays, lesbians, transgender persons…and let’s not forget prisoners.   “Such then is the human condition, that to wish greatness for one's country is to wish harm to one's neighbors.” ― Voltaire   Today the hot topic is immigrants and migrants. In our neck of the woods, this has been fueled by a Kent County murder case involving a previously deported immigrant.   Donald Trump was in Grand Rapids yesterday to fuel the fire. We already know how he feels about these people. He charges that many are criminals from prisons, and recently he accused migrants — many of them women and children escaping poverty and violence — of “ poisoning the blood ” of America with drugs and disease. He even claimed some

Maurice Carter was a dear and gentle soul, and he carried no anger with him when released from prison after serving 29 years for a crime he did not commit. But he struggled with this idea of forgiveness.   He had a problem trying to forgive Wilbur Gillespie, who lied to police telling them that Maurice was the perp, in order to avoid major prison time for a drug arrest.   He had a problem trying to forgive off-duty police officer Tom Shadler, victim of the crime, who could not identify Maurice as the perp until two years later when his photo appeared with the notice of his arrest on the front page of the newspaper.   And I know he would struggle to forgive the crooked cops who framed him, an inept defense attorney who could have won, and the prosecutor who not only got a guilty verdict, but helped keep him behind bars for 29 years.   Years later, when I formed an organization called INNOCENT, which later became HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS, Marcia asked me how many people I knew who

To Roman Catholics and to Doug Tjapkes, March 25 is a special day. To most protestants, it’s just another day.   In the RC Church, today is considered the Feast Day of St. Dismas . And it’s based on a neat story in the Gospel according to Luke.   Dr. Luke explains that when Jesus was wrongfully convicted and executed on an old, rugged cross, there were two other guys on crosses, flanking him on each side. One of these thugs kept harassing Jesus: “ Are you not the Messiah?   Save yourself and us.”     The other criminal, however, was having second thoughts. He had words for his companion and a request to Jesus: “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.”   Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”   Our Lord was touched by that request, and promptly responded: “Amen, I say to you, today

 Kudos to  the Detroit Free Press for broaching a topic that has long been a concern of ours: Those persons without financial means don’t get the legal assistance they deserve.   Former TV newsman and now private investigator Bill Proctor, in an op-ed piece, pointed out that former President Donald Trump has spent $50 million in legal fees on just one losing civil case so far. He went on to draw attention to the “stark contrast between Trump and those who are struggling, and must accept whatever the justice system throws at them.”   On a more local basis, MLive carried a feature story this week, pointing out that the new law firm for Ottawa County, in which I reside, made nearly $750,000 last year in providing legal services for the county!   And, on a personal level, I can report that HFP needed specialized legal services to prepare a document last year. The attorney that we retained did an excellent job, and provided the exact service that we needed. But, she billed $750 an hou

While it’s the season of Lent for Christians, it’s Ramadan for the Muslim community.   There are about 2,000 Muslims living in Michigan’s 28 correctional facilities, but only 7 of them reside in the Upper Peninsula’s Marquette Branch Prison.   First an explanation of Ramadan, provided by Britannica.   Ramadan, in Islam..the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and the holy month of fasting. It begins and ends with the appearance of the crescent moon. For Muslims, Ramadan is a period of introspection, communal prayer ( ṣ alāt) in the mosque, and reading of the Qur ʾ ā n. God forgives the past sins of those who observe the holy month with fasting, prayer, and faithful intention.   This week, an HFP client emailed the HFP office from Marquette with an urgent request.   “Since the beginning of Ramadan the staff have been less than co-operative with regards to providing their Ramadan food packs and meals in a timely manner. They are receiving their meals and packs sometimes several

I'm a rare bread of cat. I still read newspapers. Recently, Will Weissert, in an article about candidates for President in the Detroit News, wrote:   In a speech announcing his 2024 campaign, (Donald) Trump called for those “caught selling drug to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts.” More recently, he’s promised to execute drug and human smugglers.   That planted the seed for this post.   I’m one of those rare individuals to have witnessed an execution. I became friends with a young man on death row in Texas, early in my work with prisoners. He asked me to be his spiritual advisor at the time of his execution. But, before I go on, let me ask you. Did you see or hear this story in the news last week? I’m quoting here from the Associated Press.   Idaho halted the execution of serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech on Wednesday after medical team members repeatedly failed to find a vein where they could establish an intravenous line to carry out the lethal injection.

My kids say it should be a book! The Doug, Pat and Mark story is a doozie!   About 25 years ago, while fighting to free Maurice Carter from prison, I read a newspaper column written by Pat Shellenbarger of the Grand Rapids Press on the topic of eyewitness identification. I contacted Pat re that story. That led to a friendship between Doug and Pat that continues to this day.   In subsequent months, Pat would go on to assist me in an investigation into the Maurice Carter case that eventually led to solving the crime.  That particular episode became a chapter in my book about the Carter case, SWEET FREEDOM, published in 2006.   Fast forward to 2009, A New York businessman claims wrongful conviction, and while serving time in a Michigan prison is handed a copy of my book. Mark Hartman, who was also convicted in Berrien County, was amazed at the similarity of these two stories and tried to reach out to me. His letters bounced.   Persisting in his efforts to contact the author, Mark

