Fiction vs Fact on the Shawna Forde case/trial #3

 Fiction:  The wedding ring, which Gina Gonzales (surviving victim) identified as her wedding ring, and which was found in Shawna Forde's property had Shawna's Forde's DNA on it.  To which the prosecution asserted proved Shawna Forde was on scene as the crime took place and was in fact the female that entered the home & stole Ms. Gonzales's jewelry.   

FACT: No DNA matching Shawna Forde's DNA was recovered at the crime scene, or on any weapons believed to be used during the crime, or on any of the stolen property found from the home of the victims.  Gina Gonzales did not say any of the perps were wearing gloves.  She did state "they", including the female were going through the house, opening drawers & cabinets, going through them looking for something.  That "something" she believed was drugs. To which she denied any drugs were in the home.  See below excerpt of ring/dna as introduced to the jury during trial.

See additional information obtained by PI and introduced at appeal, December 16, 2016 page 3 (can be viewed in it's entirety on the Shawna Forde blog, under pages, marked appeal). 

The odds of 3 markers out of 8 matching Shawna Forde are 1 in 2000 peoples.  1/2 the state of AZ would likely match.  Perhaps even more.  This was not explained to the jury.  Had it been, the jury may have not convicted Ms. Forde.  
 

Yard report, 11-17-21

OK, so after that horrible situation on 11-15-21 we filled reports, and it was the k-9 unit that came to destroy our wing, they aren't even suppose to do that, but they did, so their target was arts and crafts and pictures of children and native art. it was not our ssu unit retaliating for their bad behavior in prior shakes, but they stood by and said nothing and did nothing and was present as well as going in and out of rooms. so they want to claim " ignorance" when called on it " ohh wasn't me". but they were right there happy to help. so a all male k-9 unit that has no regard for anyone, the fact that they tore pictures of children, one of these ladies had two children die this last year in separate accidents while she was in here, can you imagine that pain, and then to have Bullies come in and tear up the pictures? we also have a native population and they went in and tore up their tribal pictures, why? then it went from room to room, as women just stand and watch, with men and dogs telling them to " shut the fuck up " no shanks, no illegal contraband, * arts and crafts and pictures.

Yard Report

 yard report. 11-15-21

this morning I was to go to my legal visit but was rudely yelled at to get to the fence, where I spent over a hour while they came with the dogs and decided to only shake my wing, which was in retaliation due to a inmate lodging a complaint about being targeted and harassed, so they decided to make a example and cover their asses on a harassment charge by search and destroy whole wing. " because inmates can't complain or report legitimate issues" so after 45 min I tried to tell the srgnt that I needed to get ready for legal, he basically told me to fuck off, then after a hour or so we went back in and they tore up pictures of children, poured water all over our beds, destroyed books and my legal paperwork, stole property we pay for, did not follow policy ( which they never do ). and when we tried to address it were laughed at and told to put in a inmate letter, very rude, very aggressive, all this because they want to cover up bad behavior or to prove some threatening point. took arts and crafts people are making for their children for x-mas, just a complete disregard, two weeks ago they came and because they didn't like a inmate took all her clothes that were soaking in a garbage can ( inmates use to wash clothes ) and dumped them on a sewer drain, clothes she paid for, just to be petty and a bully. * ACLU has doc in court in trial at this moment for major violations of the Ryan verses parson lawsuit** doc has been paying fines " tax payers money " instead of following settlement agreement, which has to do with our yard, the massive lockdown, NO Program, took education away, so only get 1 and 1\2 hr out a day, we already have a major issue again with self harm and mental health breakdowns, used to be 1) education 2) programs. ( self help etc classes ) 3) softball 4) exercise 5) art 3 hrs of rec and a additional 3 hrs for phase 3. so you could have 6hr a day. now 1 and half hour only, and two pods on rec field ( 70 to 80 inmates ) and two out of four working phones! so these women often can't get on phone, and when you take a population and lock them down with no options it causes major mental health issues and a heightened sensitivity, so it promotes even worse behavior, then to have a special unit come on yard just to bully and destroy rooms for no reason, makes for a explosive environment. I know for me its upsetting because we do so much to help officers and yard and as long time model inmates to be treated with such callous attitudes you can imagine how the less stable or women from abusive backgrounds feel, we are already treated as 2nd class citizens, specially women with death penalty verses men, we are stuck on a discipline yard and nothing additional, the men with death penalty get out 6-8 hrs a day. can hug their children in visits and don't have to live on a discipline yard. ( which the women are still not allowed to hug their children ,our covid restrictions haven't changed) CDC recommendations is visit outside, they refuse to let us visit outside??? and there is a designated outside visitation area. this is more upsetting to me knowing many of these women come from extreme abuse in their life's, and doc only enforces the attitude its OK to be abused and if its someone in authority you have no right to stick up for yourself, in a male dominant environment of authority. " but you better tuck your shirt in " so I had to refuse my legal visit, due to total disregard from them and no time to get ready, plus my legal paperwork ruined from the water being grown all over our belongings. this is Mon, can't wait for Tue! hahaha

