[Col. Writ. 1/31/05] Copyright 2005 Mumia Abu-Jamal
In a matters of hours, or certainly days, Michael Ross
is scheduled to become the Gary Gilmore of Connecticut --
the first person to be executed in that state in the modern
era.
To the penny press and the corporate media, Ross is
a man 'choosing his fate freely', opting for execution to
'give closure' to his victim's families.
Michael Ross was convicted in the killings of 8 young
women, and has been on Death Row since 1987. He has
waived his appeals.
Barring a last-minute appeal of a third party, Mr.
Ross will make history in the Nutmeg State, for it has
been 45 years since someone has been executed there.
Michael Ross, an intelligent man, who studied at an
Ivy League university, describes himself, as 'the worst
of the worst':
When people think of death row inmates, I'm the
one that they think of. I'm the worst of the worst,
a man who has raped and murdered eight women,
assaulted several others, and stalked and frightened
many more. [From 'Seeking Reconciliation from
Death Row', by Michael Ross; Michael Ross'
Homepage, ccadp.org -Death Row - Online.]
Ross published these words in the Summer 1996 issue
of 'Synapse' magazine.
In his article, Ross outlines his discovery that he
suffered from a paraphiliac sexual and mental disorder,
which was brought under control by a medication --
Depo-Lupron, which kept his violent and sadistic
demons at bay.
The diagnosis, which he attributed to John Hopkins
Sexual Disorders Clinic psychiatrist, Dr. Fred Berlin,
and the subsequent medication, which he had to fight
the Connecticut Dept.of Corrections to acquire, made
him feel 'human' again, he wrote.
His journey, from darkness into light, from
inhumanity back to humanity, led him to embrace
what he calls "reconciliation", an "all but impossible
task", he writes, but one worthy of seeking, with
spiritual help.
Michael Ross is "represented" by a defense lawyer
who is assisting him in his wish to be executed.
(One wonders, what is a prosecutor to do -- help
the defense lawyer?)
He writes, in a journal of psychiatry, of the
immense isolation he has lived with, not just on Death
Row, but of his rare and traumatic forays into
prison population, where he heard both guards and
inmates express revulsion at his presence:
"Hey man, do you know who that is?" "He's
the one who killed all those girls." "I wish they
would let the SOB into population, then we
could teach him a lesson." "Ripper!" "Child
raper!" "Hey, tree-jumper, we're gonna kill
you!" ... And the ever-present sound
mimicking the electric chair: "Bzzzzzz."
[From: "It's Time for Me to Die: An Inside
Look at Death Row", by Michael Ross, B.S.;
*Journal of Psychiatry and Law* (Winter 1998),
Michael Ross' Homepage, p. 3 of 8.]
Once, another prisoner stabbed him 15 times, a
set-up arranged by a guard. He has been beaten
several times by prisoners. He has been splashed
by cups of urine and feces.
Is there any wonder that he is fleeing this
so-called 'life?'
On Death Row, people have few choices. Perhaps
the only real 'choice' left, is to die.
Yet, this makes a sad mockery of the word,
'volunteer' for, without a choice, how can one
really volunteer?
If he had a choice, say several life terms in a
prison where he wouldn't be assaulted, barraged with
excrement, or set up, does anyone think this man, who
has finally begun to see his human self, would say no?
Indeed, how can any documented mentally ill
person, no matter how intelligent, make such a choice,
given such meager options? Michael Ross, damned
with paraphiliac sexual disorder, never made a choice;
he followed his drives, as he is surely following one
now, and the media, as well as the judiciary, is but
an accomplice in this social crime of legal suicide.
Copyright 2005 Mumia Abu-Jamal
In a matters of hours, or certainly days, Michael Ross
is scheduled to become the Gary Gilmore of Connecticut --
the first person to be executed in that state in the modern
era.
To the penny press and the corporate media, Ross is
a man 'choosing his fate freely', opting for execution to
'give closure' to his victim's families.
Michael Ross was convicted in the killings of 8 young
women, and has been on Death Row since 1987. He has
waived his appeals.
Barring a last-minute appeal of a third party, Mr.
Ross will make history in the Nutmeg State, for it has
been 45 years since someone has been executed there.
Michael Ross, an intelligent man, who studied at an
Ivy League university, describes himself, as 'the worst
of the worst':
When people think of death row inmates, I'm the
one that they think of. I'm the worst of the worst,
a man who has raped and murdered eight women,
assaulted several others, and stalked and frightened
many more. [From 'Seeking Reconciliation from
Death Row', by Michael Ross; Michael Ross'
Homepage, ccadp.org -Death Row - Online.]
Ross published these words in the Summer 1996 issue
of 'Synapse' magazine.
In his article, Ross outlines his discovery that he
suffered from a paraphiliac sexual and mental disorder,
which was brought under control by a medication --
Depo-Lupron, which kept his violent and sadistic
demons at bay.
The diagnosis, which he attributed to John Hopkins
Sexual Disorders Clinic psychiatrist, Dr. Fred Berlin,
and the subsequent medication, which he had to fight
the Connecticut Dept.of Corrections to acquire, made
him feel 'human' again, he wrote.
His journey, from darkness into light, from
inhumanity back to humanity, led him to embrace
what he calls "reconciliation", an "all but impossible
task", he writes, but one worthy of seeking, with
spiritual help.
Michael Ross is "represented" by a defense lawyer
who is assisting him in his wish to be executed.
(One wonders, what is a prosecutor to do -- help
the defense lawyer?)
He writes, in a journal of psychiatry, of the
immense isolation he has lived with, not just on Death
Row, but of his rare and traumatic forays into
prison population, where he heard both guards and
inmates express revulsion at his presence:
"Hey man, do you know who that is?" "He's
the one who killed all those girls." "I wish they
would let the SOB into population, then we
could teach him a lesson." "Ripper!" "Child
raper!" "Hey, tree-jumper, we're gonna kill
you!" ... And the ever-present sound
mimicking the electric chair: "Bzzzzzz."
[From: "It's Time for Me to Die: An Inside
Look at Death Row", by Michael Ross, B.S.;
*Journal of Psychiatry and Law* (Winter 1998),
Michael Ross' Homepage, p. 3 of 8.]
Once, another prisoner stabbed him 15 times, a
set-up arranged by a guard. He has been beaten
several times by prisoners. He has been splashed
by cups of urine and feces.
Is there any wonder that he is fleeing this
so-called 'life?'
On Death Row, people have few choices. Perhaps
the only real 'choice' left, is to die.
Yet, this makes a sad mockery of the word,
'volunteer' for, without a choice, how can one
really volunteer?
If he had a choice, say several life terms in a
prison where he wouldn't be assaulted, barraged with
excrement, or set up, does anyone think this man, who
has finally begun to see his human self, would say no?
Indeed, how can any documented mentally ill
person, no matter how intelligent, make such a choice,
given such meager options? Michael Ross, damned
with paraphiliac sexual disorder, never made a choice;
he followed his drives, as he is surely following one
now, and the media, as well as the judiciary, is but
an accomplice in this social crime of legal suicide.
Copyright 2005 Mumia Abu-Jamal
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