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• 2022-09-12

  WHEN CORONA AND SATAN ROBBED ME OF MY FAMILY...

  WHEN CORONA AND SATAN ROBBED ME OF MY FAMILY... (Alternative title: When the hourglass runs faster...) A Corona Story by Berthold von Kamptz Gustav Walters, 48 years old, divorced, was in the dock. He had three children and was a photographer. The judge and jury wore black wardrobes and sat in their seats. There were his accusers - his family members, which will be discussed here later. And the audience that saw only one thing in him: no more people - only the guilty party. At this trial, Gustav tried - without a lawyer - to defend himself in front of this mysterious court on Lower Road in the Wineburgh district of Montgomery in the US state of Alabama. However, unsuccessful - which will be discussed in more detail later. The judge's (judgement pronouncer's) voice thundered ominously across the room as he pronounced his verdict and Gustav's alleged offenses ("corona sins", as Gustav called them) came to light. “Wilful murder of his son Martin by pushing him off the Keystone Bridge motorway bridge in Old Sutherdale (off the C 13, ... motorway) in Montgomery on 11.11.2021. "Sentenced to death", was the verdict. Gustav was shocked when he heard the verdict. The verdict that would finally seal his downfall, his fate. And that would mean death: death by lethal injection. I (Scott Stevens), who was happy with the Walters family, who knows the case well and had written it all down, will explain why it happened later...Also what happened during the corona crisis from mid-March 2020. At first Gustav, who had received the verdict, was shocked. "That can't be right", he said. But that was the case. On the one hand, he was glad that - in view of the death and the verdict - which seemed absurd to him - his entire family was absent. His "loved ones" whom he still loved (despite everything they had done to him or he to them - depending on how you looked at it, because the course of the alleged actions, accusations were still absurd, strange or far-fetched or lies to him, for him which his family had thought up - but he was here in the courtroom and not without reason - so it must be serious). A family that was now broken They were all here now to testify against him. And that dampened his joy at seeing her. After the verdict was announced, several police officers grabbed him. Handcuffed him. (Was that common, he wondered? Why don't I have a fair trial? Why didn't I hire a lawyer? he asked himself. You can't just...tear off his thoughts.) "I'm innocent!" Gustav shouted through the courtroom. But no one listened to him. It was like he was talking against a wall. There was a completely confused world he had gotten himself into Totally unreal. And no one seemed to feel sorry for him. He was able to scream "I'm innocent" three times in the courtroom - without anyone noticing. Then they led him away Get out of the courtroom. He was then dragged outside the courthouse and pushed into a gray van that stood in front of the courthouse. Two men guarded Gustav in the narrow space of the transporter and held him. Then the drive to the prison started. After about half an hour of agonizing driving, they arrived. Gustav saw from the van window the prison building that was somewhere (he was later informed) in the New Blackcastle district of Montgomery, Alabama. This was a huge, desolate block of a prison that reminded him of "Atracaz" or something similar, and there was also a courtyard that was just a desolate place fenced in with barbed wire in front of the prison building, in which some desolate and bloodthirsty-looking figures ran unheard of, who could probably become his prison colleagues while he was still alive. He strongly suspected it. There was no tree anywhere near the prison building...Everything was gray and desolate and his depression and his longing for death and at the same time fear of death and his own downfall increased more and more. Gustav was taken to the desolate, gray prison building by a prison guard and three men, then they went down a flight of stairs with him, then they walked down a dimly lit corridor that led to a large basement room containing several small prison cells. Gustav took it all as if through a fog It was completely unreal. Shortly afterwards they reached the large basement room, which contained at least ten prison cells. Most of the prison cells appeared to be empty at a glimpse. Then they went to a prison cell that was on the far left of the room. The jailer unlocked the door and then they led Gustav into the barred prison cell and locked the door, Gustav looked around nervously there. His prison cell was only about six square meters in size, containing only a closet, a lousy bed, a small desk and a small chair, a few books, a small table, a small chair - nothing else. He sat down on the chair. “I want a capable defense. A lawyer", Gustav said to the men who had led him into the cell. "Now you're here. We can't do anything more", said the prison guard. "I want a lawyer immediately. The verdict is not fair!" shouted Gustav. “contact the Prison Director. He’s coming tomorrow.” Gustav sat down on the chair and started crying. A short time later he got up, ran to the door, but it was locked by the prison guard with the gaunt, skull-like face. Gustav shook against the prison staff. “Let me out. Let me out. I'm innocent", he shoutedIt was a plea that wasn't heard. He looked into the dimly lit hallway There was no one to hear him. Because the prison guard with the gaunt face was suddenly gone. And also the three other men Gustav waited about two hours. He screamed and cried. Then finally someone came. When he looked closer, he knew: it was the jailer again A sense of hope briefly flickered within him. And but went out after the depressing conversation that followed. “Is this really a death sentence that awaits me? Or maybe I was drunk in the courtroom and I imagined everything?" Gustav asked. "Because I had just drunk a whiskey bourbon that I had in my bag." "You will be convicted. And you know what to expect", said the prison guard. "I'm challenging the verdict. I want a calling. A fair trial", Gustav complained. "That probably won't work anymore. If the judge and jury agree, the verdict applies. Only in the rarest of cases do we appeal", replied the prison guard. "Not all evidence has been evaluated. And...why exactly are I being accused? I don't understand", said Gustav. "I neither longed for nor caused the death of my son Martin", explained Gustav. “yes.” "Actually, I don't like guys like you. But I will be nice and address you respectfully. But without "Sir'", said Gustav. "You don't have to say sir to me. You can talk to me normally. I'll make an exception for you here", said the prison guard. "By the way, I'm Mr. John Travis." At that moment Gustav didn't care what his name was. “Okay, Travis. So again...I was wrongfully convicted,” Gustav said. "Your son Martin was standing at the motorway bridge. And you pushed him down. After an argument. Because he didn't perform as well as he wanted at school. That's what I heard", said Mr Travis. "He was my everything...my everything, you know?" Gustav tried to explain. "The relationship was tense. You had left him too.” “No....he had been taking drugs. He went to the highway bridge in the dark at night and bought drugs from a guy there. I couldn’t let that happen...there was an altercation...” "And then you pushed him down?" asked prison guard Travis. "No...it wasn't like that", Gustav replied. "The judge doesn't see it that way." Gustav was silent for a while. Then he said ": I had had two heart attacks. Doesn't that count? I lost control. I made mistakes there. It happened in battle. Because I wanted to take away the drugs that could have killed him.” "You could have explained this in more detail in court", said prison guard Travis. "I was scared. I was cornered...like a wild animal...I suddenly... hadn’t had the right words in my mouth anymore”, Gustav stammered. “Yes. right. I'm sorry. Run stupid.” “I want a lawyer. Because I don't have one yet. I would like to appeal. I challenge the verdict. The verdict is totally unjustified.” "The jury has to decide that", Travis replied calmly. "What a strange dish this is. Am I in Europe in the Middle Ages? 16th century?" Gustav asked. Strangely enough, Mr. Travis then said nothing. "I will not accept the verdict or regret my actions. I'll go on hunger strike - if justice doesn't happen and if I don't finally get a capable lawyer. Should a case have to go to the governor. Or Amnesty International...” said Gustav. “Yes. I'll talk to the prison warden.... He will visit you soon", replied Travis. “When’s food? I'm hungry", said Gustav. “Tonight. A few breads with cheese. Tea. Something to drink.” Then he left again. Gustav waited quite a while. Just three hours. Then the prison guard Travis came by with a tray of food and something to drink: an orange juice, three loaves of bread, cheese, sausage, some jam. The Travis unlocked a small window on his cell door. The man then pushed the tray of food and orange juice through the window, greedily Gustav grabbed the tray of food and drink. Then Travis closed the cell window. "If you want, I can bring some more tea." “no thanks. It's okay", replied Gustav. "Enjoy your meal", said prison guard Travis. “Thank you.” “please.” "All of this must be a mistake. I'm innocent", Gustav said again. "Everyone who comes in here says that." "There has to be another chance for me. A tiny little chance", said Gustav. “no. Now you'll stay here until the verdict is carried out", said Travis. Then Gustav sat down at the table with the food. “i am innocent. I want a lawyer", he shouted again. "I'm sorry. I can't do anything about it. You can talk to the prison warden. But that won’t do much good.” "I want to at least deal with something. I want to read books. To write. Because I have been writing for some time. So I need a pad, a pen, some books", Gustav made it clear to him. "I can get you a pad upstairs and some books. Someone wants to bring you something later too - that's what I heard", replied Travis. “Yes, see you then.” “i will.” Prison guard Travis left again. Gustav sat on the chair in his cell for a while. Then after a while he got up and looked into the prison hallway There was no one there. Gustav began to cry bitterly. Then the guard came back He had a white plastic bag in his right hand. He unlocked the door of the cell windows. Then he handed him the bag with the pen, the notepad and the books through the