Part 2 of rumors

 Shawna was so distraught after her baby died, she tried to kill herself.  Below are 2 hospital documents showing her stay & leaving against AMA after the death of her daughter.  

Time to settled some UGLY rumors some very ill intending folks have spread about SF!

I'm here to correct & settle the score on some vicious rumors spread about SF by a group claiming to know all about the case.  NOPE! They have never read the transcripts, the police reports, or the appeals.  They got their information from their own heads & other dopes claiming to have been there.   Let it be known the "Shawna Forde discussion page" on Facebook is Not connected to this blog or any of Shawna's supporters. It is ran by a small HATE GROUP dedicated to spreading rumors about Shawna Forde that are easily proven false and also dedicated to heckling Shawna's supporters.  

Rumors are best left to Fleetwood Mac!!

Rumor #1. Says Shawna had something to do with her daughter's death in 2010. Nope!!  Here's the death certificate that says she died of acute pneumonitis.  Acute Pneumonitis is defined as: Pneumonitis (noo-moe-NIE-tis) is a general term that refers to inflammation of lung tissue. Technically, pneumonia is a type of pneumonitis because the infection causes inflammation. Pneumonitis, however, is usually used by doctors to refer to noninfectious causes of lung inflammation.

Common causes of pneumonitis include airborne irritants at your job or from your hobbies. In addition, some types of cancer treatments and dozens of drugs can cause pneumonitis. > Per the Mayo clinic  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pneumonitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20352623 

Death Certificate:  

Good news for Ms. Forde & some other DR inmates if this happens!!

https://www.azcourts.gov/ccsguide/Mitigating-Circumstances/FELONY-MURDER-LACK-OF-INTENT 

Ms. Forde will be released from prison if this passes.  CA passed it & released hundreds of "Law of parties" inmates.  Woohoo!! 

Update on Shawna & Fiction vs Fact

Hey you all!!  Rae here to report having spoken with Shawna on the phone & email & received a lovely card from her!  Her spirit is soaring high with the eagles.  She has several things in the works for interviews/showing she is innocent.  I will announce here when/time/date/channel/show when i know.  It may be some time as the indep. film makers take longer to produce things.  I am working on another fiction vs fact, it's taken longer than i had thought.  But i am sifting thru police reports i've never read before.  Alot of light is shed in them!! I will make them available on here soon.   I will link up police reports & Court documents to show proof of what i say. If anyone would like to see the truth on any subject matter, please comment or message me on Facebook. Thank you for supporting Shawna & for your patience.  ~Rae

That was good for me

 Shawna wrote this piece, which was translated into German and published in Tabor Magazine

That was good for me My life has been a sorrowful place, joy hides in shadows of memories, when what is prevalent in my past is being unloved, unwanted, uncared for and feeling forgotten by all. The bridges we cross and the smoke in our eyes after we burn them down, most would assume this topic would mean '' this has been good for me , has to be a moment of joy '', but for some of us we can't carry a memory of joy without the over shadow of misery. I am one of those people, what pain has given me is courage, pierced by the courage and loneliness I am surrounded by, this is good for me, the people and places that played a role in my life that participated in my pain and my love are the times I needed to build this courage. Times of collective joy makes the world seem less random, maybe its a coincidence or maybe its the answer to our prayers. I know that the things we choose that were good for us and the people and places in which we remember, our tragedies need to be included, they can be more relevant in who we are as human beings. Us that are deeply traumatized those moments are even more important. We are somebody, We are relevant, We are beautiful, We are pain. '' no man is a island, intire of it self every man is a piece of a continent, a part of the main, if a clod bee washed away by the sea, Europe would be the lesse, as well as if a promontorie were, as well if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls It tolls for thee... ''. --John Donne

