Killers in Our Midst: My Grandfather, Casey McWhorter, the State of Alabama and the Consistent Immorality of Killing
Growing up, I was very close to my maternal grandfather. In my mind, he could do no wrong. Then of course, I grew up. I remember one evening my grandfather told me he needed to tell me something. Sensing the gravity of the moment, I leaned in closer. All previous ideations of perfection went out the window. Over 60 years prior (he would’ve been in his late 20s), had been driving home drunk with my grandmother in the car when he drifted over the middle line, hit another car head on and killed a woman. Of course, he was young and dumb. One of the parting words he left me with was, “People all make mistakes, right?”
When you minister to people on death row like I do, you encounter people who’ve made some pretty big mistakes. Casey McWhorter is one of those people. In 1993, Casey (just past his 18th birthday) was part of a crew of teenagers that robbed and murdered Edward Lee Williams. Like all stories, this one is much more complicated than can be contained in a few sentences, but for now I will leave it at that. For multiple months, I’ve been acting as Casey’s spiritual advisor. We’ve grown incredibly close. I’ve been very touched by his recollections of stories from scripture that always seem to have a Southern twist (whether it’s just his accent or how he tells it I can’t figure it out). I don’t know everything about him. How could I? How could we know everything about anybody? Beyond the noise of his case, all I know is that I recognize him. In a strange way, he actually reminds me of my grandfather. Such familiarity has brought about a host of practical questions.
Why does one person’s bad decision that killed another matter more than another’s bad decision that killed another? Maybe more directly put, why did my grandfather get to enjoy a full life while we were just informed today that Casey is scheduled to die on November 16, 2023 at the age of 49? What’s fair about that? If we are talking about an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, why are some killers left with full vision and a full set of teeth…while others are not? I don’t know that I know the answer to any of these questions. I just know that a few years ago I watched my grandfather slowly die in his favorite chair…and on November 16 I will watch the state of Alabama murder Casey McWhorter. Is one more of a killer than the other?
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