cell window, which Gustav then took. He thanked him for it Then prison guard Travis closed the window again He watched Gustav critically. Then Mr. Travis sat down on a chair at a table in front of the prison cell. There was all sorts of paperwork on the table Gustav started talking again in his cell. “When’s the game over? When will this be appealed? I finally want to have a lawyer", he said. "Don't you know what I said? That the chances in such a case are slim?" asked prison guard Travis. "But you have to try the best. At least try", said Gustav. “i will do my best. What else can I say?" “Ok. I guess I’ll have to be patient..” “Yes. And then there is news. You’ll get a cellmate.” "When?" "It's coming tomorrow", said prison guard Mr. Travis. Gustav changed the subject again. “are you saying...do I have any chance of a pardon? Have you ever witnessed what people like me who are waiting to die have been going through in the last few days, hours and minutes? Have you seen my hands shaking? I'm scared. Do you understand?" Gustav asked. “I can understand you. That's human. But...Your situation is pretty hopeless. Don't get your hopes up too high", prison guard Travis replied in a calm voice. "How many cases like me have already been pardoned?" Gustav asks. “How much? Out of a hundred, only three.” Gustav suddenly thought of his uncle Richard, who had died of cancer a few weeks ago and from whom he had only recently inherited his house. There were only three out of a hundred percent chances. He would only live here for a few days or weeks. Then he would be dead and end up in the cemetery. Nevertheless - that was his opinion - one should fight. And even if it were only three percent chances! Uncle Richard ended up dying of cancer, but at least he had struggled with his illness for a while and tried his best. “But there are those who are lucky. There are these opportunities. Even if it were only three percent chances. And I have the right to a lawyer", said Gustav. "I told you: Don't have any big illusions. This is rather hopeless.” Gustav took the notepad and the pen out of the bag that the prison guard Travis had given him, sat down in his chair at his small desk and - completely filled with fear and conflict inside - wrote down just a few notes in Kladde for a while: That, what he had experienced here and what was said in all conversations. And some arguments in his defense. After a while he got tired, turned off the bedside lamp light and lay down on his bed. He tried to sleep. But he couldn't sleep a wink. He kept thinking about his impending execution. And remembered that every minute that passed brought it closer to its end. And what a fear he had! Would he suffer if the time came? Would it happen quickly? Slowly? And then after the execution he would disappear from the scene - from the world - forever. It was all so absurd for him! And if they gave him the poison injection, his entire family, from whom he had become estranged, the prison staff, among others, would be there. What a disgraceful death on account of an unjust sentence he would suffer! And as badly as the death of his son Martin affected him, he kept reminding himself: He hadn't killed him! It was an accident. Gustav lay awake on his bed for a while and thought. He stayed awake for a few hours. Then - early in the morning - he heard footsteps. He looked from his bed to his prison door, there he saw through the bars how three men had grabbed a man and were taking him to the neighboring prison cell to see him on the left. One of the men was the prison guard Mr. Travis. He walked behind them with the keys to the prison cells and prison cell windows in his hand. After prison guard Travis unlocked the cell door of the neighboring cell, the three men took the man to the prison cell. Then one of them closed the door and Travis locked the door again. "I'm innocent", the cell neighbor also shouted. "But I'll be released soon. Waited it out.” “Let’s see. You're here until the execution", one of the men said to him. “Get ready. Food comes at 9 a.m.", prison guard Travis said to him and Gustav. Then the men left. First there is silence. Gustav was still lying in bed and didn't dare speak to the man - his new cell neighbor - next to him in the neighboring cell. And the new cell neighbor didn't seem to be particularly talkative either. About an hour passed and Gustav, who kept trying to sleep, still couldn't sleep. After a while he lost patience, got up, turned on the bedside lamp so that he could see better despite the dim morning light that fell into his cell through the small cell window (which gave a not very good view of the desolate courtyard), then sat down at the small table and began to write. Some thoughts and arguments that might be important for his defense. He was writing for about half an hour when his cellmate spoke to him. "Hey...how long have you been in here?" he asked Gustav. “me? I came here yesterday", Gustav replied. “Yes. And I am right now, "said the cellmate." Let's see how this turns out...", Gustav replied. "And what did you do, why are you here?" asked the cellmate. "Murder. And alleged other stuff... But ....that’s not true....a mistake happened there,” Gustav replied. The cellmate laughed. "Everyone says that", he said. "And what did you do?" Gustav asked. "I supposedly killed my wife. With a candlestick in the living room...She died instantly. But...it wasn't me", he said. "Really?" Gustav asked. “It wasn’t me. Another killed her and is framing me for the crime. And I want to prove that. And that’s only because I first found my wife dead on the floor in the living room, and accidentally touched the murder weapon...and now here I am.but I’m innocent!” he said persistently. “That’s bad. Then we're both sitting here innocently", said Gustav quickly. Although he believed that the cellmate was more to blame than he admitted at that moment. Because killing his wife and then claiming that someone else had committed the crime and that he was innocent sounded like an excuse to his ears. He probably didn't want to admit his guilt. Or was it different? And how was this investigated? Only the cell neighbor and those involved in the case knew all this. The fact was that it had been investigated and it had been concluded that he was guilty And so he was here now, waiting for his end. Since Gustav himself was in a difficult, even hopeless situation, he didn't care. “Yes. Exactly", the cell neighbor replied to Gustav's claim that they were innocent. "And the death penalty awaits us!" asked Gustav. “Yes. Injection of poison", said the cell neighbor. "In such situations, yes." “and are you scared...?” Gustav asked. “Of course. Nobody is so tough as to take it that way...but you have to go through it... I'm tough...I still have a trump card up my sleeve", said the cell neighbor. "Fact?" said Gustav. "I have a clever lawyer. It helps me get out of here. He'll get me out of here soon. The verdict is being challenged. There will then be an appeal and then I will be released", he explained. "Really?" “Yes. It will come out later that I won't be killing her, someone else will... My lawyer had also called me and told me that new evidence has now emerged that will exonerate me. They just have to all be on the table.” "That sounds good", Gustav replied. "And you?" asked the cellmate. "I don't have a lawyer....that's the big shit." “you’re really in a fix there.” “Yes. I have to think of something." said Gustav. “Then don’t think twice. Because that could mean the death sentence.” Then they were silent. And Gustav continued writing Then a man came with a trolley. The "food distributor", as Gustav later called it. He didn't know what his name was. There on the trolley were two trays with food (cheese sandwiches, an egg on each plate, two slices of sausage) and drink. The "food distributor" got a tray from the trolley, went to Gustav's cell, unlocked the cell window door and handed Gustav the tray with the food and drink through the window. (It just fit right through.) Then he closed the cell window again Then he went to the neighboring prison cell and unlocked the cell window there and handed the tray of food and drink through the cell door window to the cell neighbor And the cell neighbor took it. Gustav and the cell neighbor thanked him. "I would like to have more sausage next time", said the cell neighbor. "That will happen next time for once", the man in the food truck said to him. "And I hope we get out. A lawyer will visit me tomorrow", said the cell neighbor to him. “I understand that. The prison warden is coming straight away with a doctor", said the man with the food truck. Then he walked away. "Fucking shit. Now we're sitting here", said the cell neighbor. "Difficult situation", said Gustav. He noticed his hands shaking. "What's your actual name?" asked the cell neighbor. "Gustav." "Nice name. I'm Riley Miller.” "Pleasant", said Gustav. "I had only been put in another cell for 2 weeks - where I also had to deal with other prisoners. And then - after my death sentence was confirmed, I was moved here. My lawyer is trying to get me out of here", Riley said. "I understand", replied Gustav. "What do you do for a living?" Riley asked. “i’m a photographer. And partly a writer", replied Gustav. “That’s interesting....and what do you write like that?” “Just my memoirs. Diaries. what concerns me so much.” "There's a lot to write here. What you experience here, for example", said Riley. "Yes", replied Gustav. "We don't have much time. At least not you.” “neither of us.” "Who knows", said cell neighbor Riley. He seemed mysterious. "What is your job?" asked Gustav. "Plumber", Riley replied briefly. "You certainly don't earn badly there." “Yes. But sitting in the cell...is of no use to you either.” "That's right "But I won't be here long..." said Riley. "Oh yes?" Gustav asked curiously. “Yes. You’ll see it...” said Riley. “wait and see.” Then everyone in his cell sat on his chair and started eating. The two cheese sandwiches, the egg that each of them had on their plate. The cell neighbor Riley was - he casually reported a short time later - hungry and ate everything very quickly. And also quickly drank the orange juice. And Gustav also quickly ate his food and drank his orange juice. Then they heard voices. And again three men came and brought a man into one of the cells - from their point of view somewhere on the far left in this huge room. He was black. About 27 years old. His ancestors probably came from Africa. Then four other men ran past their cells with another prisoner and took him to one of the cells