Postcards from the Edge

Postcards from the Edge, run under the site gawker.com, recently sent letters to all of the U.S. death row inmates who have execution dates in the upcoming year. Below, you will find a link to their first reply from Ray Jasper. Jasper was convicted of the 1998 murder of a recording studio owner. Jasper was 18 years old at the time. He has been in prison for the past 15 years. The purpose of publishing these letters is to hear directly from people whose voices are not often heard.

Coincidentally (or maybe not so much so…) we get a message reminiscent of our discussions in class today: the mass incarceration of black people (though Jasper also falls into the trap of focusing on black incarcerated MEN).

There's this. But before it came this.

He talks in the earlier letter about the legality/fairness/whatever you want to call it of removing black people or other minorities from the jury (obviously, not cool or representative). He also discusses the high proportion of black people in the prison system, commenting in the later letter on the profitability of incarceration. Whatever your opinions on capital punishment, he also discusses his opinion about it.

His insight is also greatly appreciated: empathy, he says, is needed more in the world. Really interesting read, though the more recent letter is quite long.

~ Brooke