The death penalty

 I have always been opposed to the death penalty. It is a cruel practice and is usually accompanied by torture, sometimes physical but practically always psychological in the way that people on death row are badly treated and dehumanised. It does not work as a deterrent. In England when thieves were hanged in public, pickpockets did a roaring trade at their executions, despite the danger of being caught and suffering the same fate. People in China can be executed for fraud and despite the publicity generated by show trials prominent politicians and businesspeople still commit frauds, thinking they will get away with it.

The biggest argument against the death penalty is that it is irrevocable. Clearly mistakes are made by the justice system; fines or terms of imprisonment can be reduced or set aside if it is later found that a person is innocent, but somebody who has been executed cannot be returned to life. Unfortunately, there have been many miscarriages of justice in the US. About ten years ago I went to a talk at a Quaker meeting house about LifeLines which I found very interesting, and I decided to join. LifeLines began in 1988 when its founder Jan Arriens watched the BBC documentary Fourteen Days in May and was deeply moved by the words of the condemned prisoners who were interviewed, and by the dignity of the man who was due to be executed, Edward Earl Johnson. I too watched the documentary and was also deeply moved and angry that this could happen in an otherwise civilised country. I filled in a form and stated some of my interests and Shawna was assigned to be my pen pal. We have written and lately emailed regularly ever since. Shawna is a remarkable lady. She is clearly innocent of the crime for which she was sentenced to death and has suffered all the indignities of the system. However, she has not allowed herself to be bowed down and faces the daily hardships with courage and dignity. Shawna is always interested in my family and what I have been up to. She often gives me good advice and has been a great support recently after my partner died and I have had some health issues. Although she is in a prison cell thousands of miles away and we have never met she has become one of my closest and dearest friends. Despite the conditions Shawna is a very fine artist and writer and has had pieces published in The Wing, the Lifelines magazine and some of her writing has been translated into German and published in Tabor magazine. She also acts as a mentor to some of the younger women. I admire Shawna immensely and I look forward to the day when she is released from prison and is able to join her friends and family and become a respected member of the community. Anthony Loukes

Arizona ‘refurbishes’ its gas chamber to prepare for executions, documents reveal

The state of Arizona is preparing to kill death row inmates using hydrogen cyanide, the same lethal gas that was deployed by the FBI in the 1993 massacre of the Branch Davidians in Waco Texas.
Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal that Arizona’s department of corrections has spent more than $2,000 in procuring the ingredients to make cyanide gas. The department bought a solid brick of potassium cyanide in December for $1,530. It also purchased sodium hydroxide pellets and sulfuric acid which are intended to be used to generate the deadly gas. The gas chamber itself, built in 1949 and disused for 22 years, has been dusted off and, according to the department, “refurbished”.

Over the past few months the Republican-controlled state has moved aggressively to restart its deeply flawed execution system. The death penalty has been in abeyance in Arizona for seven years following the gruesomely botched lethal injection of Joseph Wood in 2014.  Last month, the Guardian revealed that Arizona spent a jaw-dropping $1.5m on a batch of pentobarbital in October, a sedative which it now hopes to use as its main lethal injection method.

The Guardian’s documents, obtained through public records requests, show that officials have also gone to considerable lengths to revive the state’s mothballed gas chamber, housed at ASPC-Florence. A series of tests were conducted last August to appraise its “operability”.  Seals on windows and the door were checked to ensure airtightness, and drains cleared of blockage. Water was used in the tests in place of the deadly chemicals, with a smoke grenade ignited to simulate the gas. Some of the techniques used to test the safety of the chamber were astonishingly primitive, the documents reveal. Prison officials checked for gas seepages with a candle.