somewhere on the left. This was probably a middle-aged European. "But more and more prisoners are coming to this prison", Gustav remarked. "Yes... crimes have increased since Corona", explained Riley. “So...is that so? I think it stayed the same", said Gustav. “I hardly believe that. People don't have any money. Everything is getting more expensive", Riley corrected. “Yes...society is on the brink. Incompetent governments around the world...” “Hey...by the way...I’ll definitely get out of here.” "Yes?" "I sucked the guard's cock. And the lawyer. And one of the two prisoners who had walked past here. Because I was in a different cell before...One is a hot guy with a big c...They'll definitely get me out", Riley explained. “Oh, actually? You had a wife, so I thought...: "I'm bisexual. I've been oriented a little "differently" since the corona crisis. I used to be mainly interested in women. Today, since Corona, also for men", Riley replied. “Oh,..yes, good luck then. Not everyone is so lucky. You're lucky that you have a lawyer. That's what I mean", said Gustav. "And he'll get me out..." said Riley. Again they heard footsteps. Then they saw two men walking down the aisle. They came straight towards their cells. “I know who that is. The doctor. And the prison warden", Riley said. "Do you think so?" asked Gustav. Shortly afterwards the men - that was the doctor and the prison warden - stood in front of Gustav's cell. “Hello. You are Mr. Gustav Walters?" asked the middle-aged man with a mustache. "Yes", said Gustav. "I am Mr. Wilson, the prison warden. My job is to look after the prisoners. Greetings.” "Hello", Gustav simply said. Then the doctor, a small man with thinning gray hair, who was standing next to the prison warden, took the floor. “and I’m Dr. Stone.” Dr. Stone wanted to continue talking. But Gustav got nervous and interrupted him. "What do you want from me? Why are you here?" Gustav stammered. “Quite calmly. I want you to be well, that everything here is running smoothly", said the prison warden, Mr. Wilson. "I will die soon. I'll be executed....With the lethal injection. Know what that means to me? Do you know how I feel? I'm scared. My hands often tremble", Gustav pleaded. “I understand what you’re going through. We also have some cases like you waiting for the death penalty to be carried out. And yet we're trying to keep the prison population doing well these last few years...." explained Mr Wilson. “I appreciate your efforts. But... it's about my life. I didn't have a lawyer at the court hearing. I need a lawyer now. I want to get out of here", said Gustav. "Why didn't you have a lawyer?" asks Mr. Wilson. "I was convinced that I didn't need a lawyer and that I could defend myself. That was a big mistake I had grossly overestimated myself. I thought that none of this would develop like that", explained Gustav. "That went badly", Mr. Wilson simply said. "I need a lawyer now. The verdict must be appealed.” "The verdict is clear. An appeal is not possible.” “But you have to do something. You have to get a lawyer to get me out of here. That has to be possible through. You have to try", Gustav begged. "I'm a prison warden. That's not my job. Surely you will have visitors? One of her family can take care of it or some of her family members... ? A friend? But the verdict is set...there’s nothing more that can be done. I am sorry.” "But it must be possible to challenge the verdict!! That's absurd!! Crazy!!” shouted Gustav. "I already told you. There's nothing I can do about it", replied Mr. Wilson. "Why am I being executed? There are people who have done worse things than me. Who killed someone in cold blood!" shouted Gustav. “but you have, according to the court filing.” “no. Just not. My son fell off the highway bridge. Fallen! It was an accident.” "There's something else in the file", Dr. Stone into the conversation. "I don't care what it says. It's about the truth. And I didn't kill him. And didn't deserve the death sentence", Gustav replied. “i can’t do anything about that.” “Why me? Others are much worse and are released. And of all people, I get the death penalty? When it's not even clearly proven that I'm the murderer. Where is that fair?" asked Gustav. "People want to make an example of you. To deter potential criminals", tried Dr. Wilson to explain. "But that's crazy. That won’t do any good.” “That’s right. I'm not in favor of the death penalty either. Because in her case it doesn't really change anything in my opinion. Because what if an innocent person is accidentally executed? This can also happen. Believe me... I’m even sorry. Many support execution. And there are also some people out there protesting that you are to be executed. These are the opponents of the death penalty.” “Yes... just. That's a glimmer of hope There must be a possibility. Because I am innocent.” “i can’t change it. The file says you're guilty. And the verdict is clear. I am sorry.” They discussed back and forth for about ten more minutes But the prison warden, Mr. Wilson, stood firm. He couldn't and didn't want to do anything. Then Gustav turned to Dr. Stone. "And why are you here?" he asked Dr. Stone. "I am Dr. Stone. I'm the one who will give you the poison injection", he said. "That's nice", Gustav said cynically. “And how will that be? Agonizing?” "It won't hurt. You get a catheter in the veins. In both arms. And then the poison flows into the veins. In both arms to be safe", he explained. "So? To be on the safe side?” Gustav asked. “yes.” "Will it at least be quick?" "It will happen very quickly if they don't defend themselves. Because if you don't fight back, the poison works better, the more they fight back, the worse and more painful it gets. And it will take longer then and certainly be much more painful.” Gustav was silent for a while. Then he said, “: you know...that’s very hard to wait for to die like... Although the death of my son Martin was bad and I didn't want to live at times", said Gustav. "Do you think it's easy to lose a son?" “I don’t have a son. But I can imagine that", replied Dr. Stone. “They can’t. And then I am accused, sentenced to death and have to wait for execution. Do you know how hard it is? Because I have two more children who need me.” “who - I heard - don’t want to know much about you.” “oh...you know that? You know shit. My children need me. A father And not a mother who drinks alcohol all the time like my ex does. And always goes to discos. She's probably having affairs too...Do you think that’s okay?” "You can't prove that your ex has had affairs and also goes to discos. That shouldn't have been the case. That’s what I heard.” "Oh, you heard it? From whom?" Gustav asked angrily. Then Dr. Stone. “How do you know all this so well? They seem to know everything", said Gustav. “Mr. Walters. Please stop.” "My family hadn't treated me well either after the two heart attacks I had. The younger daughter - her name is Ginny and she is now 18 years old - laughed at me and called me a stupid loser, a good-for-nothing (even though I'm only 48 years old) who is of no use. Is this envy because I have an interesting job as a photographer and she is dissatisfied with her teaching? Even though she used to just chat and smoke and laze around at home all day during the corona crisis! I'm glad that she's now at least completing her apprenticeship as a hairdresser. Then there is my other son Tim. He's 20 years old today. He dropped out of school during the Corona period. Fortunately, he became interested in music very early on. Plays keyboard. And his older, older brother Martin - who was 21 when he died. He sang and played guitar. And at some point they both - Tim and he - played in different bands. At first I thought it was great or acceptable. But then they fell into bad company. Things were really bad during the corona crisis. While I had to work hard - because as a photographer I had lost all my photo assignments - the children, or rather young people, got more and more on the wrong track and they spent too much time in front of their laptops or cell phones. My children chatted with all sorts of guys", Gustav said. "And what kind of guys were those?" asked prison warden Mr. Wilson. Then Gustav explained in more detail what had happened. "Some guys came from the dark wave, gothic, death metal scene. Actually, I have nothing against guys like that. Everyone should do what they want. There are certainly people who are okay with this in terms of character. But some of them were really weird, they deal with dark magic. Spiritism and stuff. I don't want to say too much! Because you should stay away from it. Sally - I mean my wife - was mad about it! And me too! We did a "scene" at home! We really freaked out when we found out that two of my children - Tim and Martin - dealt drugs when they left the apartment and also used them. I told them to stay away from the drugs immediately. Me and my wife pointed out the dangers of drugs. After the first corona relaxations in May 2020, Tim and Ginny finally became more sensible. Ginny - as I said - then did an apprenticeship as a hairdresser. Tim apprenticed as a plumber And Martin apprenticed as a tiler At first I thought my family was going in a good direction. But that was a mistake. Only Tim and Ginny became a little more sensible But Martin? Tim completed his apprenticeship and stopped taking drugs. Ginny became more sensible and affable Only Martin developed disastrously. He took more and more drugs. He changed, he became aggressive, physically attacked me, for example punching me in the face. What had gotten into him? And he broke off his apprenticeshipI suffered terribly from it - and I got heart problems and ended up with two heart attacks in a rowI thought my children would be more considerate with me because of my health problems...Wrong. The relationship with my children was still not good. Martin in particular - as I said - was bad. We often had arguments about his drug problem. And he freaked out over every little thing. He left the apartment more and more often. Once Martin left the apartment, went to the highway bridge and bought drugs from a guy like that. I knew about it. I followed Martin to the highway bridge. I met him there. I asked him to stop taking drugs and give me the drugs he had bought from a guy there. This led to an argument. Martin hit me. Several times. Then, standing quite close to the railing, he suddenly lost his balance and fell down the highway bridge onto the edge of the highway. And I later got the blame and my wife Sally accused me of never loving him because it wasn't