Stars Falling and Souls Aloft…

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A message came recently from a friend which said, “Before I got in touch with you, I used to gaze at the stars as they were only my friends, but after I met you I started believing that stars do fall on Earth.”

What a thoughtful sentiment, especially coming from someone who is surrounded daily with extreme conflict and intolerance. It amazes me when people find the tiniest drop of positive thinking from inside a flood of dreariness and pain. It makes me stop to think how far I’ve come emotionally in my own life. I do believe that the human heart is the strongest muscle in the body, and with the most endurance.

Last week I had a conversation with a woman I crossed paths with on about.me. Suzanne Wigginton reached out and invited me to share my thoughts and feelings on her ”Souls Aloft” blog talk radio show regarding my mission to help those who are in some of the darkest, most dreary places on earth…state penitentiaries.

As we touched on the importance of finding and enacting ways to overcome the suffering within, it reminded me of the reason I felt so passionate about my mission to help those who’ve been wrongfully convicted. As I recalled the bullying I experienced as a child, I shared how it pertains to the people I represent. I also shared that by overcoming my anger and using it in a positive way, that energy became an effective tool in helping them to combat the hardships they deal with daily.

As I’ve delved deeper into my soul during this journey, the process has promoted self-healing and I, in turn, am able to offer empathy and understanding to these people. In the process being less focused on myself has ultimately created an avenue for inner rebirth and growth.

We all have a story to share. Some overcome the pain caused by trauma but many may not. I’ve been blessed with an understanding that at any given time, there are people better off and worse off than me which lends valuable perspective to whatever is put before me.

I’ll conclude by sharing a poem borne out of a haunting and dismal experience. Exoneree Michael Piaskowski wrote it to supplement his own healing process. Having been able to use his anger wisely has given him the strength to help correct an injustice forced upon him and five other men. As of this moment, this poem represents much of the persistent anguish for the remaining five…

(Written while at DCI (Dodge Correctional Institution) in January of 1999):

Doin’ Time by Mike Pie (Piaskowski)

Prison Life,

Deadly Strife,

Den of evil fare

 

Atmosphere,

Burns so clear,

Toxin in the air

 

Eroded walls,

Wasted skills,

Souls lay vacant bare

 

Eternal stays,

Endless days,

Abysmal deep despair

 

Sordid needs,

Twisted deeds,

Bitter sad affair

 

Caustic blame,

Ugly shame,

Guilt for all to share

 

Shattered dreams,

Nightmare screams,

Tainted empty prayer

 

Family ties,

Sibling cries,

Slain in mode unfair

 

Justice blind,

Truth unkind,

Bias far from rare

 

Fatal part,

Future dark,

Enough not seem to care

 

An Emotional Father’s Day…

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On this special day, I’m sharing the stories of five exceptional Dads. They take their roles seriously but their ability to have a direct influence on their children’s lives is nonexistent…and heartbreaking. Despite the obstacles, their children look up to them with the greatest respect.

Michael Hirn is the youngest of five innocent but imprisoned men in Wisconsin. His only child was an infant when he was incarcerated in 1995. Now a young man, this son has only known his father’s presence from behind prison walls. He’s been forced to grow up without the intimate guidance and life experiences of a father but he relishes in knowing that his dad is innocent. I’ve received numerous pictures of them together during prison visits and although the guarded smiles on their faces tell of uncertainties for the future, I also see a closeness that will stay strong no matter what that future holds.

Keith Kutska shines through his son, Clayton, who is a father himself and a tireless supporter of his father’s innocence. Clayton states how extremely hard it has been to grow up without “my dad”. One only needs to look into their sad eyes to understand how this injustice has affected them both. Nonetheless, there will always be a mutual pride between these two men. For Keith it is a pride for the man his son has become. And for Clayton the pride is witnessing the courage of a father who has maintained his unrelenting innocence for twenty-three years. Both are strong father figures despite this predicament.

Dale Basten is the oldest of the five men. His two daughters do their best to go on with the many challenges of living a normal life. Dale has always been a devoted father and their deepest concerns for him have been his age and of his recent major heart attack in a prison system that lacks adequate health care. Some time ago the family was frantic when this health crisis occurred and no information about his condition was forthcoming until after the fact. In more recent years, Dale, who is now experiencing dementia, faces a bleak future with few options, as this injustice continues to plague this traumatized family.

Rey Moore’s faith has guided him along a very daunting path fraught with far too many disappointments during this turbulent time. It has helped him to maintain sanity but there is an element of deep distress when he writes about his children. Worry is the motivation in his pleas for me to make contact with them. Their survival in an unforgiving town has its challenges, as does Rey, within an unforgiving prison system.

Michael Johnson is also beholden to a faith that gives him strength and helps him to stay optimistic. His children and his wife, struggle to grasp the reasons for his absence, why such a fate has befallen them, and why it is that no one seems to care about the pain that persists in their hearts.