The preparation of cyanide gas executions presents Arizona death row inmates with a Hobson’s choice between two questionable ways to die. Should they opt for the gas chamber, they should be mindful of the last time anybody was gassed by the state.  Walter LaGrand, a German national, was sentenced to death for a 1982 bungled armed bank robbery in which a man was killed. The Tucson Citizen published an eyewitness account of his 1999 execution in which he displayed “agonizing choking and gagging” and took 18 minutes to die.

“The witness room fell silent as a mist of gas rose, much like steam in a shower, and Walter LaGrand became enveloped in a cloud of cyanide vapor,” the Citizen reported. “He began coughing violently – three or four loud hacks – and made a gagging sound before falling forward.”  The newspaper recorded that over many minutes the inmate’s head and arms twitched, and his hands were “red and clenched”.

Should an inmate choose death by lethal injection – the method widely deployed among death penalty states as the supposedly scientific and humane alternative to gas, electric chair or firing squad – they will also find the last time it was used in Arizona it was anything but humane. Joseph Wood took almost two hours to die when Arizona experimented on him with 15 doses of a then little-used concoction of lethal injection drugs. An eye witness told the Guardian that he counted Wood gasp and gulp 660 times.

In its current rush to restart executions, Arizona has selected two inmates as likely candidates to go first out of a current death row population of 115 people. They are Frank Atwood, 65, sentenced to death for killing an eight-year-old girl, Vicki Lynne Hoskinson, in 1984; and Clarence Dixon, 65, convicted of the 1978 murder of a college student, Deana Bowdoin.  A member of Atwood’s legal team, Joseph Perkovich of Phillips Black, told the Guardian that it was improper for the state to be hurrying towards setting an execution date when the pandemic had impeded investigation into his client’s possible innocence for more than a year. As for Atwood’s choice between lethal injection or gas, Perkovich said: “Neither option is tenable.”

The attorney pointed out that there is a discrepancy between the potassium cyanide that has been obtained by the corrections department and the state’s execution protocol which stipulates that sodium cyanide must be used. “This is not a small detail – the specific compound is vitally important,” he said.  Perkovich added that “Frank Atwood is prepared to die. He is a man of Greek Orthodox faith and is preparing for this moment. But he does not want to be tortured and subjected to a botched execution.”

Inmates who choose the gas chamber are strapped into a chair in the centre of the vessel. Colored levers are then used to drop the sodium cyanide into a pot of sulfuric acid under the chair, releasing the deadly hydrogen cyanide into the air.  Once the prisoner is dead, the gas is neutralized with ammonia until the chamber is safe to enter. “As a precautionary method,” the death chamber protocol says, “it is recommended that the team removing the body wear gas masks and rubber gloves and that the hair of the deceased inmate be ruffled in order to allow any residually trapped gas to escape.”

The documents record how prison staff engaged in role play during last year’s tests. Guards acted out as inmates who resisted going to their death, screaming: “This is murder”, “I’m innocent”, “You’re putting me down like an animal”, and “This is against everything America stands for”.  Despite Arizona’s best efforts to present its gas chamber as a reputable institution, the horrors of the past hang heavily over it.

Shawna's Testimony

My name is Shawna Forde. I was sentenced to death by the state of Arizona in March 2011, not as a person accused of murder, but as a woman accused of master minding the deadly robbery of a drug dealer.

At 42, I was arrested by FBI agents on the southern border of Arizona, with no adult criminal record. Out of nowhere I was turned into a woman who leads men and masterminds murder. 

When my trial began, the court was packed with media due to a high profile crime that had taken place the Saturday prior. A mass shooting in a Safeway parking lot had left six dead, including a federal judge, and left a congresswoman (Gabriel Gifford) in critical condition. 

My lawyer Eric Larsen came into jail that Saturday night hours after the shooting to tell me he had to throw my trial. He was positive I would never receive a fair trial due to all of Tucson and the country reeling over the recent events.

The prosecution had zero evidence placing me at the scene of crime, and no facts or evidence to back up their claim of my involvement which was based on nothing but their fantasy ''theory''. 

Then the prosecution proceeded to lie, cheat, and hide evidence that would've exonerated me. This blog highlights and showcases so many outrageous violations by the prosecution, it’s almost unbelievable! 

So much so, that even a juror from my trial came forward to make declarations and file them with the Arizona Supreme Court. The juror, after seeing my appeals on the online blog, became outraged that the prosecution had lied to the jury and used them to send an innocent woman to death row. 