my biological son, but the son from her first marriage. Which of course wasn't true. Martin was my son too!” Dr. Stone interrupted him. "Then that wasn't her son at all?" he asked. "Yes." "But not your biological son?" “no. I wasn't Martin's biological father. Because his biological father William died of cancer at an early age. Right after his birth. And shortly after breaking up with Sally. But I tried to become his father when me and Sally later learned to love each other, then lived together and later got married.” "But you then became his father." “yes.” "Who really loved him?" “Yes. He was like my son. I loved him. He was my son.” "But somehow the relationship with her non-biological son wasn't that good?" “I loved him....but frankly, I was overwhelmed as a dad. I also had to work a lot. As a self-employed photographer. Especially during the corona crisis, when I lost my orders. Me and my ex had three children to support. It wasn't all easy. I tried. Tried to... take care of my kids. But it wasn't enough", said Gustav. While he was telling this, a film was playing in front of his eyes. And probably also with the prison warden and the doctor Dr. Stone. Even if the film in front of her eyes was a little different than Gustav's. Gustav had tears in his eyes. The prison warden, Mr Wilson, was little impressed. Gustav suspected what he was thinking. He was probably still convinced that he (Gustav) had murdered his son Martin. Only the motive was not entirely clear to the prison warden Mr Wilson thought very probably: presumably Martin's drug addiction, violent, aggressive, rebellious, cross-headed behaviour,...and his threats to him (the father Gustav) and his family had finally been the last straw and when Gustav W. had caught him again at the motorway bridge with drugs, he freaked out, also because Martin became more and more of a burden and threat to him and his family. Also in financial terms. Then there was an argument and a physical altercation and then Gustav simply pushed him - his non-biological son Martin, with whom he probably didn't have such a strong bond as his biological sons - off the Keystone Bridge motorway bridge and made it look like an accident. So he got rid of him and all the problems he had caused. And he could no longer threaten him and his family. What exactly the prison warden, Mr. Wilson, was really thinking remained unclear to Gustav The prison warden, Wilson - although he could also be partially understanding despite his strict nature and despite Gustav's efforts to convince him of his innocence through explanations - was unwilling to help him. Doctor Dr. Stone didn't do anything that was really helpful either, he just stood there in front of Gustav's cell and listened. He probably wasn't convinced of his innocence either! He saw everything wrong and one-sided in Gustav's eyes and did not realize here that there were two sides And a lot of errors in the process. And that the investigation was sloppy and wrong and the verdict was wrong and unfair Nevertheless, Gustav continued to talk in the hope of convincing him and the doctor Dr. Stone still to convince and change his mind. Because he had no other chance. "It wasn't enough. I just couldn't get it all together anymore. And in the end the relationship failed. And then the family", said Gustav. "That's tragic", said Mr. Wilson coolly. "I tried. But ... it wasn't enough. Like my other son Tim, Martin fell into the wrong company and started taking drugs. He was in contact with people from the dark scene. Dark guys. Darker than you can imagine. And they often hung out in cemeteries, often dressed all in black, wearing weird, black jewelry, amulets, some weird books Luckily, Tim soon changed. But Martin didn't change. That's why I often had arguments with him. And his mother with him too. We advised him to go to therapy so that he could get off drugs. But it didn't work. His drug addiction got worse and worse. And with his dark trip. And he became more and more aggressive The Pater "Father" Wyatt Warren of my Free Church, which I used to visit with my family from time to time, knew Martin. He once noticed Martin throwing a tantrum and insulting and insulting me. He said Martin was completely "off track". Obsessed. Under Satan's influence. I did what I could to help Martin. It didn't work. Then I had my first heart attack. As already mentioned. I thought my family would help me. But that was a mistake. The children continued to treat me badly. Once went out of the apartment for a walk. And then in the park I met Father Wyatt Warren again from my free church, which I had been looking for from time to time. He sat on the park bench. After a conversation about Martin, he said ": Watch out. Satan stole your family. He'll take your family away from you. Satan’s traps and attacks are not unknown to me.” At first I thought it was a "fake" or "joke" But he was right. After my first heart attack, I soon had my second heart attack, which was also due to the family stress. My family didn't help me in this situation again. Neither does my wife Sally. She didn't give a shit. And my children certainly didn't help me. The hardest part was with Martin. He not only used drugs, but also sold them. And he often insulted and threatened me. Also his brother Tim and sometimes his sister Ginny and his mother, but they still stuck by him. Forgive him again and again They also let too much go, trivialized his problems. Then the lockdown ended on 20.4.2020, there were the first relaxations and the shops were up again - even though clubs, restaurants, cinemas, leisure facilities,... were still closed. The children Ginny and Tim also became more normal - as I already mentioned. They learned their lessons and stopped taking drugs. They became more sensible There was only Martin, who was causing problems. I had two heart attacks because of him! Sorry for repeating myself and being so tense inside. But I'll tell you everything in more detail now Especially about Martin. One day I overheard a cell phone conversation Martin had with a guy like that. I found out it was a drug deal with a guy like that. Martin wanted to buy drugs - cocaine - from a guy and they wanted to meet on the highway bridge. He went there after the cell phone conversation. And I followed him secretly. After Martin bought the drugs from a guy on the highway bridge, the guy walked away. I spoke to Martin on the motorway bridge and advised him to stay away from the drugs. He hit me. I fought back. But he kept hitting me. Then he lost his balance ... and fell down the bridge It was bad. But it wasn't my fault. He was completely on drugs!” "Can you prove that it was like that?" ask Dr. Stone. “no. But it was... an accident. It happened just like I said.” “Mr. Walters. You committed murder, according to the record. This is a serious charge. And everything indicated that it was even a cold-blooded murder Proving otherwise will be difficult in this case. You won't be able to get out of this so quickly, Mr. Walters", said Mr. Wilson. “I didn’t kill him... Also ...Everyone makes mistakes sometimes!" said Gustav. "But the mistakes you made are too big. You have made too many and too big mistakes. And there were the other charges.” "And would they be? I want to hear it again", demanded Gustav. "You know them", said Dr. Stone. "But I want to hear them again!" "I'll explain that to you later. You know that very well. They neglected their family...” "And that's why the death sentence awaits me? Plus, I didn't neglect my family. I had to work a lot during the corona crisis. How many people when they are in a difficult situation...This Corona period was to blame", Gustav tried to explain. “You can talk however you want. But you are sentenced to death", said Mr. Wilson. "Do I really have no chance?" "No", said Dr. Stone. Then Gustav was silent for a while. Then he asked Dr. Stone": Will it happen quickly? Will my end, my death come quickly?” “Yes. This will happen quickly", replied Dr. Stone. Gustav was silent again for a moment. Then he said. "I'm nervous. My hands are shaking. Do you have anything that can calm me down?” "I can reassure you. I can give you some sedatives. And I can get them a priest...He will come", replied Dr. Stone. He took a box of pills out of his pocket and gave them to Gustav. Then he said": I hope these help you calm down. And then I will let the priest come.” "I don't need him", Gustav interjected as he put the pills in his pocket. “Let me finish....You can still decide what happens to your belongings that are in your cell", Mr. Wilson said. “In your eyes, I’m already out of the world.” “But no....You still have two weeks", said Dr. Stone. “I don’t have a lawyer. This waiting that seems like an eternity to me. A time of fear and going crazy. It's driving me crazy", Gustav replied. “Take advantage of the time you still have. Because you don't have much time left", said Mr. Wilson. "It was an accident! It was an accident!" Gustav asserted. "What's the point? This has all been resolved in court.” “I need a lawyer. Immediately!” cried Gustav. "There's nothing I can do for you anymore", said Mr. Wilson. "There's nothing I can do about it either..." said Dr. Stone calmly. “Why are you here? To tell me you're the one giving me the lethal injection?" he shouted at Dr. Stone on. “no. I was sent to you to examine you beforehand. And to calm down", said Dr. Stone cool. “i don’t need an investigation. That worked for me. I will die. Do you understand? What I need is a...Attorney.” "It's a shame you don't have a lawyer. Really a shame. That's not good", said Mr. Wilson. "Can you get me a lawyer?" Gustav asked. “I can’t...even if that’s what I wanted. That doesn't fall within my scope. Besides, the verdict has already been pronounced.” "But that was a mistake. That was a mistake that I want to correct. I need a lawyer", Gustav begged. “Mr. Walters. They often repeat themselves. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do for you", said the prison warden, Mr. Wilson. "Unfortunately neither do I", said Dr. Stone. “I have to go now. The priest is coming soon. He will encourage you", said Mr. Wilson. “yes.” Then the doctor and the prison warden went to the cell neighbor. "Mr. Miller?" asked Dr. Stone. "Yes?" replied cellmate Riley. "I'm here to let you know that I'm the one giving you the lethal injection and you can also think about what you're doing with your things", said Dr. Stone calmly. “I know. I heard that", Riley replied. He seemed composed. "Then there will be another examination", said Dr. Stone. "I know all that", replied Riley. "You have a defense though?" asked the prison warden, Mr. Wilson. “Yes. I have a defense", Riley replied. "Then that's good. I have to go to work now. I'll be back later...” said Mr Wilson. Then the doctor Dr. Stone and the prison warden Wilson left. "That's real shit", said Gustav. “Yes...man doesn’t have much time.. You don't have much time", said Riley. "It's crap. It's real crap!" Gustav shouted. "My lawyer is coming over", Riley said coolly. "When? Tomorrow?" Gustav asked. “Yes. Morning. He'll get me out of here. Absolutely", he said. “it’s nice of him to get you out of here.” “However.” “Maybe...can he do something for me too? Just ask him if there's anything he can do for me." "That's what I was just about to suggest. I can ask my lawyer if he can do something for you. Maybe he can get you out of here.” "Are there any chances?" asked Gustav. “Yes. For me there are opportunities. I’m just a clever guy.” "And for me? Are there no chances for me?" asked Gustav. "Yes....But they are small. You have...Made too many mistakes. Besides, you need to know....Only the clever get anywhere in this world today.” “oh, that’s how it is.” Riley had a lot of methods or cards that he played and that's why he kept going. That's just how it is in today's world, thought Gustav. “yes.” “I have an idea....I’ll write down my story...like everything that happened up until the accident - it wasn’t anything else - and then I’ll give this to your lawyer. Maybe that will convince him of my innocence and he can do something", said Gustav. "You have to try that. My lawyer definitely has a good idea", said Riley. “I hope so. Thanks for wanting to help me.” They talked about their situation for quite a while. Then they heard footsteps. They looked into the hallway from their cells. There they saw a man in a suit with a bag in one hand and the Bible in the other. Was it the priest? This man then went to Gustav's cell. "I am the preacher Henry Bateman. Just call me Bateman. I represent priest Burt Snyder, who is currently seriously ill with Corona", said preacher Bateman. "Corona is bad", said Gustav. "I know a lot of people who have had a hard time. Some - who I know-died from it too.” “Yes. I'm here to read something in the Bible with you for encouragement", Bateman said. “yes.” "As you know, you have been convicted and face the death penalty. A lethal injection, “Bateman continued.” “Yes...” Gustav replied. “Father...how do I get out of jail?! Out of the situation? Any chance for me?” “Through a good lawyer. Otherwise you have to pray", said Bateman. "I don't have a lawyer", Gustav replied. "That's your bad luck. I can give you some assistance. And pray with you. I can do no more for you.” “Father...” “preacher...just call me preacher Bateman.” "Preacher Bateman. Do I have another chance?” "They showed no real remorse. That's what I heard. God can't approve of that", he said. "Yes", said Gustav. “i really regret it...that with my son, Martin...it was an accident...” Gustav tried to explain in short sentences what had happened. "How do I get out of here? I'm dying soon... I have to get out of here...” "We're all on death row. We all have to die. Those outside the cell are too... We are all sinners and must die. For the reward that sin pays is death. And whoever survives or is resurrected after death is decided by God. Jehovah God", Bateman explained. “if I get out of here...it’d be a miracle.” “the time for miracles is over today.” “That may be...but...I need a lawyer. And he'll get me out of here", said Gustav. “yes.” "I screwed everything up. With my family...I did my part to break up my family. But I didn't kill my son Martin. My son Martin took drugs for a long time and also dealt with them. He had contact with people from the death metal, dark wave or gothic scenes. They even hung out in cemeteries and sometimes dressed in black. The pastor or priest "Father" Warren of my free church, which I had visited from time to time, said that they were Satanists. That’s how far he went to say this.” “Goodness. Keep telling.” "When my eldest son Martin had just bought drugs on the motorway bridge, I wanted to take them away from him. A fight broke out. He hit me. He lost his balance while standing close to the railing. He fell over the railing and braced himself from the highway bridge. And then he was dead. And I was blamed!" Gustav shouted. "Then tell me everything", Bateman asked him. Then Gustav also told him exactly what had happened at that time from his point of view Briefly about his childhood, then about his marriage to Sally. Then about their children Ginny, Tim and Martin. And how they had lost their children (who were now teenagers) to drugs. And how their children - especially in the Coronalockdown - had contact with young people, some of whom were older, from the gothic and death metal scene...And then how Martin's bridge fell. “This is a sad story. Very moving", said preacher Bateman. "That's her. But I didn't kill Martin. It was the drugs that killed him.” The preacher Bateman looked at Gustav urgently. Then he asked him ": Do you believe in evil?" “What do you mean? The evil in people?" Gustav asked. “Not the evil in man. The evil!” “i’m afraid I can’t follow you.” Then Bateman opened the Bible. When he found the right side, he showed it to Gustav. "Here is the Bible text. John 3 verse 15. read aloud.” Then the preacher handed Gustav the opened Bible with the marked passage John 3 verse 15 through the cell festival Gustav accepted the Bible and read the text aloud ": Whoever hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that a murderer does not have eternal life abiding with him" "Good", Bateman said. "Yes and?" "Then there is 2 Corinthians 11:14. Read that.” Gustav opened the passage (which took a while because he couldn't quickly get to grips with the Bible) and read it out loud": And that's no wonder; because he himself, Satan, is becoming an angel of light." “yes.” "And what does that mean to me?" asked Gustav. "That the devil called Satan stole your family", Bateman replied. Gustav was amazed. “What? The devil? That's absurd. I don't believe in the devil", said Gustav. "Many people don't do that. Do you believe in a resurrection? To eternal life?" Gustav thought. Then he said ": I don't know what else to believe. The world is crazy today. And my life is crazy.” "These are critical times that are difficult to cope with. 2 Timothy 3: 1-5 says: But this is what you should know: In the last days there will be critical times that will be difficult to cope with. Because people will love themselves and money, they will be boastful and arrogant, gossip about God and people, not listen to their parents, be ungrateful and not loyal. They will be unloving, unwilling to compromise, slanderous, uncontrolled and brutal and will not love the good", Bateman said. “This is the time we live in today.” “Just want to get out of here. And avoid the death sentence", said Gustav. "Is there a chance for me?" "All those who are in the memorial tombs will come out - that's what it says here in a Bible verse." “Yes. Good. You encouraged me there. But the devil or Satan really has my family....?” “Yes. In the last few days the families are falling apart. Famines, plagues, wars,.... These are all signs of today. This is end times.” "Hmm", said Gustav. He thought. "Then you understand who robbed her family...?" Bateman asked. "I sometimes felt such a power of evil when Martin took home such amulets and dark CDs from his dark metal teenagers", said Gustav. "It should all have been burned quickly. This is all satanic, demonic in influence.” "Now I understand. Satan stole my family. Corona and Satan stole my family.” “Yes. It's all in the Bible. You can read them. I give it to you And I pray for you", Bateman said. Then Gustav found some Bible texts in the Bible, which he read aloud": 'Watch, do righteous fruit of repentance!', it says in the Bible. And Luke 13:15 says: 'I say: No; but if you do not improve, you will all perish like this." "You had to study the Bible carefully", Bateman said. "I will", replied Gustav. "I wish you good luck", replied the preacher Bateman. “Thank you.” While Gustav continued to read the Bible, the preacher Bateman went to the neighboring prison cell where Riley was sitting. "Mr. Miller..." said Bateman. “Right. Riley Miller.” “you know why I’m here? To provide assistance.” "Yes", Riley replied. "You too have been convicted and death awaits you", said Bateman. “Yes...but I have a lawyer. He'll get me out of here", Riley replied. “then you’re in luck.” They talked for a while. The preacher Bateman took out another Bible from his pocket and read him some encouraging Bible verses, after which he put his Bible back in his pocket and briefly wished Riley and Gustav good luck. Then he went away. Then there was silence. After about ten minutes, Riley said to Gustav. "Did the conversation with the preacher do you any good?" Riley asked. "Yes", said Gustav. “i’m encouraged.” "My lawyer is coming here tomorrow", Riley said. “Really? Then I have to quickly write down my whole story - the truth and give it to him", said Gustav. "Then write your text. But do it quickly...Because you don't have much time. The hourglass is running", Riley replied. “I will. Fast.” "I would like to continue talking. But I'm tired. So I go to bed. I wish you every success with your writing...I wish you all the best", said Riley. Then Riley lay down in his bed in his cell and fell asleep shortly afterwards. Gustav sat in his chair in his prison cell for a while and had various worried thoughts and fears. He opened the Bible that he had received from the preacher Bateman. For example, he read 2 Corinthians 11:3 ": But I fear that not, as the serpent seduced Eve with his mischief, so your senses will also be driven mad by the simplicity in Christ" Yes, Satan stole my family from me, he turned my family against me, they accuse me, want to destroy me, destroy me, it spat around in Gustav's head. The enemies are sometimes their own household members - that's what the Bible says. He also read various Bible texts. Then he put the Bible away on the cupboard. He then grabbed his pen and his notepad that he had previously placed on the cupboard, went to the table with them and placed it there in front of him. And then he started writing his story for his lawyer. In which everything would be put right! The whole truth! With emotions! He also wrote down how he grew up He wrote about his family, about the accident, how he had been accused, how the trial had come about, and how he had gotten into the prison