Justice at Leisure

From an article online, Gaston Gazette dated 12/23/2012 we have the following lines from the convicted, sentenced, murderer of the 17 year old daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Catterton of Gaston County, NC. The letter from the convicted murderer sentenced to die reads, in part, as follows:

“Is the public aware that the chances of my lawful murder taking place in the next 20 years if ever are very slim?” Hembree asked. “Is the public aware that I am a gentleman of leisure, watching color TV in the a/c, reading, taking naps at will, eating three well-balanced meals a day?”.

This writer, a totally blind, 100% disabled, service connected, medical officer, veteran of the Korean Era, who, at age 82, living alone, still taking care of myself. I have often said to my accountant, what I have given to my country and still paying the tax I pay, I would be much better off in prison, prepared food, good living accommodations. There is only just so much an old blind man could do. My accountant always said the same thing, “I sign these papers too and I don't want to go to prison.”

In the grand design of things, God wanted me to experience the world, and I have traveled every continent despite my disability. In Shenyang, Manchuria, I asked my Chinese guide, “Are many people in prison?” You see, I knew the history of China, the Mao regime, (when 100 million Chinese were killed) a great statue of him in the center of the city. The guide said, “News gets around about treatment of prisoners, we do not have many in prison.” I understood this when I was a guest in a large Chinese hospital, described to me, prisoners taped to tables, eyes-mouths taped, dead or dying, opened, their vital organs being removed, transplanted to a patients on other tables.

In this North Carolina city where I live, before heathenism took over the local YMCA, one day, steam room, a man whose voice was not familiar, asked me about my blindness. He told me he was filling in from Central Prison, Raleigh at the local youth center prison. I said, “I understand that they have it real easy out there.” He said, “The old people in nursing homes would be better off in that prison.” These young prisoners are spoiled to good food, recreation and every weekend, a variety of movies.

Some years ago, a female worked for me a few days, a deputy in the Sheriff's department, working at the local jail... new facility, pod style. She described to me the arrangements. The pod where she worked, she, enclosed in a secure room with glass around it, everything electronic. She said the prisoners were bored silly, gym activities, television, reading and eating. She said the gay ones would just put bed sheets over themselves for privacy. Another ex-prisoner doing some work for me in a rental building, as plumber, told me of his prison experience at the encampment, Burgaw, NC. He said, “I could get anything I wanted.” The guard knows where to look for the money. It is just essential that someone on the outside, send you money.

60 years ago, I was a student at UNC-CH hitchhiking home, UNC stickers on my suitcase, standing near, evidentally, a graveyard of Central Prison, Raleigh. A van, men digging a grave, began yelling to me about “Carolina” I walked over and found they were burying a prisoner, cheap cardboard type coffin. They asked me if *I wanted to look at him. I said, “No, Carolina students have enough images.” These engaging men told me about the dead prisoner, a lifer, he had killed several. “He will never kill again.” The thought occurred to me, young, knowing little of the world or it's tragedies. “The man in that coffin was once a baby, loved by a mother. He is being buried without one family member, one trace of religion around us.”

Have we lost our sanity? There are more people incarcerated in America than any country of western civilization. Have you noticed that most killers, particularly of families or of several people, usually, kill themselves? Has life become so cheap, so worthless? How about those of us who have behaved ourselves, accomplished what we could with what we have? I remember writing representative Charlie Rose (NC 7th) about the plight of veterans in particular, this veteran, who has never been able to get a white cane from the government. His main advice, for me to apply for food stamps. In a cauldron of twisted values, who are the prisoners? The great jurist, Daniel Webster said, “A nation without morals, enslaves itself.”

Dr. Thomas R. Morris
Lt. Col USA Retired
Blind/Dictated
Visit my blog at http://pockets1940.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.DrThomasMorris.com
*For release to Disability and religious publications*
(Dr. Morris is a totally blind 100% disabled service connected veteran, 8 around the world trips, passport stamped in 157 countries)

*If you would like to be removed from this mailing list,
please reply to this email with the subject line "REMOVE" and the email address that you were sent this email to*