Christ the King

Today is the feast of Christ the King. The Gospel reading is telling, Matthew 25:31-46 and it tells us all we need to know about the kingdom of God. The king separates the sheep and the goats, and the sheep are those who cared for the least of those, the ones who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, and visited and cared for those who were ill or in prison. Those are the inheritors of the kingdom.

I am so glad to be a Catholic. I don’t know what is preached in other churches, but in my church we regularly hear this message: welcome the alien and stranger, comfort the afflicted, care for those who have needs. Share what you have. Pay attention to the isolated and lonely. What a calling this is for all of us.

People know my opinions about the death penalty. I am against it wholeheartedly. Not only do I believe that people should not be judged harshly for their worst act, their worst day, and not only to I believe that all life is sacred, I don’t believe the State should take the lives of its citizens. We have prisons to protect people from the worst among us, the dangerous among us, and even if that danger is a form of brokenness, I believe the State should isolate those who inflict harm.

Our current president, acting more like a king than an elected leader with the interests of the citizens at heart, is spending his last weeks in office executing people. Realizing that Joe Biden, a Catholic, is likely to place a moratorium on federal executions, Attorney General William Barr has directed the federal prison system to execute three men before the end of the year. With the execution of Orlando Hall on November 19, the federal department of corrections has executed eight people since July 2020, after a hiatus of 17 years. Also scheduled for October was the execution of the only woman on federal death row, Lisa Montgomery, who participated in a kidnapping that resulted in death and suffers from severe mental illness due to her own experience of lifelong abuse by family members. Her lawyers, however, contracted Covid-19 while visiting her in prison, and so her execution has been postponed to December 31. There hasn’t been a federal execution of a woman in 67 years, and there has never been an execution by a lame duck president. Usually presidents leaving office spend their days pardoning and commuting sentences. This one is spending his last weeks killing people.

Covid-19 has opened the opportunity for me to meet virtually with an inmate on North Carolina’s death row with whom I’ve had a correspondence for more than six years. This has been a blessing in that my writing to him had dropped off in the last year, as I struggled with brain fog from chemotherapy and spent most of my writing energy on keyboards and emails. We have had several 15-minute visits, which have been joyful experiences for both of us. I’ve come to know his voice, his Southern accent, his interests. I can tell him funny things and he can react in the moment. He can update me on his and his friend’s health issues. We can talk politics. I can ask him more in-depth questions about his childhood.

Now the video visits have been curtailed to once a month. I mark my calendar to make the request before the schedule gets filled up. The people who manage those requests have been very kind and efficient, even calling me when a visit was running late to say Robby was on his way. Since all my other experiences with this prison has been filled with the language of punishment, threats of “privileges removed” and strict orders to follow various protocols, and since my efforts to send him birthday money and food packages has involved high fees and limited choices and the requirement to hand over my personal information (including a copy of my driver’s license), this has been welcome.

I am constantly impressed by Robby’s care for other inmates. He asks me to research book prices for a poet on the block. When his friend’s father died of Covid-19, knowing no one would send him condolences, Robby sent detailed information on how to send a card, and was delighted that Timmy told him “your people really came through.”

Although Robby has turned his life around, gotten off drugs, pursued Native American spirituality, and poses no threat to society, no one is denying his participation in a crime. All that is being asked is that his sentence be commuted to life in prison without parole, the sentence his codefendant, who committed the murder, received. That would mean transfer to a different population, one where he would likely be able to work and earn money for stamps and other necessities, and earn privileges, and interact with more people. Maybe he could even get an email account. I can say that I love Robby and the fact that he’s found ways to make good in his current situation. He has suffered at the hands of bureaucracy, and currently has debilitating carpal tunnel syndrome. Waiting for surgery, it has attacked the muscles in his arms as well as his hands, and he’s unlikely to get full use or strength back. We’re hoping the surgery can happen soon.

I’ve been able to get signed up to receive phone calls from him. I sent money for the account, and he can call me (cheaper than me calling him) for 15-minute phone visits. I’m glad there is a way for us to keep in touch. He receives support from me about his medical issues, and feels the need to update me about all doctor’s visits and the process. I will undoubtedly get a holiday call this Thanksgiving.

Which is to say, it is so easy to see the lifeline that any contact with the outside provides to prisoners. It takes so little on my part, just basic interest in another human being, and means so much to him.

I am glad that our next president is a Catholic. Joe Biden plans to put an end to federal executions. He believes in the sacredness of life. Today at Mass, which he attends weekly, he heard the same gospel I heard, what it means to be a leader in God’s kingdom. What a relief it will be, from the past four years of a president who used his power persecuting immigrants and refugees, fomenting racial hatred, encouraging white supremacy, and in the last days executing and ignoring the 250,000 deaths from Covid-19 in this country– 1/6 of all deaths worldwide.