“Home” – Systematic Theology from Death Row – Casey McWhorter & Jeff Hood Liberation is a return to the place where I am from. I am from Home. I was created at Home. I have always existed close to Home. I shall return Home. Liberation is about returning to where you always knew you would, Home. God is Home. Once you arrive back to that place where you’re from, you’re safe…you can breathe…you’re free…you can simply be. That’s... Read more
“Blank Slate” : Systematic Theology from Death Row : (Casey McWhorter & Jeff Hood) *Casey McWhorter is scheduled for execution on November 16, 2023. Our understanding poisons our mind. We assume that what we can consider is all that must be. Theology exists far beyond the limits that we place on our thoughts. Indeed, theology exists when we allow the borders and boundaries of understanding to explode. There we meet something more than what is. Namely, what... Read more
*Thankful to have been invited to a Friday Prayer Service focusing on Gaza by Muslim friends in Little Rock. While it is true that we approach God in different ways… I think we can agree that it is evil to drop bombs on children. I think we can agree that it is evil to collapse buildings on families. I think we can agree that it is evil to create an open-air torture chamber for millions of people. I... Read more
“There Will Be No Life in Killing Me” : The Casey McWhorter Tapes (6): Scheduled for Execution on November 16, 2023 in Alabama Destruction? Honestly, I’ve been the most successful at destroying myself. There were so many things I could’ve been. I was talented. I had a good personality. There were so many paths. So much potential. So much. I pissed every bit of it away. I repeatedly chose destruction. Sometimes I think that the... Read more
““I Might Have a Son Out There that I Love Very Much” : The Casey McWhorter Tapes (5): Scheduled for Execution on November 16, 2023 in Alabama When you’re loved from the beginning, you don’t even have an awareness of not being loved until you realize that somebody doesn’t love you. Consistently, my mom and grandmother always showed me loved. We used to do everything together. Meals. Movies. Playing outside. They were there. I guess I didn’t realize... Read more
“I’d Found Humanity Again” : The Casey McWhorter Tapes (4): Scheduled for Execution on November 16, 2023 in Alabama I know this path very well. Despair is something that I’ve grown quite intimate with. I’ve caused it. I’ve experienced it. I’ve lived it. Despair seems like too nice of a word to describe the feelings that I felt around the murder. I was in despair when I realized what I’d done. I was in despair when... Read more
“Peace is going to see me through this execution” : The Casey McWhorter Tapes (3): Scheduled for Execution on November 16, 2023 in Alabama Faith is something much more than an idea to me. It’s something I’ve been chasing my whole life. I yearn for it. Occasionally, I’ve touched it. One of the first times I remember praying was when a relative tried to commit suicide. I was very little. I remember hearing the sound,... Read more
“Stop being nice. Jesus raised hell!”: OK Death Row Inmate Emmanuel Littlejohn on John 2:13-17 Jesus tossed all those rich folks out of the temple because they were hustling poor folk. That shit was gangster. Flipping over tables. Using a whip to drive all those folks out. Made out of chords?!?! Those folks didn’t walk out of there. They ran. Didn’t they? Jesus wasn’t interested in any dialogue. He wanted them out. He wanted them out now. Jesus... Read more
“Hope Comes Back Around.”: The Casey McWhorter Tapes (2): Scheduled for Execution on November 16, 2023 in Alabama Hope is an interesting phenomenon. It grows. It changes. Sometimes it’s close. Sometimes it’s far away. Regardless, it seems like hope always finds a way to come back around. Even though my dad was absent throughout my childhood, I was loved by my mother and grandmother. They picked up the slack. I didn’t want for too much. If... Read more
*The following was transcribed by Casey McWhorter’s spiritual advisor, The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood. Just yesterday, I was informed that I am to be executed on November 16. There is no doubt that it’s a sobering thought. The culmination of a life. Before I go…literally…I want people to know who I am. I’m thankful that my spiritual advisor The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood has created this opportunity. For now, I just want to give an... Read more
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