cell.... Gustav wrote the following text: I, Gustav, was born on March 30, 3, 1974 in Montgomery (Westgate), Alabama. My mother Helen was a seamstress. My father Hubert worked for the elevated railway. We lived in a small three-bedroom apartment in Montgomery on Carlson Road. My mother Helen - I mean my biological mother - died when I was two years old. I remember she hugged me as a baby. At least I believe that. I remember: she really loved me. I don't know any more I can't remember it. After all, I was a baby when she died. Then my father met a new woman named Betsy called "Betty". She was a nurse My father was infatuated with her. Because she was pretty. Betty wanted to score points with beauty. She moved in with us quickly. And then I had a stepmother named Betty. At first father and she were happy. They were very much in love with each other However, Betty's negative behaviors soon began to make themselves felt She neglected me early on. Always often went out to parties or supposedly met up with friends. I always had to stay home alone. When I was alone screaming (for example, because I was hungry), she wasn't there. When I was sick, she wasn't there either. Once I almost died of fever because she wasn't there She didn't want me. She often hit me. Whenever she was angry and I didn't function the way she wanted, she took out her anger on me and hit me. My father once asked me what was wrong with me. Why I was so depressed and calm I lied to my father at the time and said everything was fine. I was just afraid that my foster mother would be angry and affect me again. Then my performance in elementary school deteriorated. I brought home middle grades (for example C and D), which made mother and father angry. And then I got my first bad grades in my class tests. And I completely failed a class test. Which was because of all the problems I had at home. And because that's why I was often unfocused And I wasn't loved either. As my school grades got worse and worse, mother-in-law Betty hit me again. She insulted me. She humiliated me, she called me, for example, stupid dog, idiot. I then got tutoring. And my grades got a little better. I even sometimes had A (very good) and B (good) grades. Even later in middle school. And I thought that my domestic situation would improve. But the situation did not improve. Then my parents were arguing more and more too, the reason being that Betty was becoming more and more stressed out about being a nurse and she wanted another, better job. And was also unhappy with their marriage And my father, the teacher, had more and more problems with his students at the school where he taught. And Betty got on his nerves more and more with her bad mood and her nagging, so that he became more and more dissatisfied, irritable and unpredictable and longed more and more for another woman. He also drank more and more - out of frustration. And also started to complain more and more - like my stepmother Betty. They argued more and more often and later slept in separate rooms. Then he stayed away from home more and more often and I was often home alone with my bad-tempered stepmother. Nobody knew why it was. And when Father came back, he was often drunk. It wasn't until later that it came out that he was having an affair and that's why Betty didn't want to anymore. Also because Betty became more and more aggressive and spread a bad mood. He didn't want to and couldn't continue living with her anymore. Then one day there was a heated argument between them and they fought. Afterwards he had to move out of the bedroom completely and sleep on a lounger in the guest room. And then their relationship was broken. And they decided to separate. All the chaos left its mark on me too. I learned less and less for school, I stayed away from home more and more often and found myself in bad company. I joined a clique in the class who were thugs. They were extremely aggressive. And they were known for their violent behavior. We also often secretly drank alcohol during class breaks and we smoked a joint every now and then after school. I also came home drunk once. My mother-in-law Betty yelled at me again. She hit me. But then I suddenly hit back violently. Then there was contact between us forever! And - because I was no longer afraid of her, but she was now afraid of me and because her relationship with my father was broken - she voluntarily moved out of our apartment. Eventually father and Betty divorced. Finally! And she shunned me from the day I hit her in the face because of her past failings and wrongdoings. Only the last time I saw her alive - she had apologized to me for her past bad behavior. At least something, I thought. And I also apologized for fighting back too hard in the end and also fighting back too hard. That's how I came to terms with her to some extent. And also with myself After that I never saw her again Which was also good Betty later - as I learned from father - had a new relationship with a foreign trade merchant named Giles Watson. After the divorce, I lived with my father Hubert. We got along quite a bit. I trained as a photographer in Montgomery. When I earned my first money, I moved out and from then on lived in Old Sutherdale, another district in Montgomery, Alabama. I soon met my partner Anne Lawson. We moved in together and lived in my apartment in Old Sutherdale. But since things didn't work out between us, we broke up again She moved back in with her mother and I stayed in my apartment. During this time I started drinking - also out of frustration - like my father used to. But only for a while. During this time I heard that Betty's relationship with the foreign trade merchant Giles Watson had now failed and that she had committed suicide. (She had been taking pills). She had written a farewell letter that she had sent to father Hubert. That was a day before her death In this suicide note, she wrote that her relationship with her new husband, Giles, was a mistakeHe was a bad person: he was aggressive, cold and ruthless, and drank too much alcohol. She realized that there was "not a good fit" between them - due to their different views on life, future plans and hobbies - and that she had still quietly and secretly loved my father Hubert despite the hasty divorce and she regretted it again that in the past she had been so mean and cruel to me and in the end also to my father Hubert - and with it the marriage - had destroyed the entire family. She had an explanation for her behavior: Something had often gotten into her at the time...and that may have been an explanation of why she acted that way - which had led to the destruction of our family. Maybe it was something else. Those were her last words, which she put on paper. That was a strange letter, I thought at the time. This letter made me very thoughtful. She was probably suffering from a mental illness, I thought. A psychosis? Or did she suffer from borderline syndrome? Nobody knew what it was She also didn't have enough doctors or psychiatrists examined, so nothing precise was known about her mental state. Or it was something else. I was on the phone with my uncle Richard one day and I also talked about Betty's death, about her nature and what exactly had happened in our family Also about my own problems and Betty's strange letter. My Uncle Richard advised me to go to a church. I might get answers to my questions there. And then I did that. I first attended the Catholic church in Woodland Hills (not far from Old Sutherdale). Later I had contact with a friend who visited the Free Church near me. He advised me to visit the Free Church in Old Sutherdale. I did that too. Although not very regularly. I met a lot of nice churchgoers with whom I got along well. And I stopped drinking. Then I had my life somewhat under control again. Then I met my second wife, Sally Carter. Like me, she also had a failed marriage. And her ex-husband Wesley died shortly after after the divorce. Sally had one child from her first marriage - a son named Martin Wesley-Carter. Sally and I fell in love and moved - with her son - into a new apartment in Old Sutherdale at number 21 Yello Trees Road. I told her about the free church I visited there from time to time (although I didn't understand much of what was preached at the time). I convinced her and we (Sally, Martin and I) then visited the Free Church in Old Sutherdale together. We got along very well with Pater "Father" Wyatt Warren. And we soon got married there in church. Sally brought Martin into the marriage, who from then on was called Martin Walters-Carter. Our marriage went well at first. It was an ideal world. Because back then we still visited the Free Church regularly. Then at some point they no longer felt like attending church. At first we didn't go much and then we hardly went to church at all. We gradually became more and more distracted by life's everyday family responsibilities and materialism and worries. And there was already a slight deterioration in our relationship. Old negative habits, such as argumentative addiction, came to the fore again. Martin was still an excellent son at this time. Martin was like a son of his own to me. He was my son. And me and Sally had two more children: Tim and Ginny. So we had a total of three children: Tim, Martin and Ginny. They got along well. Even though Martin was a little jealous of Ginny and Tim as they got more attention from me and his mother at times as they were the youngest children. Ginny did a lot of crafting and drawing. And Martin and Tim were interested in music. Martin played guitar and sang while Tim played keyboards. At first they hung out with some quieter punks and also played in student punk bands. We didn't say anything against that because a lot of people played in punk bands. We initially found that positive. Then they gradually fell into questionable company. Because now there were some in her circle of friends and acquaintances who were "weirder" to the highest degree and also - as it turned out more and more - took drugs. Then came Corona and then the first lockdown in March 2020. The stores, schools, churches, movie theaters, restaurants, bars, gym, leisure facilities, discos,... closed. Many lost their jobs or had to work from home at home. Only the supermarkets, doctor's offices and pharmacies were open. Tim, Martin and Ginny had grown into teenagers at this time. They couldn't go to school in lockdown. And I lost all my photo assignments during the Corona period. This led to tension between me and Sally. She asked me what would happen next with Corona (Covid-19)? When