YouTube – “Inside Death Row: NC” – Introduction

“Inside Death Row: NC”

I’d like to thank all of those who have been patiently waiting for policy and procedure to be finalized. It really did not apply to what is being done here; but now we know.

UPDATE: Beginning May 3rd, if everything goes as planned, we will begin recording “Inside Death Row: NC“. I would like to thank Paul, JJ, Jason, and George for telling their stories first, in what ever format they choose, rap, poetry, true story or fiction – it is theirs.

Again, thank you to Terrance; without his dedication, correspondence and phone calls, none of this would be happening. He is dedicated to helping the men on Death Row have an avenue to tell their own stories, in their words. If you would like to write him, his contact info. is below.

Jan. 2023

Terrance & I have been writing, emailing and have talked on the phone. He has been the lead person in NC for this project “Inside Death Row: NC”. It is amazing all of the writings and recordings coming from Death Row; I’m anxious to start with our recordings. Terrance wanted me to share his information in case anyone had any questions or comments about his writings:

Terrance D. Campbell #0064125. The easiest and least expensive way to communicate is through the www.gettingout.com Mail can be sent to him: Terrance D. Campbell #0064125, Central Prison, P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131.

I have been corresponding with Terrance since October. He has been the lead in getting people to listen to the podcast and to write. We spoke on the phone on Tuesday 11/29/22 for the first time. He had notes/list of things to cover and within a half hour we had a lot to work on. Here it is that Thanksgiving just passed and they are already done with Christmas (packets received). The facility is short staffed so mail and phones may be delayed or limited.

Terrance was well spoken, and respectable. I always liked that people from the South seemed to have better manners than us Northerners!

I will write more as Terrance and I write and talk. I am thankful that he wrote; I am learning a lot from the men who are writing from Death Row: NC.

12/14/22 From Terrance:

These are a few of my favorite things

Hot griddled pancakes and honey thick as molasses

Creme filled red peppers and crushed ice in glasses

All of the songs Whitney Houston did sing 

These are a few of my favorite things

Fresh milk in the morning and a cold moonlit night

Puppies a howlin’ and planes that zip outta sight

Wonders of adventures tomorrow may bring 

These are a few of my favorite things

Three cheese lasagnas and Californian red dinner wines

Tall sassy ladies with smiles that do shine

The roar of the crowd when the game’s last buzzer rings

These are a few of my favorite things

“When the dog bites, when the bees sting

When I’m feeling sad 

I simply remember my favorite things

Then I don’t feel soooo bad!!!”

(In The Sound of Music, Richard Rodgers wrote the music and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the lyrics to the song “My Favorite Things.” – Last paragraph)

Dec. 2nd, 2022 – Terrance

Valerie, Long ago, in a far away land the question was asked of the wisest of men Who is my neighbor? This is an important question, because it is asking, to whom am I connected in this world? We need to know who our neighbors are. Old definitions of the people next door, or on my block, or in my precinct, or in my town were just not broad enough for this man. To him being a neighbor meant including those that are often excluded from the definition. Being a neighbor was not exclusively about people that acted, and dressed, and looked like oneself. To him the neighbor is the one that helps someone not like himself. Scripture says : he came near him; And he saw him, And he was moved with pity. And He went to him And bandaged his wounds And poured in oil And poured in wine. And he put him on his animal, And brought him to an inn, And took care of him. And gave the innkeeper money And said, Take care of him And when I come back, I will repay the balance The story you may recall is of a story from our youth the Samaritan. But there’s more to the story, look at it. The ‘neighborly And’. …A lot of Christians have missed it over the centuries it’s been told. The story that Jesus tells begins before the Samaritan is even introduced.

