“The fact is, whether it’s prison, the projects, a retirement community, or Brentwood, the problems and expectations are the same. By living in our community and taking part in the balance of its movements, we become an intricate part of a working collective community that’s united and growing…”
Continue reading How do we create community in spaces that tend to destroy it?
“After being on death row for over 26 years, I can attest that people change in many ways. When I came to death row at the age of 19 years old, I was quite sure from the stories I had hears that some really bad guys were there. However, what I found was completely the opposite. Each person on death row has a very unique story, and within that life you can see a path that we have each been on at one point in life…”
Continue reading Ron’s Open Letter for Imagining Justice from the Inside Out.
“My cell is a place to sleep, eat, create, study law, and seek out a way to keep hope alive. It’s not easy, but it’s possible no matter where you are or what you face…”
Continue reading Ron’s Artists Statement.
“When you isolate a person from family and stifle their ability to function normally, if they are not fortunate enough to find hope or inspiration to delve into positive solitary avenues (law, religion, etc.), they turn to a source of immediate aggression and amusement as a coping mechanism – fires, floods, assaults. All of these are avenues toward mental decay, and it’s justified behavior to respond to isolation this way. It’s acceptable to act like an animal in the face of a captor that labels them of no worth to human dignity. Solitary confinement only serves one purpose. It destroys the captor’s respect for humanity and the captive’s natural human instinct to evolve.”
Ron’s statement on solitary confinement was submitted to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on Solitary Confinement, and is posted on Solitary Watch.
“REACH extends its hand to all members of society in an effort to begin the dialogue and healing process. We welcome all individuals who feel this way and who recognize their hurt and struggles to find answer and methods of personal growth and resolve. To these individuals we dedicate our time left in this world, in an effort to leave this world in better standing that when we came into it. We believe that if one person is REACHed that an entire community can be “teached” and save from the unfortunate despair we now face…”
Continue reading Ron’s Statement on Community Healing.
R.E.A.C.H. Coalition 
Dear Ron:
I really like what you are writing. I belief the healing relationships and communities is crucial. Why don’t we two start out with doing precisely that. I am very sad, not to receive a single letter from you. I am very open to mend fences. I know where my mistakes are and how offended you were when I left without a word. But I felt bad because I could do nothing to help you and I knew that the whole world was watching. This scared and angered me very much. But I feel better since I wrote my paper on the death penalty and I would like to tell you that I still think often about you.
I hope that we two can set an example how people who hurt each other and who grew apart can be on speaking terms again. Christina