Voices From the Row: Scoring A Point

Hotep,

With every breath we take, there is a reason to be thankful for something.  I am thankful for my family, loved ones, and a support system made from old friends, new acquaintances, and the anonymous sector within the blogosphere, eager to experience the humanity encaged on North Carolina’s Death Row. 

I am especially thankful for the recent events (9/2/2014) that led to the release of Henry McCollum.  For the first time in 3 decades Henry will sit at a table – not made of steel – and give thanks for being a free man.

Mr. Blue will turn the page of this successful transition, to the chapter where scoring a point for the men who continue to fight for one more day is a story waiting to be told.  Feel me?

100,

MannofStat
Copyright © 2014 by Leroy Elwood Mann

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Scoring A Point

The spirit of the entire death row at Central Prison here in Raleigh, NC has been buoyed by the release of Henry McCollum, an innocent man wrongfully convicted and held under threat of death for 31 years.  We celebrate along with him and his family, a happy and joyous day. 

However, though the state of North Carolina was unsuccessful in their attempt to kill him, he was robbed of his life nevertheless.  He entered the penal system as an 18-year-old teenager, and leaves as a 50-year-old middle-aged man.

There was cursory coverage in the news media, but then it was quickly on to the next story.  However, this is a story of monumental importance, and will not be soon forgotten by lovers of justice around the world.

The evidence that eventually freed Mr. McCullom, affectionately known by all here on the row as Big Hen, was obvious 31 years ago.  He was sent off to die capriciously and maliciously, by a system that was supposed to protect him.  The district attorney in the case, defense lawyers, judge and jury are all culpable; their hands are dirty.  However, they will not be called to account for their actions.  The will not face even one day in jail after illegally confining an innocent man for 31 years.

So, while we celebrate Big Hen’s freedom, we do so with blood in our eye.  For we know that his case is not an anomaly. It is standard operating procedure in D.A. offices in every state to withhold evidence favorable to the defense, a violation of the United States Constitution. 

Prosecutors understand that they act with impunity, and where there is no accountability, there is recklessness.  To withhold evidence in any case is morally repugnant, to do so in a capital case is no less than attempted first-degree murder.  Prosecutors, who withhold evidence, act deliberately, willfully and with malice.

During interviews, conducted before and after he left death row, Big Hen said he was able to stay strong throughout his ordeal because of his faith in God.  He is an extraordinary profile in courage.

As we continue to struggle on here, we are encouraged by his example and that a bit more light has been shone upon another unscrupulous prosecutor attempting to do murder in the name of the people of the state of North Carolina; the worst of the worst indeed.

It is easy to understand how a man sentenced to die, told that his life is no longer worth living, no longer of value, isolated from society, cut off by friends and family, would give up all hope; but still, we fight.

At times during the volleyball tournament, tempers flare and points of contention are heatedly debated.  This is an example of the heart, conviction and passion in men, who in spite of decades of brutal oppression and injustice, have not given up.  When these issues are resolved at the net with integrity, humility, grace and mutual respect, score one point for humanity.

Score a point for men who look in the face of death daily, and don’t flinch, but are able to continue to live, learn, and grow; and fight for one more day, one more volley…

We thank Big Hen for the lesson, and we wish him well.  It’s more than just a game.

Mr. Blue
Copyright © 2014 by Paul Brown