I've lived on death row for more than ten years and I've watched my friends die. And these men have had loved ones that have had to stand outside in a field while they were strapped to a table and put ot death. The same way you would euthanize a stray animal. The only difference is they were not a stray animal. They were living breathing human beings who made bad decisions and mistakes in life. Drugs and alcohol caused some fo their bad decisions and mistakes. I understand if you do not believe that you can blame it on drugs and alcohol.

But we are only human and we're going to make mistakes in life. Even the President of the United States has made mistakes. But he's only human and not God so it's only to be expected. Humans have made mistakes since the beginning of time starting with Adam and Eve. And we will continue to make bad choices until the end of time because we are only human.

I've laid in this cell and heard men say time and time again, "I wish I could turn back the clock and go back to a certain year, or I wish I wouldn't have done this or that." Unfortunately, even though a man or woman may change and become a better person the death penalty does not give us that opportunity, such as Karla Faye Tucker who was executed on February 3, 1998 by the state of Texas. The woman that committed the crime wasn't the same woman they executed.

Anthony Bryan was executed on February 23, 2000 by the state of Florida. The Anthony that committed the crime wasn't the same person they executed.

All human beings change over the years. Just think back five or ten years ago the way you thought about life and love. We all grow up and become different individuals over the years. The same way Anthony Bryan and Karla Faye Tucker changed.

They were human beings like you and I. They felt pain, hurt, and cried. They loved and gave love. But yet in this civilized country we strapped these humans to a table and put them to death like a stray animal. Please America open your eyes and see that we're all human who have just made mistakes.

God Bless You!

Shine on Me

I praise the Lord for this day
And for showing me a better way.
Where I can with a loving heart
Always try to do my part.
And may the Lord shine on me
And show others how to be free.

Written by: Ronald W Clark Jr. May 21, 2000

No Different

I see it all so clear
As I lay here year after year.
Watching men die
And mother's dry
And this I tell you is no lie.
These men are human thand this you must see.
Maybe their decisions weren't always clear.
Maybe it was drugs or even fear
But for them to lie there
And take their last breath
As they're being put to death.
Why oh why
Must another human die?
And please don't tell me
An eye for an eye
For we all know that is surely a lie
For they will never take a rich man's eye.
And that you can't deny,
Nor can you justify.

Written by: Ronald W Clark Jr. June 17, 2000.

Poor Man

Death row is a place
That only the poor will have to face.
It's only a poor man that will lie on that table
And feel his heart become so unstable
As he's watching the liquid flow
And know he's about to go
No, a rich man won't experience this
It's only the poor that are on this list.

Written by: Ronald W Clark Jr. June 28, 2000

In Memory of

Terry Sims
Feb 5, 1942 - Feb 23, 2000

and

Anthony Bryan
March 1, 1959 - Feb 24, 2000

Written by
Ronald W Clark Jr.

Terry and Anthony, friends of mine, were the first two men executed by lethal injection in the state of Florida and it was done in the name of God, Justice and the American Way.

In the Name of God?

The Old Testament does support the death penalty. Deuteronomy 19:21 says "and thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot" But Deuteronomy 17:6 says "at the month of two witnesses, or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death be put to death, but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death " Unfortunately in America, all it takes is circumstantial evidence to put a man on death row. Not even one eye witness is required. But if we look at 2 Samuel 12:13, God forgave David for murder. Also, if we look at Ezekiel 33:11 God said he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but he would rather they turn from their wicked ways.

In the New Testament, when Jesus was confronted about the death penalty in John 8:7, he said "He that is without sin let him cast the first stone. And when he looked up they were all gone. And Jesus asked the woman, Where are your accusers? Has no man condemned thee? She said, no man Lord. And Jesus said neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more."

And clearly, in Matthew 5:38-40, Jesus said don't take an eye for an eye, but forgive one another, don't live under the old covenant. But come under the new covenant, which is the blood of Christ.

God should have nothing to do with the death penalty in America.

In the Name of Justice?