I’m not sure exactly when I rented Box 687 in the United States Post Office of Grand Haven, Michigan…but it was early in our 23-year history. Those were the days before we communicated with prisoners via email, so the US Mail was our main method of conveying messages.   What I do recall, though, is that the daily visit to that post office box was a part of my prayer life. HFP was a one-man show back then. Each day, when I dropped off my packet of letters to prisoners and to those persons who supported the work of HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS, I said a prayer over the outgoing mail. Then I would take a couple steps over to the PO box, and pray that something good (preferably financial contributions) would be in the stack of incoming mail that day.   Those memories are all coming back to me this week. HFP is no longer a one-man show, and I am no longer the one who makes the post office visits each morning. But, our Office Manager Suzie has caught the fever! Now she looks forward to seeing

Michigan’s deadliest school shooting in history is still in the headlines, and it’s forcing us to do some serious thinking.   Ethan Crumbley, now 17 years of age, is serving life in prison for killing four classmates at Oxford High School in November, 2021.   The news that made headlines in recent days was that Jennifer Crumbley, 45, is now the first US parent convicted of manslaughter over a mass shooting carried out by their child. Prosecutors accused her of being negligent in allowing her son to have a gun, and ignoring warnings signs.   I don’t have any problem with the way our justice system is treating Mrs. Crumbley. I have a problem with the way we’re treating her son.   While Michigan legislators consider bills that would ban life sentences without the possibility of parole for children, we contin u e to support such a sentence when the crime is something that really makes us angry. Like the Oxford tragedy. Ethan Crumbley was sentenced to life without the possibility o

Marcia loved to sing this prayer of St. Francis of Assisi…both for the melody and the lyrics, and I loved to hear her sing it!   Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.   O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.   Then along came the famous author Anon., who penned a flip side to that beautiful prayer.   It sort of follows the thinking of John Lewis, and, I’m liking it!   The Reverse Prayer of St. Francis   Dear Lord, make me a channel of disturbance. Where there is apathy, let me provoke. Where there is compliance, let me bring

I’ve never spent a lot of time thinking about money. Maybe that’s because I never had much of it. I was gainfully employed all my life, so Marcia and I were able to raise four kids and pay the bills. Granted, there were some lean years in my topsy-turvy world of three distinctly different careers, but we always had enough to eat.   My thoughts turned to money recently, however, when my cousin Nancy---who had an amazing career as an exemplary teacher---posted this little statement on Facebook:   Imagine a world where pro athletes buy their own footballs   and teachers get diamond rings for being good at their jobs.   As a former broadcast journalist, I’m still a bit of a news junkie…so I started paying attention to stories about those persons who make a lot of money.   -Donald Trump, during a recent deposition, threw around all kinds of sky-high figures, pegging his famous name and related brand at $2.9 billion and even $3 billion!   -Shohei Ohtani, major league baseball pla

"If you ask a child to draw a picture of a zoo, chances are they'll draw an animal behind bars. We gotta take that image and change it." Jim Breheny, Director, Bronx Zoo   “If you ask someone to draw a picture of a prisoner, chances are they’ll draw a person behind bars. We gotta take that image and change it!” Doug Tjapkes, Founder, Humanity for Prisoners   I’m thinking about my hero Dr. MLK this week, thinking about my incarcerated friends this week, and wishing I had the skill to craft my own “I Have a Dream” speech.   I have a dream that here, in my favorite state, we might trash our present programs of punishment and retribution, and start thinking about humanity and rehabilitation for those persons who have made terrible mistakes. Just a quick note. Those individuals, also, were created in the image of God. Just a quick footnote. God loves them just as much as he loves you and me!   I have a dream that Michigan chooses to end solitary confinement in its pr

  If the law is not strong enough to protect the humblest and weakest citizen it deserves the contempt of all. Clarence Darrow   Many, many years ago, I received a standing ovation after telling members of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan (CDAM), “You are the backbone of our justice system!” I made that statement, realizing that a member of the HFP Board of Directors was wincing. His son had just married a young woman who made a career of defending criminals, and he boldly told her, “I don’t know how you sleep at night!”   As a young broadcast journalist, in my first career, I felt some of the same emotions as our board member. How does one defend these creeps?   Decades later, I befriended a poor Black guy sitting in the Michigan prison system, accused of a crime he did not commit. His defense attorney, and I use the term loosely, had a reputation of falling asleep in the courtroom. Appointed by the State of Michigan to make sure that Maurice H. Carter would receive a

It’s true! A couple of good news/bad news examples.   The good news: our state legislators adopted a law in 2017 offering compensation of $50,000 per year to victims of wrongful convictions.   The bad news: the measure is so vague that some of the people who deserve this money cannot collect it.   The good news : Michigan ranks fifth in the country when it comes to reversing convictions.   The bad news: A bout one-quarter of the people exonerated have been denied payment.   When that bill was passed in 2017, some lawmakers boasted about the state’s generosity…as if $50,000 for every year spent behind bars was even adequate. How does one put a cost figure on trying to get started again with no family, no home, no job prospects, no driver’s license, etc., etc.?   Now, I’m wondering if some of these lawmakers had their tongue in cheek, adopting a law whose narrow criteria and confusion over eligibility left former prisoners facing another system that seems stacked against th