These declarations are published on the blog as well for anyone who cares to see them. 

Valentine's Day 2011, verdict: ''guilty''. 

March 2011 I enter Perryville women's corrections, Lumley unit where they house Death Row. 

As I pull up at the gate to my new yard, courageously, I hold my head high and fix my gaze with indomitable will at my oppressors, with my hands and feet bound in chains walking through the sea of brown uniforms to my cell on death row. 

I made no sound as the intensity of the realization weighed heavy in my soul, the utter feeling of aloneness, a weak echo pushing my feet, one foot in front of the other. 

An acid test of my strength in a cold, stark environment as inmates stood with ghostly faces silently watching my decent into a hell of a new kind. 

Subjected to the treatment of those imprisoned in solitary confinement indefinitely, never allowed to escape the feeling of chains that bind me, forever to leave scars around my ankles and my heart. These chains were put on me whenever my door was opened, and my freedom was reduced to an 8x11 cell (as long as no human was near me). 

It’s an unspeakable, horrifying coldness. Being sentenced to death is barbarically brutal. Another elemental component of death penalty conviction is that of dehumanization. A death penalty sentence requires the violent restrictions and overthrow of the most important characteristics of humanity, the God given right of individual personhood; the right to life. 

As an innocent woman sentenced to death, for me there is nothing more evil than the unjust dominion over the very life of a person by some other person (or 12)--to be thoroughly erased by society, in an industry wanting only a conviction and a death, my death. 

The media plays a major role as well in social control by inflammatory information, motivated to produce fear and transform the image of a person from one being into another. Without facts, without truth, it creates an assumption of guilt. Later this can change drastically in the appeals process when truth and evidence is revealed; evidence that was hidden by the prosecution, now being exposed. As in my case, and many other cases! You would think this could restore the balance of the scales back to innocent but it doesn’t. To me this is criminal. And of course new revelations are followed by silence from all those who screamed how guilty I was; that a life was taken, and the solution to restoring the balance was to take a life, my life. 

Simple enough to form in words; quite something else to live through. 

Let the war begin. As most of my critics work hard and rarely take a day off to see that no benefit is ever received by someone on Death Row, nothing to resemble a life with any joy or human contact, not even a glance at any form of humanity… 

There of course is always more to the story... What I realized was the true war was within myself; my ability to express the beauty of the innate elements of my humanity. 

I had to pause, as the sunlight clasps the earth, I could feel the blessings upon myself and feel rays of light coming to me in waves, comforting me and securing my faith. My deepest feelings found a home in my heart as warmth washed over me, a warmth that goes deeper then my bones. 

I, who believed I was a prisoner every waking morning, waking up trembling at the will of others, had decided that I was my own person and completely free. This became one of the happiest days I ever experienced. 

I am a woman of earth, courageous, kind, strong, beautiful, a teacher, a learner and a doer, a mother, a grandmother, a lover and a friend. 

They may take my body, but never shall they take my spirit nor my love. Because we pay a price for everything we have and everything we are, ambition is not cheaply bought, but worth having. 

Service is my ambition, to help educate and change lives through me from my soul with love. 

My true measure of myself is how I treat others even when they exclude me from their moral universe with impunity and praise the decision to execute my body. 

I choose to live my life with laughter while bringing love to all those in my life. 

''Thy radiance in light will not leave me even if nothing will bring back splendor in the grass or the glory of the flower, We will grieve not but rather find strength in what remains behind''

Blog news

Our main blogger is recovering from surgery and will not be back until late June, we are sorry for the delay and lack of updates, we also realize how many are experiencing challenging times, and wish everyone strength and to find happiness in every moment you can . thank you for your support and time .

Fiction vs Fact on Shawna Forde number 2

Moraga had helped Gaxiola and another man steal between 400 to 500 pounds of marijuana from Flores a few months prior to his death, she wears the same size shoes as the bloody ones found at Gaxiola's house and she somewhat resembled the description provided by Gonzalez, the attorneys said

This is Gina Moraga at Alex Gaxiola's trial. Hmmmm... But there's more! Could this be a case of mistaken ID? I think so!! Moraga was Alex's girlfriend.

