Feltus Taylor
        Executed in Louisiana June 6, 2000
    
"To everyone that has supported me and prayed for me this day it really
means a lot and I love all of you all. But never give up the fight even
if you all lose me tonight, because one day you all who fight so hard
for all of us on the row will win and put an end to this crazyness.
God bless you all."   -  Feltus Taylor Jr. (executed 6-6-2000)

            FELTUS TAYLOR's PEN-PAL REQUEST TO THE CCADP:

I have been on DR for nine years. I am an 38 year old African American man with brown eyes, 5ft 6 and 188 pounds. I like to read and write and to meet new people. I consider myself a spiritual person. I love to talk about God and listen to other peoples beliefs. I have just finished writing an autobiography, focusing on my journey to Death Row. The book is aimed at young people, especially those who may already be in the Juvenile Justice System. My hope is that by reading about my mistakes, it may help them to turn their own lives around and make more positive choices.
I am happy to write to either males or females. I just want to have friends who will not judge me on where I am and that will be a good and loyal friend. Thank you very much for reading this. I hope to hear from you soon.

                        Feltus Taylor # 93130
                        Louisiana state Penit
                         Death Row /U/D-Tier
                           Angola, Louisiana
                                 70712  USA


                     Goodbye to Mr. Smile
                                    A Tribute to Feltus Taylor by Jane Officer
     On June 6th 2000 the sun went down over Angola at exactly 8.30pm.
     At that moment Feltus Taylor was being killed by the state of Louisiana
     in Camp F and about 15 of us, his friends and supporters stood in a
     circle outside the main gates, holding hands and singing Amazing Grace.
     At 8.43pm a guard walked towards us and shouted ' Time of death,
     8.40pm.' and returned to his post. Thoughts were very mixed up at this
     time; anger, shock, sadness and also a sense of relief... no one could ever
     hurt Feltus again.

     This was my second experience of being in Louisiana for the execution
     of a friend. In July 1991 my first death row penfriend, Andrew Lee
     Jones, became the last man to be electrocuted to death in Angola. I had
     spent that night with Andrew's family at their home in the tiny town of
     Glynn, a ferry ride across the Mississippi. It was a truly shocking
     experience for my first ever visit to the US.

     In May 1992, Sr. Helen Prejean was here in my home town of
     Birmingham, England speaking to the members of the LifeLines, a British
     DR penfriend's organisation. Later, she asked me, as the LifeLines
     Louisiana coordinator, if I would find someone to write to Feltus who
     had just arrived on DR. I wrote to him... and so did two other
     LifeLiners; Jan McDonald and Carol Bowden. All three of us wrote to
     Feltus through all his eight years on DR. We became his other family.
     His mother and two sisters.

     I first visited with Feltus in May 1993 and he asked me if I would
     please do the same for him as I had for Andrew... be there in the event
     of his execution. I agreed without hesitation but hoped it would never
     come to that.

     Over the years we wrote regularly and I visited at least once a year.
     Jan, Carol and I also kept in touch, which added to the 'circle of love
     and care'. Feltus always drew a smiley face on his letters and referred
     to himself as 'Mr. Smile'.

     While on DR Feltus 'grew up' in many ways. He learnt how to paint,
     helped by another of my penfriends, Scotty Loyd, who was in the
     adjoining cell for several years. From Scotty he also learnt how to
     control his temper and reflect upon his misspent youth and acknowledge
     his responsibility for what happened to condemn him to death row. He
     started and later, completed his life story and began to discuss how he
     could say sorry to the victims of his crime. He wanted to do something
     positive about his life whether dead or alive.

     In the last 15 months of his life Feltus had two 'serious' dates with
     stays at 36 and 11/2 hours. Jan and I were there both times and took
     his aged grandmother, Henrietta up to say her final 'goodbyes'. He
     found these stays very difficult to deal with but also, I believe gained
     strength and a deep religious belief from them, especially with the
     support of his exceptional spiritual advisor, Charlie deGravelles.
     But this June there was no stay. Feltus last day of visiting was reduced
     to no more than 3 hours by his court appearance but he took control of
     the time he had to talk with his family and friends and to draw us
     together in prayer and thanksgiving. It was a beautiful and
     unforgettable experience. We left at 5pm with heavy hearts but
     knowing he had those who loved him to see him through the darkest part
     of the day; Charlie, Jean Faria and Michelle Fournet.

     Feltus died with dignity and with words of regret and comfort for his
     victims. He did not die in vain. His words and hopes will live on in the
     form of his book and the Feltus Taylor Foundation. His life brought
     people together in love and fellowship and I imagine him smiling and
     cracking his jokes till the end of time.

     Goodbye, Mr Smile! I love you, my 'special' son.

                                                                                                             Jane Officer
                                                                                                         Birmingham, UK
                                                                                                               July 2000

                             (From The Lousiana Coalition To Abolish The Death Penalty)


         Feltus Taylor- executed June 6, 2000...7:30pm (EST)
In 1992 Feltus Taylor was convicted of and sentenced to death for the murder of Donna Ponsano.  Ms. Ponsano was 31 years old at the time of her murder.  Both Feltus Taylor and Donna Ponsano were workers at a fried chicken restaurant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Taylor had been hired and fired at the restaurant a couple of times and had apparently come back to his former work place to rob it.  Not only was Ms. Ponsano killed but another worker, Mr. Keith Clark was shot in the head four times and survived.  He now needs a wheelchair to get around.
During Mr. Taylor's trial he was misadministered a medication which he must take for a psychotic disorder.  As a result of this, during the sentencing phase of his trial Mr.Taylor had a violent outburst during which he turned over the counsel table in the court room.  This happened of course in full view of the jury.  Mr. Taylor's attorney was not even aware that his client took medication for such a
disorder.  Mr. Taylor has received five stays of his execution.  The most recent stay came from Justice Scalia at the U.S. Supreme Court.  The U.S. Supreme Court has since refused to hear Taylor's appeal and now another execution date has been set.
Feltus Taylor will now be executed by the State of Louisiana on June 6, 2000.  This whole episode has been and still is very painful for many in this city.  We are saddened when we think about the loss suffered by the relatives and friends of Ms. Ponsano.  We want to also acknowledge the pain
and suffering endured each day by Mr. Clark.  There are other victims of this murder as well.  These are the relatives and friends of Mr. Taylor.
We are opposed to the killing of Mr. Taylor.  We dissent from the majority opinion that while it is wrong for individuals to kill it is okay for the state to kill.  When the state kills a murderer the state
allows the murderer to set the standard for behavior.  If the standard response to killing is to kill again then the chain of death will never end. To ask for a commutation of the death sentence of Feltus Taylor write to:  (note: this Alert was produced by The Lousiana Coalition To Abolish The Death Penalty)


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