Since I am a death row prisoner, it may seem odd to hear me say ‘Don’t
Give Me Life’. That is, life without the possibility of parole
(L.W.O.P.) I know there may be some on the row who would disagree with
me, as well as some in the abolitionist movement. However, please hear
me out.

There are few amongst us who would disagree with the premise that the
death penalty is wrong. The death penalty does not make allowances for
changed behavior or rehabilitation. It goes without saying that in
society’s viewpoint, the purpose of incarceration has shifted from
rehabilitation to pure punishment and revenge, regardless of the actual
sentence. Control units are quickly replacing conventional prison
construction and creating lockdown environments that simulate hellish
conditions and remove all privileges. Incapacitation has become the
strategy of modern penology. This policy simply states that there is
nothing to be salvaged in the individual, and therefore prisoners are
just locked in their cells for 23 hours a day, denied almost every form
of humanity.

Previously, the alternative to the death penalty had been life in prison
without parole for 25 years. Although a quarter of a century in prison
is a long time, it still allows for hope. Hope allows for change and
reduces the idleness, abuse, neglect and attitudes of revenge. Where
there is hope, there is life.

Those who have not been in prison do not often think of growing old
behind bars. However, the fastest growing segment of the prison
population is the elderly. This has come about by reason of sentencing
strategies such as Truth In Sentencing laws that eliminate parole and
require that 85% of a sentence has to be served. In exchange for states
following such policies, the government gives millions of dollars to
these states to facilitate the building of new prisons - including
control units. Also mandatory sentencing for numerous crimes does not
allow judges discretion insofar as sentencing is concerned. This has
created an increasingly large pool of elderly prisoners, and with
medical treatment within prisons being minimal at best, the prospect of
detecting serious problems before they become malignant or terminal is
very poor. I have personally witnessed six men die slow and painful
deaths in prison due mainly to late diagnosis or non-diagnosis by
unskilled staff. Very few, if any painkillers are given in prison for
fear of abuse. Health care providers, usually adult nurse practitioners,
fall well short of the standard of ability and skill found in a regular
doctor. Couple this with the severe shortage of funds resulting from
stretching the budget to cover the requirements of a growing population
of older prisoners, and inevitably the rate of detection and treatment
of diseases has suffered. Growing old in prison, and especially dying in
pain, is a more cruel fate than a quick execution. It is the alternative
death penalty.

I hope that my words are shedding some light on the current situation. A
combination of longer sentences, prison policies of incapacitation,
punishment and revenge and lack of adequate medical services all add up
to a life of misery. Add to that the total loss of hope that accompanies
a sentence of Life Without Parole and you have a person who has nothing
to look forward to or live for. I know of no one who desires to die old,
lonely and sickly in prison. However, this is an alarming new trend.
There are more than 3500 people on death row, but there are more than
20000 people who are serving L.W.O.P. - a death sentence harder and more
cruel than the finality of an execution in my opinion. When society
locks the door and throws away the key it signifies a belief that there
is little or no value in a human life. If we are a Christian society as
we like to think we are, what has happened to the belief that there is
God in every person, that good can be found in everyone, that each
individual is a person of worth and value deserving of being treated
with respect and humanity regardless of the severity of crimes
committed, or behavior towards others? The true mark of a society is how
it treats the incarcerated and the less fortunate. Is it not a bigger
crime to give up on humanity and just write us prisoners off?

Those abolitionists who see L.W.O.P. as an acceptable alternative to
execution do not realise that in essence they are supporting a penalty
that is more cruel and harder on the individual than is outright
execution. Don’t be deceived into wasting your valuable time, efforts
and resources by validating a punishment that is worse than death, that
prolongs the suffering for the rest of a prisoner’s existence. A world
in which there is no hope. Keep focused on the eradication of capital
punishment, but don’t allow society to 'clean it up' by giving more
L.W.O.P. sentences as an alternative.

So, I repeat, ‘Don’t Give Me Life’ without hope, for we all have
humanity and dignity and should not be discarded as if we were human
waste.

           ..................................................

Richard Rossi, 50337
ASPC Eyman - G.42
P.O. Box 3400
FLORENCE, AZ. 85232
USA