What kind of justice exists for a poor man assigned a public defender or low-budget state paid attorney, to go up against the States top-notch prosecutors? There's nothing fair about it. Nor is there any justice in it. The attorney they assigned to my case had never handled a capital case. Yet they assigned him to my case, to fight for my life. Four years later, he's a trial judge and sentenced at least two people that I know of to death. This is the same man that sat next to me during my trail and said he didn't believe in the death penalty. Typical politician - they only believe in something when it's convenient for them.

Check out the following facts:

William Kennedy Smith beat a rape case with high powered attorneys.

Marion Brando's son Christian received 10 years for killing his sister's boyfriend. Witnesses were tampered with and no charges were ever filed.

Ray Lewis, linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens and MVP of the Super Bowl, was involved in a double homicide and avoided prison time.

Ray Caruthe, wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers, was convicted of killing his pregnant girlfriend, avoided the death penalty and received only a 17 year prison sentence.

O.J. Simpson's, guilty or not, was accused of a crime where the death penalty should have been sought. But the prosecution never sought the death penalty.

John Dupont gunned down a U.S. wrestler, and avoided prison by going to a mental institute.

Lyie and Eric Menendez avoided the death penalty with high profile attorneys.

The catch: To avoid death row, one must be rich!

One other person worth mentioning is former President Bill Clinton, who perjured himself in a sworn statement and continued to serve as president of the United States of America.

All of these cases represent money, power, and clearly show a miscarriage of justice. The death penalty was used to manipulate me. They tried to blackmail me, clear and simple. They told me if I did not plead out to a life sentence that they would seek the death penalty. Now either it was or it wasn't a death penalty case. But as we can see everything that is designed to be used one way, can clearly be turned around and misused another way.

The attorney in my friend Tony Bryan's case was drunk during his trial. The attorney even admitted it, yet the appellate court turned Tony down for a new trial. They won't let this man operate a vehicle while intoxicated but it's okay for him to go into a court of law and fight for a man's life under the influence of alcohol. This was a clear case of ineffective assistance of counsel. Where is the justice in that?

My friend Terry said he was innocent all the way to the end. I can't say whether he was innocent or not, but this is a fact. America has executed at least 23 innocent people this past century. Maybe Terry was the 24th and if evidence does prove it later, then what? You can set an innocent man free, but you can't bring a dead man back to life. Clearly America has made mistakes with the justice system and the death penalty. Yet new technology such as DNA is helping eliminate some of the mistakes, but unfortunately every case doesn't involve DNA evidence.

There has been 97 men exonerated over the past two decades, totally 789 years of death row incarceration before being released, and there are a lot of cases in question. Look at the case of Frank Smith who spent 18 years on Florida's death row and died of Cancer in 2000. His family had DNA work done after his death and found out he was an innocent man, an innocent man that wasted away in a 9x6 foot cage for 18 years. And they call this Justice.

Take a look at the case of Ricky Ray Rector. Bill Clinton, then Governor of Arkansas, took time off his presidential campaign to sign a warrant and execute Ricky just to show he was tough on crime - Politically motivated homicide. Ricky had a pie for his last meal, but saved half of it for later. Ricky was mentally retarded and couldn't comprehend the simple concept of his last meal. What kind of society have we become that we execute mentally challenged people as well as juveniles? We in America have executed men for crimes they committed as juveniles (under the age of 18).

Please open your eyes and see this for what it truly is, and let's stop executing the poor and underprivileged in America. If you would like to learn more about the death penalty or offer your support, please visit:

www.moratoriumcampaign.org

or write:

The Moratorium Campaign
P.O. Box 13727
New Orleans, LA 70185

and please support the Moratorium petitions. Thank you for your time and your help!

God Bless.
Ronald W. Clark, Jr.

I sit on death row day after day
Watching my life waste away
Yet I think back on a life I once had
Where times now don't seem so bad
Thinking of all the love I had
But the drugs surely clouded my view
And ruined my life and others too.

Written 8/11/99 ©1999