Life After Death: The Shocking True Story of a Innocent Man on Death Row

unit.”
    The whole purpose was to rob everyone of their identity. Dress everyone exactly alike, give them the same haircut, take away their name, and give them a number. To the prison system, I am not Damien Echols. I am inmate SK931. I still don’t let them cut my hair, though. I cut it myself, with a disposable razor. It’s a time-consuming process, but better than the alternative. The prison “barber” is just a prisoner they choose at random and assign to the job. It’s usually someone who has never cut hair in his life, and I don’t fancy being the training dummy.
    A PRIL 27
    With every day that passes I feel more and more as if I’m playing Russian roulette. It’s nothing to do with the case, because I know that sooner or later someone will step in and correct this situation. The danger I feel comes from trying to survive in here. Every day the odds continue to stack up. Sooner or later the hammer will fall on a chamber with a round in it. Could be anything—diabetes, starvation, food poisoning, skull cracked by a bored guard, heat stroke, or about a million other things. I feel like the frog trying to cross the street in that old video game Frogger. Sooner or later he always gets squashed. The only question is how long you can prevent it from happening.
    M AY 1
    The next execution is scheduled to take place in three days. Chances are high it will be called off, since the last one wasn’t carried out. There’s another one scheduled for May 24, but it probably won’t take place, either. Everyone seems to think they’ll be put on hold until after a hearing about procedure. Arkansas is the only state in the country that has a law that says the prison director can carry out executions in any way he sees fit. This means it’s legal for the prison to starve you to death. Or burn you alive. Or stone you. The law in Arkansas gives these people the power to do anything they want. What is legal and what is right are often two different things.
    Even if the execution gets called off at the last minute, the man who is scheduled to die will never be the same. When someone comes back from the death house, they’re far, far older than when they entered. There’s no life in their eyes, they don’t talk much, and when the guards take them anywhere they shuffle like someone in a nursing home. It’s almost as if everything dies except the body. Guards are the opposite. When an execution date nears, they get a little pep in their step.
    M AY 5
    Today I saw a campaign commercial for Fogleman. He hasn’t aged well at all. There is a tremendous sense of darkness about him. It was there when he was a prosecutor, but now it seems to have grown to horrendous proportions. Am I the only one who finds it repugnant that they began airing on May 5?
    In the commercial he was bragging about how many years of experience he has. Anyone who wants to see that experience in action should just watch
Paradise Lost
.
    I must admit that I was a little hurt that he didn’t mention us in his commercial. I mean, he could at least thank all the little people he stepped on in his climb up the political ladder. Seriously, folks—please don’t forget to vote on May 18. Don’t let this guy keep hurting people, or get away with such corruption.
    Today was our first ninety-degree day of the year. The humidity is already suffocating. Summer is here. Over the past few days I’ve been cleaning my cell from top to bottom and throwing out tons of junk. I’ve decided I want to live my life as if I am leaving this place at any moment. From now on I will live in a state of joyous expectation.
    M AY 2010
    I don’t want to be a nag, or drive this into the ground, but I do want to ask everyone one more time to vote on May 18. The Good Ol’ Boy Network, which includes everyone from the West Memphis police department to the
Arkansas Times
, is out there promoting Fogleman. They want to promote a man who not only helped condemn three innocent men, but has also allowed a child-murderer to walk free for seventeen years. If this is to be amended, it will have to be you who does it. If you live in Arkansas and are reading this, please turn out on May 18 to make certain this man is not rewarded for his corruption. You have the power and ability to see that justice is done. All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. This is a chance to demonstrate that not everyone in Arkansas embraces ignorance and corruption. This will be my