April 2015 Philadelphia Chapter of Pax Christi U.S.A.
Echoes in Purgatory III, SCI Huntington
Echoes in Purgatory is a collection of writings by men who are serving a Life Sentence Without Parole. Read their words, then listen quietly and you will hear their cry for their God given “Right to Redemption.”
… Life without the possibility of parole is the other death sentence …
John Adams, Lifers Inc. – GU5023 …
A life sentence enables me to be a positive role model. At times a life sentence feels like a Death sentence. Every day I am
reminded of the freedom I used to possess and of the choices I made in Life. A life sentence taught me that it is not a game, L.I.F.E. is very real. It’s showing me how to be a better person, to lower my temper, to be fair with others, to be optimistic about getting my life back, and until that day, all I can do is my absolute best to give them back their sentence of L.I.F.E.
Frederick Lamont Jefferson, Lifers Inc. – EV6182
A prison cell made of cement and steel, the banging and closing of doors, sitting inside this prison cell where no one can see the tears I let fall. Loneliness is all I feel because deep down inside I’m missing you all. I try and put on a false front for people to see, pretending like nothing bothers me, but as each passing year comes around - As I get older I start thinking of the ones I love, ones I’m not allowed to see. O so bad, it really starts getting to me. I’ve been man enough to face it throughout the years. But my heart feels broken, it don’t work no more. How to explain each time I try it causes me PAIN. I’m not asking anyone to feel sorry for me now living in hell with other lost souls and wasted lives. People in here are happy when their time comes to DIE. If you had to stay here for the rest of your life, you would know.
To comment or respond to a reflection, the envelope needs to include:
the man’s name, number, SCI Huntington, 1100 Pike Street, Huntington, PA 16654-1112
The Mission of Lifers Inc. is to secure legislation for parole eligibility for lifers, in accordance with the laws as they relate to other lifers nation-wide. We provide viable and adequate opportunities for lifers to become useful and productive members of society; … Kevin Saleem Mines,
AY-5941 President, Lifers Inc. P.O. Box 244, Graterford, PA 19426
See articles in the Prison Planet section, N.Y. Times Magazine, 3/29/15, This Place is Not Designed for Humanity; Map: Judgment Calls; Big Home; the strange & radical humaneness of Norway’s Halden prison.
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