We must search deep inside ourselves to imagine the hardships of those who are faced with what has been lost and what can never be reclaimed. For these five men, twenty-three years are gone forever, never to be retrieved. We all must acknowledge the deprivation they experience. For it is far too easy for us to take lightly the privileges we’ve been given, and to overlook the pain of those who cannot. So when you celebrate this special day, please take a moment to silently remember these men and the countless other dads who sit quietly with little or no chance of experiencing those treasured moments with their children. I promise that you will become a better person for it!

Separate Ahmong Equals…Pt 2

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Continuing on with this astonishing story, the revelations began as I navigated the Innocence Project of Minnesota website. I had clicked on the page that lists movies and books depicting wrongful conviction cases. I noticed one book that had been added recently. Its title read, The Road to Freedom; Strangers Restore Justice for an Innocent Man, by Trudy Baltazar. Hmmm…interesting. Similar to the kind of activity I was engaging in with the Wisconsin Monfils case. I read the paragraph next to the book image and saw that it was about the famous Toyota case which happened here in Minnesota. I was intrigued and wanted to find out if the author was local. I did a search. It appeared that she not only lives in Minnesota but lives close to where I live. Wow. I wondered why I wasn’t aware of what she was involved in. I decided to search for her online because she was definitely someone I wanted to meet. I found a link to purchase her book. I ordered a copy which also prompted me to highlight Mr. Lee’s case that month for my exoneree series.

A crucial detail I learned about Mr. Lee’s case was that approximately thirty-three months after he was imprisoned, an attorney filed a request for an evidentiary hearing. The purpose of this hearing was for the judge to rule on whether or not to grant him a new trial based on new evidence that had come to light. The hearing was granted, but then according to Trudy’s book, this happened:

“Upon hearing a news broadcast in St. Paul, Minnesota about a husband/father who was wrongfully imprisoned after he drove a car that suddenly accelerated and killed three people, Trudy Baltazar felt compelled to act. She didn’t know the man and she didn’t know the victims but she felt something wasn’t right when the county attorney opposed a new trial even though there was new evidence and 44 new witnesses”.

Trudy had organized a rally in front of the Ramsey County Courthouse. She contacted the local media but one reporter privately contacted her to ask if she would be interested in doing an interview. Trudy was warned that she would be on the front page of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and as it turned out, the article appeared on a Monday, the same day as the rally was to be held. The rally was an overwhelming success with people from all ethnic backgrounds and walks of life showing up to voice their concern over this opposition. All of the major local TV stations were there and Trudy was interviewed by each of them. Big news in Minnesota and in my neck of the woods! But where was I?

This rally had taken place in the summer of 2010. After thinking about the timing it occurred to me that this was the same time frame in which I was heavily involved in advocating for the five Wisconsin men. I’d been making numerous trips to Green Bay to gain our own attention concerning those convictions. We were embroiled in our own controversy as I pushed for a risky and bold move, to stage our own rally in Downtown Green Bay near the Brown County Courthouse.

Our rally had to happen on October twenty-eighth; the same date as when the guilty verdicts were handed down in 1995. The press surrounding the Monfils Conspiracy book was starting to wane and the pressure was on to keep the momentum going about this injustice. A rally was the only way to get the necessary attention. We could not afford to allow this opportunity to slip away. Until now, no one had pursued a rally and I felt it was imperative we bring this activity into the forefront.

Trudy states in her book that she’d been innately compelled to do something big, though she didn’t know what. How ironic it is for two determined women with essentially the same motivations to simultaneously be inspired. What’s more, to share in a similar event that would cause a shake-down of an entire law enforcement community in two separate states? Whew! You cannot predict something like that.

Well…Trudy and I became good friends. I admire her because of her selfless actions to help an innocent man; a man who is now free partly due to her actions. Trudy succeeded in doing something that few are able or willing to do. For this reason, I asked her to speak at one of our car shows to tell her story.

Trudy works full time but stays in contact with Koua’s family. She remains an advocate for others in matters concerning the unintentional acceleration issue. I continue to work on what my legacy will be. How fortunate for two gutsy women leading their own charges in the abolition of wrongful convictions, to cross paths. We stay connected and lend support for each others’ efforts to make a difference for those whose voices have been silenced and forgotten.

Lastly, when I wrapped my mind around all I had learned, another thing hit me like a Mac truck. A few years back, when I was parking my 1999 Toyota behind a restaurant, it proceeded to do the exact same thing as Mr. Lee’s. It unintentionally accelerated at an unbelievably high speed despite my efforts of putting pressure on the brake! Luckily, I was able to shut the ignition off which immediately halted the acceleration. This incident had essentially slipped my mind because, unlike in Koua’s case, my experience did not result in anyone’s death.