I first heard about the Texas Defender Service in March this year in a petition shared on one of the social network platforms. It was a petition to save Arthur Brown. Arthur Brown living on death row for 30 years had consistently maintained his innocence. According to the petition, his conviction had been based on thin evidence, including forensic evidence that a court stated as “plainly flawed” and eyewitness testimony obtained through faulty police techniques. In fact, Arthur’s new attorneys had uncovered previously suppressed evidence by the District Attorney’s office, showing that other men, not Arthur, committed the murder. A follow-up email informed me however, that despite the claims of innocence and compelling legal representation, Mr Arthur Brown was executed on 9 March 2023.
Born to an alcoholic mother and an abusive father and brought up in abject poverty, Arthur suffered from intellectual impairments, arising from potential intellectual disability and Fetal Alcohol Disorder. In spite of this, he loved his family, his life partner, and his children. Thirty years on from being incarcerated for the killings of four people in a southwest Houston home at age 21, Arthur had had zero incidents of violence and was known for dispelling'' tensions between people who were incarcerated and showering them with “wisdom and knowledge.”
Irrespective of where you stand on capital punishment, few, very few of us have been exposed to the kind of childhood and life circumstances people like Arthur, and the many that the Texas Defender Service gives a voice to, have. I know I have not. However, I believe, it is for this reason, that God allows us some personal suffering - in order that we may be compassionate and understanding towards the plight of others.
''Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.' 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
The mental strain I experienced these last years- being unable to function normally and unable to articulate my needs, are extremely minute compared to the mental difficulties and vulnerability of these individuals who had been brought up in extreme disfunction and endured much worse circumstances. The scars are real but made a thousand times worse by a world that prejudges the exterior and circumstances with no motivation to understand or be compassionate. But, behind every exterior we judge is a human Christ loved enough to die for.
The premise of the Salvation Jesus came to give all men is that everyone needs to be given a chance and even a second chance. Everyone needs a voice. Everyone needs an advocate who believes in them beyond how they look, sound, or what they have been through. This is a belief Christ was willing to die for and what he forever lives to advocate for.
'Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.' Hebrews 7:25
As I looked at the unfair financial penalties I incurred (penalties that disregarded the mental situation I was in) in recent years, I am grateful. No, I am certainly not grateful for the lack of understanding or compassion on the part of my creditors, but my experience though minor in comparison, has given me concern for the plight of those with mental disabilities before our stern Justice systems. I am grateful for the understanding and insight I have been allowed.
However, I am a minister, not a lawyer, so I preach Jesus; and I know firsthand that the Fatherhood of YHWH is truly the greatest gift that can be offered in the midst of all the pain and sorrow in this world. However, 'the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ... comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God '. The comfort I received from the Lord serves as a very important eye-opener to the challenges faced by the mentally challenged. In getting a fair hearing, we all need an advocate who understands and speaks for us whether we are right or wrong, how much more when we are plainly unable to articulate or even understand our own needs. If as https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/innocence claims, since '1973, at least 190 people who had been wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the U.S. have been exonerated, then should we all not be taking a closer look into the advocacy work of institutions like the Texas Defender Service?
One life incarcerated or killed wrongfully due to not adequately taking mental limitations into consideration is one life too many.
We pray because it works. May we also speak up for those whose voices have been marred by life.
Amen.
Deborah
www.texasdefender.org
コメント