A man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothing, beat him senseless, and left him ‘half-dead’ along the side of the road. A priest came by. When he saw the man and his condition he crossed to the other side and passed him by. A little while later a Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, he too passed on the other side. Along comes the much despised Samaritan……History tells us the Samaritans originally were Israelites of the Northern Kingdom. But their estrangement from their relatives due to captivity and intermarriages with forbidden clans, not all but some, caused a strain between these kin. By the time the Jews returned to rebuild the temple and the walls of Jerusalem, after being held captive, they refused to let the Samaritans share in the experience. In the days of Christ the animosity was so great that the Jews went an extra distance through barren land risking life and limb just to avoid going through Samaria. Why? Because life happens for us between our personal Jerusalems and our Jerichos. Life happens between where you are and where you are headed. Things happen that don’t seem to make sense and you find yourself asking why me? Life happens and it is not always pretty. Sometimes the ands (notice the lower case) of this life will leave you half-dead, or outright dead. This life has ands that will rob you, strip you, wound you and leave you, along the side of the road. The Priest would have had the duties to oversee religious rites in the Temple. The Levite who would have assisted the Priests was duty bound as well to the Temple. Their passion for the institution overrode what they saw on the side of the road. I imagine the Priest and the Levite looked and said, I would help , but he’s an immigrant; he is undocumented. But as Christians we must have hands that go to meet the needs of our peers. We must make sure that we don’t just look and pass by on the other side. We are prodded here to be neighborly. A kind of neighbourliness that has a multiplicity of “Ands” that meet people from varied backgrounds and with varied circumstances. Ands that take action, Ands that provide solutions, Ands that lift spirits, Ands that heal relationships, Ands that encourage souls. We don’t want to perpetrate bad ands that rob, strip, wound, and leave. Nor be selfish with the ands that only look and pass by.. We are implored to share our ands of blessings toward one another. Share our resources one with another..As we go into the end of 2022, and the Christmas season let us have the compassion of the Samaritan let this mini sermon reside within you I’ll end with this old Christian hymn if you don’t know it try google…. I come to the garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses. 🌹 And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses……. And he walks with me, And he talks with me, And he tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known. I thank you and we appreciate all you are doing. Terrance

“In the garden was one of my father’s favorite hymns” (VLC)

July 22, 2022 – I am #0064125. I was convicted of murder in the 1st degree March 28, 2002. I remember it took the jury less than 3 hours to return the verdicts. Guilty on all counts so not only do I have a death sentence I also have LWOP (Life Without Parole). Though the jury said my crime was not one that they found to be especially heinous, atrocious or cruel. But their unanimous convict spoke volumes about my decision not to take the stand. That was a right my team chose to employ. After much reflection almost two decades of it I realized I didn’t leave my fate to the jury. The day I refused to take the stand and tell my story is the day I lost my voice and my freedom. When we allow others to tell the world who we are, what we’re about, what we have or have not done…or could, should or would have done our narrative of self is forever impaired. Terrance/Lessons from D-Row (9/20/22)

10/18/22 – ” I forget too that we have been conditioned to a degree in ways that we don’t even recognize. We’ve been told when to eat, when to sleep, even when to speak for so long that we’re like robot🤖s at times. That’s what we call being institutionalized. Oh, believe me its real Valerie. You know the story of the training of the orpaned baby elephants. The handlers shackle them with a heavy cast iron cuffed chained to their front leg. And having never been hindered or restricted in their short lives except in the trainings of their natural habitats those baby elephants tussle with that chain for days and days until their spirits are broken. Zoologists are known for telling fantastic stories of how great the memory these magnificent beasts possess. And how long they can live in captivity. Circus goers the world over are mesmerized at how the trainers are able to handle this gigantic 12 foot tall, 8 ton creature with such ease and all with that little reed of a stick he or she has in hand in the ring. By touching ever so lightly the shin of this animal the ring master makes the elephant stop or go and even stand on his hind legs like our pet pooch at home begging for snacks. The elephant carries the memory of the chain of his youth…and he never forgets the struggle of it. Sometimes when I think of that story I hide my face in my pillow and I cry silently as I remember the chains of my youth and how destined I was to living a similar experience as those elephants. Who wants to hear that story? Someone says that the elephants of the circuses have all been freed I wonder do they know?” Terrance

10/13/22 – Hello Valerie I feel like its Christmas each time I receive a message from you and I always rush to answer. I will discontinue that practice because I want you to know that I and these men who are participants in this project WE are very thankful and appreciate the opportunity you have created for us. Thank you and your podcast team in making this possible. We have our annual statewide Art Contest going on right now and I have to be better with my communication and allowing the guys the freedom to produce the letters at a comfortable pace. Me I’m always go,go,go like the Rabbit in the battery commercial. I’m self-driven. Always the captain of the team, the leading scorer, most tenacious defender and tackler, so long ago before Nike ever came up with ‘Just Do It’ we were saying that in the foothills of NC, 45 years ago at my Jr. High school. So I’ve got to be better at getting the most out of these guys. No problem. I lead by example , always have always will. So, let me get on the wire and get this news to everyone, so they can get it out to their folks. We are starting a ‘Prison Pod Nation’ down here in the Carolinas OK!!!!! We will keep an ear out for the new episode. Someone just spent 20 min. searching and we are still only at the 17th episode. I’ll make a check myself as soon as I send this. Text me whenever you want you know I’ll respond as quickly as possible. Have a good afternoon, and please don’t work so hard you are self-mot- ivated also anyone who has accomplished as much you have Valerie needs a free trip around the world. Give me a couple of years…gonna make it happen for you. Terrance