Fiction vs Fact number 1 on Shawna Forde

Forde's DNA was also found on an item of jewelry belonging to Gonzalez and found in Forde's Honda Element after the slayings. https://tucson.com/news/local/crime/forde-convicted-in-killing-of-arivaca-man-daughter/article_6ae561fe-386c-11e0-9555-001cc4c002e0.html The link is to the news journal depicting Forde as guilty. Now let's read the actual truth about Forde's DNA on the silver ring. Bear in mind, there were several pieces of jewerly & only 1 had a partial match to Forde's DNA.

Start with the last paragraph on page 3 of Shawna's appeal. What do you think of Shawna's DNA matching the DNA on the silver ring now? The DNA could match you or I with odds of 1 in 2,000. Why didn't Shawna's lawyers jump on this? Well, they were court appointed if that tells you much. And it should. Wait till you read & see my next Fiction vs Fact on Shawna!

By now most of you may have realized we are experiencing some problems posting on this blog. We will likely be moving to a new location soon. I will keep you posted on that. I will be doing some reasons why i believe Shawna is innocent of said crimes. I will be using facts, not made up BS. I will list links to whatever i use as backup. I will only use facts from Shawna's trial transcripts & appeals as back up. I encourage you to send me your questions concerning her innocense or guilt. What "Facts" or information have you thinking she's guilty or innocent? Let's find the answers from her transcripts & appeals. So much is not common knowledge on this conviction, it will blow you away!! ~Rae

 

The Wing of Friendship                                              

LifeLines Quarterly Magazine                           Spring 2021

 

 

Dear Friends,

Well, we are back in the electronic format for this issue but I hope we will be back to a paper copy next time. I am sorry I haven’t got room for all the articles you have sent me- please keep sending them, and I will publish them as soon as I can.

The post has been intermittent, and sadly I had no entries at all for the art competition this year. I hope some of you can send me poems and essays for our next competitions. 

Please be assured that LifeLines is still offering the usual support and services – please use the contacts page for email addresses and phone numbers or contact your co-ordinator.

Thank you for your letters and messages; I hope that you are all keeping well.

Sue Drysdale                                                 Copy date for the next Wing is 26^th April 2021

Vice Chair’s Message 

Dear LifeLines members and our friends in the US 

This e-Wing has been put together by Wing editor Sue Drysdale in response to the current Covid lockdown in Britain: we want to reduce the workload of the severely stretched Royal Mail and help most members avoid a trip to the post office. 

I’d like to begin with a very warm welcome to all the new members who have joined since the last newsletter.  We’re delighted to have you on board.  Many joined after seeing a BBC video featuring LifeLines members that was linked with news coverage about the horrifying spate of Federal executions greenlighted in the last months of the Trump administration.  It is some comfort that many new friendships will hopefully spring from that very dark time.  Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those executed, the remaining Federal prisoners and with co-ordinator Patrick Ballin, who has offered compassion and support to all affected.  President Biden has declared his intention to end Federal executions and opened a conversation about the death penalty, so we shall watch developments with cautious optimism.   

Thank you as ever to all LifeLines office-holders – trustees, co-ordinators, regional group organisers and others who do valuable work to keep things running smoothly - who continue to do a wonderful job in the current very challenging circumstances.  We welcome longtime member Edmund Conybeare back to the committee, on which he served many years ago, and thank you too to all the trustees and Michele Baxter who were involved in the superb redesign of the LifeLines website.  Take a look here: www.LifeLines-uk.org.uk     

You’ll see below details of the next LifeLines Zoom event, in April. Do join us if you can! It’s a great way for us to connect with each other and make something positive out of a grim situation.   

To our friends in the US, we know you’re still having to endure many restrictions and difficulties as a result of the pandemic, with visits, mail and daily routines all severely affected.  We’re keeping you in our thoughts and wishing that you stay safe and well.  To all LifeLines members, please never doubt you are making a difference for the better and thank you for being there for your friends.  Let us all hope that wherever we are, Spring will be the start of a brighter time for everyone.     

 

Warmest wishes, Jan Hall 

Facebook and Twitter

Follow us on Twitter - @LifeLines25 - or on Facebook; just search for the LifeLines group and one of the Administrators will approve you, pending a membership check.

