Wow, I can hardly believe I'm on the Internet.  I know this has to be reaching at least one or two more people than I normally could just reach by writing letters.

First of all I want to say that I won't know what this website will look like on a computer screen, as I do not have access to the Internet and can not view it for myself or have a hand in developing the graphics that may or may not be used. I just hope that it will catch your eye and that you will want to continue further. Please continue to scan and read the materials it contains. With some Grace and a lot of luck, perhaps I will manage to write something that will
speak to your heart.

I have only a vague understanding of websites and the Internet and zero experience with them, considering I have never even used a computer in my life. And now here I am on the "net".  I read all that I can about all of it and I will no doubt learn more about the Internet and websites as time passes, and in that event I would like to try to really customize this one and make it as appealing to the casual scanning eye as possible.

Have you ever taken a look inside the mind and heart of one sentenced to death and caged within the bowels of the executioners castle?   Probably not. The raging psychological war that goes hand in sitting helpless on death row, does tend to get a bit tense at times. So then, why not amuse yourself at my expense and read what this heart and soul manages to scream out onto the page while he's still alive and able. You might even find yourself surprised that I seem so human! I am after all, you know. Just another regular guy.  Life took a weird and serious turn and events transpired that caused me to be here. I won't talk about my case on advice of my appeal counsel. Somehow I am still maintaining the slightest shimmer of hope not to be executed here so I have to listen to counsel.

Writing has been 99% of my communication with the outside world for the past 10 years. There's no telling how many pages, how many reams and volumes I have written during this time. I wish I would've had some place to keep a copy of all of it stored, for it seems to provide me with a sense of life. Just to look at something done, something that marks the passing of time for me, helps me to remember that still I am alive.

Alas, I have not saved everything I have written over the years, for numerous reasons.
Hopefully, with the creation of this website I will have just the right forum to preserve the majority of what I write from now on. We will both see how it goes.

I want you, in the meantime, to please read on. I welcome and all questions or comments you might have, and I'll do my best to answer them all.  As for myself, in the meantime I will continue trying to say a decent goodbye to the men around me, as they are one by one led off to be murdered, while simultaneously trying to keep my chin up enough to make these letters
seem coherent and somehow useful.

From the Execution Capital of North America

May 27, 1997

Sincerely - Martin A. Draughon

Hate to come at you in such a generic fashion but this is   the best and easiest way I know to get this thing rolling...

A very dear friend has offered me the opportunity of having my poetry booklets printed and bound. A small amount of it is shown someplace on my website. This endeavor is on a strict budget so I need to know how many to have initially printed.  Thus I am seeking pledges

The cost of printing these is approximately $2.00 each, but there is the cost of mailing to be considered also. There are 4 to a set (although these 'might' be condensed into 2
books). I need to at least make enough money to pay back my friend for initiating this venture. However, should you wish to donate more than the minimum $10 contribution I would be extremely delighted, of course, as any additional income would help provide me with
commissary funds, costs for printing more books, and I pray that the response is good enough that I can even make enough money to set some aside towards my mom's next visit and even enroll in a writing course that I have contemplated off and on for many years now.

You see my friends, since the Martin Gurule escape from death row back in November '98, any and every item even vaguely related to any type of craftwork has been stripped from us, as has most other personal property. There's little more to our life now but books and paper goods.
Therefore there isn't any way for me to earn any income through craft work as I did for so many years back at the Ellis Unit. Now, after more than a couple of years of NO craftwork I am in dire straits financially. So, the printing of some of my writings is the best thing I can do to earn some money for myself. I do hope you can help.

I desperately need your feedback on this. I ask you to think about this offer and should you be interested in owning a set (or more) of my death row poetry and prose, I would be grateful for your reply to this email with your pledge of how much you are able to contribute and how
many you wish to purchase.
Please respond with your details (and please include the name of your country)
Email through his supporters at:  martin.private@fdp.dk

A great big, sincere THANK YOU for taking the time to consider this and for whatever participation you are able to offer me in this matter.
 

                                                            
                  Martin A. Draughon #000878
                              Polunsky Unit
                        12002 FM 350 South,
                            Livingston, Texas
                                 77351 USA

             Information on this webpage provided by the supporters of Martin Draughon

Martin Draughon's Official Homepage                                  Visit his official webpage for more information

                  The CCADP offers free webpages to over 500 Death Row Prisoners
                                               Contact us for more information.
            
                                                       "The Eyes Of The World Are Watching Now"