would there finally be a cure for Corona? What would our lives look like in the future? But I didn't know the answer. Nobody knew that at that time. We argued more and more often. She became hysterical several times because she feared that the entire family would go bankrupt and fall apart because of the corona crisis. Or they would all die of a corona infection. I advised her to go to a psychologist. She didn't. I certainly often had the idea of going to the Free Church with the entire family, which could help us deal with our problems, but the churches were all closed because of Corona. Sally didn't like my suggestions and thoughts for some reason. I would be stuffy and unimaginative in her eyes. Once she even hit me in the face during an argument. Because I had hardly any orders and hardly any money, I worked harder than normal in lockdown (I spent most of my time looking for work and orders). I saw no other option. Because I had to support my family. My family was left out. The children were often left unattended. And since they couldn't go to school due to the lockdown and school closures, classes only took place at home in our apartment via zoom in the computer or they were canceled completely! Instead, while I was desperately trying to find jobs, they sat in front of their laptops or cell phones that I had once bought them. Often unattended all day. They chatted with different people. And also - as I and my partner Sally later found out - with people from the dark wave, death metal or gothic scene. (To this day it is a mystery to me where these figures or people came from.) And with some drug users and drug dealers. Really bad contacts. And since I couldn't give you any pocket money during the lockdown period due to lack of money, the school was closed and they were sitting in their rooms in front of their cell phones the whole time and becoming more and more dissatisfied, they went out and secretly did some nonsense outside. I advised you to keep your distance from other people because of Corona and to wear a mask when you go for a walk to avoid a Corona infection. They promised me they would do it that way. And I thought they would stick to our agreements. Then they went away more often. And often stayed away for long! So long that we (me and my wife Sally) gradually became restless. And when my children Tim and Martin had a phone call with a strange man one day during lockdown and me and my wife overheard it and they left the apartment shortly afterwards, we became suspicious. I first asked Ginny if she knew anything. But she supposedly knew nothing (I thought that was a lie because I suspected that with what was going on back then - whatever that was - she knew exactly what was going on and was in cahoots with her brothers, but I couldn't prove it to her at the time). She later left the apartment too - supposedly for a walk. I talked about it briefly with my wife and then decided to get to the bottom of the matter. And so I left the apartment and looked out on the streets for my three children, who were deserted because of the coronal lockdown (apart from very few people who went outside to go shopping or for a short walk.) And after walking through the empty streets and searching in vain for my children for a long time, I suddenly saw my sons Tim and Martin in the distance. They stood in the corner of a house next to two men who had two bags in their hands. I saw Martin give money to the one man in the black jacket and he received a small package in return. Then the two dealers disappeared around the next corner of the house. Tim and Martin stood at the corner of the house for a short while and looked at the package they had bought. Before they noticed me, I quickly ran away towards home. I came to the following conclusion - even though I didn't know the details: They bought drugs and resold them at a higher price! And earned money illegally! And Ginny most likely knew about it. But she was silent. I was walking thoughtfully down Charley Road when a police car appeared on the street behind me. He drove towards me from behind and stopped next to me as I walked the footpath towards my apartment. I pretended not to notice the police car and didn't know why the car was driving down the streets. The police officer sitting on the passenger rolled down the window and spoke to me": Hey, you! We want to ask you something. Did you see the four men walking along here?" he asked. "No, I don't know anything", I lied. "You really didn't see anything?" “no. Nothing.” "There were four men on Chelsea Road. They did illegal drug deals. Someone had observed this and someone called the police.” “sorry, I didn’t see anything. I do not know about anything.” “can you show me your ID?” “yes.” Then I took my ID card out of my wallet and gave it to the police officers. He took out a pad and pen from a car drawer, looked closely at my ID card and wrote my name and address on the pad and gave me the ID card back. "Can I go now?" I asked. "They're walking around here. You should have actually seen something. It would be nice if you could tell us something", said the policeman. "I don't know anything. I didn't see anyone. I’m having health issues at the moment.... and I wasn’t looking closely at the environment there.” "What problems do you have?" asked the police officer. "I think....I and my partner, who is at home, have Corona", I replied in a painful voice. The police officer in the passenger seat wanted to say something else. But the other police officer at the wheel said": Leave him. Let's move on quickly. It is good.” He probably thought that I really had Corona and he was suddenly afraid of infection. I realized that he didn't want anything to do with me anymore. It was my good fortune that it happened that way The colleague in the passenger seat, to whom I had shown my identity card, left me alone, quickly rolled up the window on his side and the police van continued, And then I went home. When I got home, Tim, Martin and Ginny were already there. Mother Sally had now found the drug packages in her room and demonstratively - so I could see it - placed them on the living room table. And she now knew what was going on too She seemed shocked. I told you what I had observed and got straight to the point. I gave a huge speech in front of my children. I screamed so loudly that the neighbors thought the house was going to collapse. Just by being lucky, no one called the police! I didn't use the word drugs - even though I was angry. Because the neighbors shouldn't find out about it. I still had the presence of mind in this difficult situation. I screamed": Are you crazy to buy such dangerous stuff, sell it on and consume it too!!!?" They didn't say anything at first. Were shocked by my reaction, which was not unjustified! After all, what they were doing was life-threatening stuff and their lives, their entire existence was at stake. And possibly or very likely the lives of others when these drugs are resold! And me and my wife could be dragged into this. So I said to them, ": Do you want to die of drugs? Do you want to take us to prison?" "I have nothing to do with it. It was your idea", Ginny said to Tim and Martin. “Shut up! Or I'll kill you! You're just as involved! And you, father, didn't take care of us and hardly gave us any money!" Martin shouted. "Get the drug stuff out of the house immediately!" I shouted. Then my collar burst. I picked up some bags of the fabric (probably cocaine) that were lying on the living room table, I went to the toilet with them, quickly tore open the bags and poured the stuff into the toilet. And flushed the stuff down Then Martin came running into the toilet with me. And he saw that I had thrown the stuff in the toilet and washed it away. “What do you do? That's my source of income! "he shoutedHe stood in front of me with reddened-looking eyes. They seemed horribly demonic. At that moment I knew: he was on drugs and I couldn't get through to him anymore. "This stuff belongs in the toilet!" I shouted. "No", he shouted. Then he hit me hard in the face. I fell right next to the toilet bowl. Suddenly I felt a pain in my heart. Everything just looked blurry. “my heart...” I screamed. Tim and Sally immediately rushed to our bathroom. "What are you doing", Tim shouted to Martin. "My heart...I'm dying", I said, gasping for air. "Father", Tim shouted. Then he bent down to me and did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, did heart massage (which he had once learned in the first aid course before his driving test). This once he helped me!! And Sally also helped (which was later no longer the case). "Call a doctor", Tim said to his mother Sally. Then Sally went into the living room, grabbed her cell phone that was on the living room table and she dialed the emergency number. Shortly afterwards an ambulance arrived. I was placed on a stretcher by the paramedics who came into our apartment and carried out of the apartment, then out of the apartment building and a little later transported into the ambulance. Then they took me to a hospital. There they examined me and it turned out that I had a heart attack. Then I got my first operation. I stayed in the hospital for several weeks until my condition was stable I was later taken home. At home I tried to recover after my last heart operation. I thought my children would change. That our family circumstances would improve. But that was a mistake. My children Tim and Ginny finished school and began their professional training (teaching). But they were still often mean to me and often wanted money that I didn't have. I tried to be a good father. But I failed. My children's characters went astray. Especially my eldest son Martin. He fell into the wrong company and started taking harder drugs. He had been in contact with crass people from the dark wave, death metal and gothic scenes. Dark guys. So dark that you couldn't imagine it. (Although I don't want to say that everyone in the dark wave, gothic and death metal scene are questionable people, there are also many who are humanly okay or are good friends for some people and also interesting art or make music. You have to be tolerant. But these people that my kids Tim and Martin hang out with were NOT OK. These were drug addicts, dark, aggressive, maladjusted, hateful, violent people with very evil traits.) Sometimes they would hang out in cemeteries too...They didn't tell me what they were doing. They were sometimes dressed entirely in black. That often seemed strange to me I talked to Tim. He stopped taking drugs shortly afterwards. And