LifeLines Conference News

Coming soon to a screen near you…again!  

LifeLines Zoom Event Saturday 17^th April

The first LifeLines Zoom event last October was such a success that we’re having another, on Saturday 17^th April from 2 to 4pm.  Robin Konrad, Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Habeas Institute, will be guest speaker, and the afternoon will also include other features of interest to LifeLines people, and time to talk informally with one another.  There will be more details of the event on the LifeLines website and sent to you from your co-ordinator nearer the time.  

 

Pre-registration - NB You must register for the event by 10^th April at the latest.  Please email LifeLines membership secretary Nichola Glasse on nichola@glasse.org.uk who will check your membership status and confirm your booking has been received.  If you’re not a member, please give the name of a member who will vouch for you.  About a fortnight before the event, Nichola will email you a link, and you must click on that to complete your pre-registration and receive joining details for the conference.  Attendance is free, but donations are much appreciated.  Donate here:  www.lifelines-uk.org.uk

 

Guest Speaker Robin Konrad will be joining us from her home in Montgomery, Alabama, where she is Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Habeas Institute.  The NHI works to educate lawyers, law students and the public about habeas law by developing and putting into practice the best standards for habeas practice.  

As an alumnus and former faculty member at Howard University School of Law, Robin is passionate about racial and social justice.  She has helped develop NHI’s pipeline programme between Howard students and public defender offices and is committed to ensuring that prisoners have quality representation when challenging their unconstitutional convictions.

 

We hope you can join us!

 

Some Old ‘Meant to Be’s

Realities of what happened to us,
It’s so very hard to explain,
Those reasons we aren’t together
A face without a name

I think about it very often
The facts seem a little unclear
A million questions to answer
Yet none of them are near

I was born to walk in darkness
You were bathed in the light
Born to two different worlds
Demons we both would fight

Though separate we are together
The regrets can never be freed

Shadows in every corner
Living some old ‘meant to be’s

R.E.H.

 

 

 

 

2020 in 6 words 

 

A Facebook prompt led members to sum up last year in 6 words- here are a few of them:

 

Look for new ways going forward

Grateful for friendship across the ocean

Very grateful for what I have.

COVID ravaged but on the mend!

Feel like the world's gone mad

Unpredictable; Transformative; Clarity; Community; Change; Ugh.

Learning to truly count my blessings.

Community spirit, love, care, wildlife, environment

Pulling together for our communities.

Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day.

Friends matter, letters matter, you matter 

Enjoy small pleasures, see kindness everywhere

Time to breathe and appreciate Nature

Sincerely grateful for what you have

A year of tears and heroes

Thanks but no thanks, wretched 2020

Pillow

You are the comfort zone to many minds and hearts. 

You are the last who simply cannot speak, see, or hear. 

You don’t judge. You allow the mind to lay down its head; 

To feel as a heart, our fears, our tears, our dreams, our nightmares. 

Like our heart, it is the center before our day is complete. 

In the midst of it all, you soak up the tears and heal the inner silence of thought. How we all rest on you. “Pillow Talk” you do not do. You are the mind’s security blanket.  

In hunger and in fear, you gave me your comfort and ear. 

As I tossed and turned, you still understood. 

For 55 years you allowed me to reflect without a word. 

My head thanks you for your protection on stormy nights, lonely days, you amaze.

Like the heart, you see not, hear not, yet like the heart this is where life truly rests. Pillow, you have listened to my many thoughts. 

You wait for me, not hate for me. Like a cello that’s mellow, in tune with my thoughts; Music only heard in my thoughts, you covered my tears. 

Yes, Pillow. You’re special in ways that matter most days. 

Gregory Esparza Sr.  Ohio

 

The Samuel Johnson Essay Competition 2021

 

We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting entries for the Samuel Johnson Essay Competition. Please send your entry to Sue Drysdale, The Wing Editor

Deadline : Monday 5th July 2021

 

LifeLines Poetry Competition 2021

 

We are now accepting entries for the LifeLines Poetry Competition 2020. 

Please send your poetry to: The Wing Editor, 5 Glusburn Bridge, Glusburn, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD20 8DP by Monday 5^th April 2021. The editor can also be contacted by e-mail at thewingeditor@gmail.com. The 1^st prize is $40, 2^nd prize is $25, and 3^rd prize is $15. 

