Spirituality is complicated. For almost two decades, I’ve ministered to all sorts of people. One of the things that I’ve come to realize is that no two people are the same. We are all trying to find the God that is beyond God. That is the entity that is beyond all comprehension that gives life meaning. Those who claim to know the totality of the divine are fools who should never be trusted. God is indescribable and that is... Read more
Spirituality is complicated. For almost two decades, I’ve ministered to all sorts of people. One of the things that I’ve come to realize is that no two people are the same. We are all trying to find the God that is beyond God. That is the entity that is beyond all comprehension that gives life meaning. Those who claim to know the totality of the divine are fools who should never be trusted. God is indescribable and that is... Read more
18 years ago, I was ordained a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ at The Rock Baptist Church in Rex, Georgia. *Yes. Since then… I’ve had to get glasses. I’ve shaved my head. I’ve grown a beard. 2 years ago, I was incardinated into the priesthood of the Catholic Church by Bishop James St. George at St. Miriam Parish in Flourtown, Pennsylvania. “Do you believe in a literal hell?” I’ll never forget that question. For one of the... Read more
The Final Visit: Minutes with David Hosier Prisons are all the same. You hurry up to wait. Nothing happens when they tell you it’s going to. You are forced to just sit. The process of my final visit with David Hosier was anything but smooth. You don’t dare complain. They could very easily kick you out. Through it all, you are just left alone with your thoughts. Though I’d had such final visits before, this one was... Read more
As the execution of David Hosier nears, I revisit a poem I wrote several years ago after an execution. More than a day. I’m alone Nobody’s here That room The source of my fear It’s a long road To the end of the hall Somebody please Listen to me It’s a long road To the end of the hall Nobody cared To show me the way Surely a life Is more than a day It’s a long road... Read more
It’s 4:38am. The nightmare is familiar. I’ve just watched one of the guys I’ve worked with executed. Right after they’re declared dead, I’m about to leave. Suddenly, they look up and ask, “Why didn’t you help me?” When I try to speak, nothing comes out of my mouth. It’s as if I know that there is nothing to say. Desperate to explain why I can’t. I wake up with a jolt. Tonight, it was David Hosier. Even though he’s... Read more
*I serve as David Hosier’s spiritual advisor. I will be with him in his final days and accompany him to the execution chamber on June 11. David Hosier will be executed on June 11. It’s beginning to look inevitable. Though I pray for a miracle, I can’t let myself believe it’s possible. If I did, I would never be able to prepare myself for what I must do. In the coming days, my job is to prepare David... Read more
* The Louisiana House Judiciary Committee will be voting on SB 430 (to keep nitrogen as a form of execution) at 9am CDT on May 21, 2024. 05/21/2024 Dear Legislators. I was the closest witness to the first nitrogen execution in Alabama. Please hear me out. Our common humanity will be either our common triumph or our common downfall. Right now, it is our lack of humanity that is making room for conversations about new execution methods. We... Read more
DAVID HOSIER is DYING / Who’s “Backing the Blue” Now? Yesterday, I received a phone call from David Hosier telling me that he has gone into acute heart failure. Even if David wasn’t scheduled to be executed next month, x-rays of his chest and abdomen have confirmed that he is not long for this world. Presently, he’s in an outside hospital struggling to move, eat or breathe and filled with fluid. Based on his current condition, it is possible... Read more
Through interaction over a number of months, Oklahoma Death Row inmate Emmanuel Littlejohn constructed this narrative with his spiritual advisor the Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood to let people know that he didn’t kill anybody and certainly doesn’t deserve to be executed. “Underwhelming.” That’s how Emmanuel Littlejohn described his initial interactions with Glenn Bethany at Joseph Harp Correctional Center in the early 1990s. The two really didn’t get to know each other at all. “I just knew... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In