What’s it worth?

This is my story. The system speeded up the process by moving me to Death Row this morning. I was transferred into not a “home” cell, but into just a holding place, a get-ready-to-die cell. Two other condemned guys occupy the adjacent cells, one on my left and the other with a shaved head on my right. Staightaway, when they broached me for my name, I gave each guy the finger and said, “I don ‘t want to know either of you guys. Please, no names. Leave me alone!” I really didn’t want any interruptions or chit-chat because I needed to think over my dire situation, beginning to end, though not in that order.

“May God speed you,” the judge said after sentencing me to death. It wasn’t what I expected; it wasn’t what my public defender expected. Hey, some lawyer, some jury! But yeah, I did it, but the circumstances didn’t warrant a death sentence! My lawyer assured me that I wouldn’t be executed because cases similar to mine always guaranteed life in prison. Maybe with parole.

It wasn’t long before I broke my silence with Lefty and Righty. Lefty told me, in all sincerity, that we three were to die to help out our melted-down economy. “Let us spell it out for you,” Lefty was saying. “Now pay attention!” Righty jumped in saying, “Your sentence was upped, just like ours was, on sentencing day. My sister-in-law works a job in the court system. She’s an insider, she knows.” Lefty obviously agreeing with a nod.

“What does it cost, total cost, to house a convict. I don’t know the actual yearly cost, but I’ve heard said, about $30,000 a year. You’re a young fellow who could live locked up for say, 40 years. Forty times 30,000 is what?”

Lefty supplied the answer, “1,200,000 for a lifer like you, but you ain’t a lifer, are you?”

Then their logic floored me. “Are you saying I get the needle just to save the state money!?” “You got it. They save on maintenance expenses.” Said the other. “They save lots of money by avoiding housing, feeding, and guarding for each person they behead, hang, gas, electrocute or needle-kill.”

About then I wish I had joined the high school debating team, so I could show how stupid Lefty and Righty were with this. I said, “Maybe that happens elsewhere in order to cut out prison expenses, but not here, not in the United States. No way.”

Righty said, “Why not? Think about it? What better way for states to cut expenditures and help balance their budgets?”

And Lefty says, “Prisons are big business with large, strong unions and they cost money to run. What better place to trim excess fat?”

Then, it hit me, “You mean I’m going to be executed, to die as part of someone’s economic stimulus plan? Why, that’s murder!”
_ _ _ _

Fiction? Yes, but maybe no. This story is not about the death penalty, neither for nor against. it’s meant to bring to your attention the extremes to which our society might resort. Ethic, values? Such things can go awry when the economic foundations of our country go awry. Haven’t we already observed our ethics and values warped during times of war?

An Eye for an Eye and maybe now a Dollar. The sins of Wall Street, the sins of Main Street, the sins of Death Row. We know what happens when the first two fail. Will it trickle down to people on Death Row as the above story suggested? Oh, no, never! But, Good Gawk, maybe yes! Get this:

Published on March 27th, 2009 and written by Michael Rubinkam and Mark Scolforo (Associated Press Writers) was a news story (Wilkes-Barre, Pa) with this headline:

Pa. Youth Court Corruption Creates Legal Headache

…“Judge, Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., could get more than seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud and tax charges last month in a scheme with another judge to pocket $2.6 million by stocking private detention centers with young offenders.

“Many of the offenders were given very brief hearings without lawyers, then shipped off to camps or detention centers for minor offenses, such as lampooning a teacher or simple assault.

“Other youngsters, though, were convicted of more serious offenses, such as car theft, drug dealing and assault - but still may not have been given the benefit of due process and must be addressed.

…Ciavarella, retired Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan and others (are) tied to the scandal…Conahan, Ciavarella’s co-defendant, also pleaded guilty and awaits federal sentencing.” The Luzerne County cases date back to 2003.”

That portion of the news story was presented here as an “It-Can-Happen” footnote to my “An Eye for an Eye and a Dollar” short fiction story. By the way, if you wish to know what has happened and will happen to these countless youngsters wronged by a corrupt court system and whose lives were tainted — and who wouldn’t want to know?

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