The competition is open to all prisoners on the row, but no more than three entries per person, please. Remember, you must be the author and your poem cannot have been published elsewhere. 

Winning entries will be published in a future issue of The Wing; other entries may be printed later. Please let us know if you would prefer to have your work printed anonymously and let us know how we should send your prize money, should you win. Good luck!

Appreciation: Art Giles 1959-2020

'Give Light and people will find the way'
- a quote sent by Art, November 2016.

As I am finishing this, a fantastic rainbow arcs down the hilly streets of my Yorkshire town over the local church where I requested Art, and others, be remembered in an All Souls service, last Sunday.

It's  always going to be special writing to someone on the Row and being part of their life, but befriending the thoughtful, intelligent Art - who has died in his sixty-second year - has been a privilege.
We began our correspondence the year I turned fifty. He'd been on the Row since my schooldays, yet his letters exuded a warmth and resilience that spoke of a heart at peace.
He stressed the importance of celebrating the beauty and happiness in the everyday, and consequently I began to look at my life and its blessings with a new appreciation.
There were sketches, quotes and word pictures, but never discussions on politics - I never developed the courage to attempt that! - even if Art's letters once or twice touched on them.
I would not have known from his letters of the (harsh) daily routine of the Row.
He never complained, had enormous resilience, and, despite illness, continued to have an interest in the world in general, and a concern for the needs of those close to him, in particular. (It was a revelation to me, for instance that he helped teach a Law Class, encouraging fellow inmates to continue contesting their sentence, right up to the end, as he did.)
One of his last kindnesses was to ask a friend, stateside, to contact me when he died.
When I passed on news of his passing to Mary, the Coordinator who'd originally put us in touch with each other, I thanked her - "it's been a really special experience" - and then I understood that quote: "Give people the light and they will find the way"; everyone IS special, but sometimes people need the warmth and sunshine of friendship to see our own worth.

(Thanks, Art; I was one of those people!)

Clare

Dancing Pixies 

On the very first January morning the bleakness of my drab prison cell was transformed into a festive party room; 

Filled with petite winged Pixies of shimmering bright lights. 

Around they went, dancing on the walls and ceiling, jumping, bouncing, joyous and almost magical.

Each moment seemed choreographed in a gleeful, mischievous dance. 

Though they were truly just reflections of the sun shining off the ice coated prisms created on the pointed razor wire atop the high fence outside my cell 

These brilliant bursts of colour brought life and hope, if only for just a brief time. 

I encourage you to look for the dancing pixies in life; 

Those we lose sight of when times are full of plenty… 

And we grow up. 

John E Robinson Sr, Kansas

 

 

Apache Blessing

 

May the sun bring you new energy by day, 

May the moon softly restore you by night,

May the rain wash away your worries,

May the breeze blow new strength into your being,

May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life. 

And here are my AZ Statelines:

Hello Everyone,

Happy New Year to you all :)

So, it's a mixed bag from Arizona this Spring. 

The Pandemic is continuing to cause problems and restrictions and to cast uncertainty over the details, and date, of the planned Central Unit Move - for the present, it seems to be off the agenda. 

All those on the row now have tablets but, in addition to issues with them (hard and software wise), there has been a huge problem with the new Securus eMessaging platform which replaced the basic, but bulletproof, JPay email. The problems are legion and they have caused a breach whereby many writers at this end are simply unable to communicate with their penfriends by email any more. If you haven't heard from your friend by email, this is probably the reason. I encourage all writers who are having difficulty at either end to post each other a letter explaining the situation, if you haven't already. Fingers crossed that Securus sorts the bugs out soon.

In terms of legal issues, Arizona continues to move toward reinstituting executions. In October, Mark Brnovich, the Attorney General, said that his office and the ADC have found a compound pharmacist to administer pentobarbital - source: AZCentral.com. Executions have been on hold in Arizona since 2014. However, this whole process will take time, as with all things row-related, and is by no means a foregone conclusion.

If I have missed anything, let me know for next time.

Best to you all,

Bryonie

Lifelines

Arizona Coordinator

Registered Charity Number 1168273