he got a little nicer And Ginny, who had nothing to do with drugs, also changed for the better by becoming a little nicer to me. Even though they were still really mean to me sometimes! But her brother Martin was a complete disaster. That's why I often had arguments with him. And his mother with him too. We advised him to go to therapy so that he could get off drugs etc. But it didn't work. His drug addiction got worse and worse. And he was getting more and more aggressive My Wyatt Warren, who experienced him once, told me he was completely insane. Obsessed. Possessed by Satan. Even though I did what I could to help him. Pastor Warren said to me after I told him about my children's desires": Watch out. Satan will steal your family at some point. He will take your family away from you, destroy you "I thought it was a fake or joke. Only later did I realize: he was right. What I found worst was that Martin not only used drugs, but also sold them. Then the lockdown ended on 20.4.2020, the first relaxations took place and the shops reopened - even if restaurants, clubs, discos, leisure facilities and cinemas were still closed. The kids got a little more normal there too Tim was still apprenticing as a plumber and Ginny was still making her teachers hairdressers. They stopped taking drugs and became more sensible There was only Martin, who was still causing problems. On May 23, 2020, I was so annoyed with Martin that I had my second heart attackI was in the hospital for 14 days. Then I came home again. Despite my health problems, I continued to strive to care for and educate the children. That wasn't easy! Especially since we were plagued by money worries because I had lost all my orders during the Corona period and had to work much more than usual. While Tim and Ginny improved by continuing to teach and becoming nicer to me, Martin was still a complete disaster! He continued to deal drugs and take drugs! And he had even stolen his mother Sally's rings by now! And he was mean and aggressive. I tried to talk to him. But it didn't help. And I knew: I had failed as a father. Then one day I had enough I secretly overheard a conversation in the apartment that Martin was having with a guy on his cell phone. I found out by chance that he wanted to meet a guy like that on the highway bridge that evening. I didn't know exactly what the conversation was about. But I suspected he wanted to buy drugs from this guy. Then he left the apartment in the evening (when it was already dark outside) and ran to the motorway bridge. (I had already told some people verbally several times that this had happened and I can only repeat myself again). I followed him discreetly. And then I saw him at the highway bridge. He was standing there with this bag of drugs in his hand. He had bought these from a guy he met on the bridge. I saw this guy who had sold him the drugs just walk away and leave the bridge. I called after him a little But he disappeared without turning around. Then I said to Martin ": Put the stuff away. These are drugs. Best give me this stuff.” He just looked at me aggressively and angrily with a demonic look. He didn't think about giving me the drugs. As I got closer, I saw he was completely high Totally on drug! He looked confused too. As if he were in a strange world. "Don't come any closer. Otherwise I'll kill you", Martin called out to me. “Put that away. Or give me that stuff. Drugs are always wrong. This will kill you sooner or later", I said to Martin. He laughed crazy. “hahahaha. So what? Is that so important?” “You matter. Don't talk crap. Give me this stuff. Or I'll take it away from you!" I shouted authoritarianly. "What do you want? Don't interfere in my life", Martin shouted back. I walked up to him and wanted to take away the bag full of drugs he was holding in his right hand. Then he hit me in the face. I lost my balance and almost fell to the ground. Then I became aggressive. I hit back. Then he hit back again. And I go back again. Then I tore away his bag full of drugs. And I struck again and he fell to the ground. I was standing at the bridge railing, behind and below me was the road that a car would occasionally speed past. Martin became angry, sat up, bared his teeth and clenched his fists. He looked profoundly evil. It wasn't the Martin I knew from before. Then he ran towards me and hit me and tried to push me down the bridge - I was sure of that! I knew at that moment: it was about my life. As he stood close to the railing and hit me, I quickly took cover and he hit air. Then he lost his balance. He fell over the railing from the bridge. He slapped the street and died instantly. A large pool of blood formed on his head on the street. I will never forget that horrified face I saw and that sound of impact! It will be my fate that I will not forget this! And then everything was over. For him. But also for me. A passer-by happened to see - even though it was so dark outside - how we had fought with each other on the motorway bridge. Although he hadn't seen anything specific, he later stiffly claimed to the police that he had clearly SEEN that it was me who had pushed him down! And since - after he fell down - I intuitively and rashly picked up his bag of DRUGS for a moment, I made a mistake For the passerby saw me holding the bag. Only then did I walk from the motorway bridge to Martin, who was lying on the asphalt at the edge of the motorway, and give first aid... I quickly came under suspicion of having killed my son Martin. My whole family was against me. They called me murderer, criminal. "YOU killed him. It wasn't just my son, but your son! You didn't get it! IT WAS YOUR SON TOO You killed him! "My wife Sally shouted at me. “you never accepted him as your son.” "That's not true. You're talking nonsense. I just wanted to take the drugs away from him!" I tried to defend myself. “Get Out of My Apartment. Otherwise I'll call the police", she shouted. Then everything happened very quickly. I was arrested, convicted and sent to prison. And now I’m sitting here in the detention center.” I have to conclude by saying this: I have to think about what Father Warren said. He said the children had bad company and that Satan would divide our family. For Satan rejoices when families are destroyed and the earth will be destroyed more and more. "Satan wants the whole earth burned best!" he said. I remember that clearly now! The priest advised me and my wife to reprimand the children with leniency. And if it didn't help, I should take tougher action, for example cutting pocket money and being held in the house. And also more to visit the church. I also have to admit that we haven't been able to visit the Free Church for a while since the Corona crisis because the churches were closed because of Corona. And because I had to work a lot during the Corona period so that we would NOT GO BANKRUPT because of Corona. (This is also from Satan: Due to the pressure and hardship that bad times bring with them, people only work until they drop and think about making money and forget about God and the family in the process! Satan wants us to live a primitive, godless life! It's best to just get up, work as an exploitable, anonymous, faceless no-name work - bee or ant - preferably somewhere on the assembly line, then the workers would come home exhausted, for example, looking forward to the woman they would meet briefly in bed in the evening can please, then they can eat, shit and then go to sleep and the next day it all starts all over again...and on and on until the end of their lives - until somewhere meaningless and faceless they disappear into the grave.) Unfortunately, I worked way too much - which in retrospect was wrong! But after later consideration, I said to myself: What should I have done? I had to work in this exceptional Corona situation where there were almost no orders. I'm only human. Me and my wife Sally tried to implement Father Warren's advice about raising children and raising young people. But it was of no use. Our "teenage children" were rebellious through and through. They treated me badly even after my two heart attacks. The worst thing was Martin. Then it passed with the highway bridge. And from then on my fate was sealed! Now the death penalty awaits me and my family charges me. This is my story in brief.” It was 3 a.m. when Gustav had finished writing his story or the text. Then he made a second copy of it. And then it was 4 o'clock. Gustav leaned back, exhausted, and was glad that, given the stressful situation and the impending execution of the death sentence, he had managed to write this text that contained all the important facts and events. And to have made a second copy of it! He now had this text, his story in his defense, in duplicate! Shortly afterwards he lay tired on his bed to sleep for at least a few hours. At least that's what Gustav wanted to try, because he was still under inner tension - given his situation. It was around 6 a.m. when the prison guard Travis (because the man with the food or the "food distributor" was supposedly sick and had a doctor's appointment in the morning hours) came and brought him the food and drink. Gustav first took his food and drink and placed everything on his bed in his cell. Then he gave Travis the transcript of his story. Which he accepted in silence. Let's see if that would help, thought Gustav. The jailer Mr. Travis wished him good luck. After telling him that there was not much he could do, he walked away with Gustav's story in hand. And after Gustav had sat on his bed and eaten and drank, he went back to his (writing) table and sat down there and made three more copies of his story. Then at 15 o'clock in the afternoon a reporter from the newspaper "Albama News" visited him His name was Taylor Murray. Anyone who had informed him and his newspaper, for which he worked freelance, was a mystery to Gustav. He just suddenly stood in front of his cell! Gustav told Mr Murray his version of the whole story. And he explained to him that he was innocent He quickly went to the table, quickly wrote his contact address and phone number on the back of one of the three copies of his story that he had lying there (he had forgotten that in his haste and because of his nervousness) and he ran back to the prison door with this copy of the story and gave it to the reporter Murray through the bars. "Whether you are guilty or not must first be clearly proven", he said. "Exactly. The verdict is incorrect. I wrote down the story exactly. There are several copies of it and you can have one of them", replied Gustav. "Did you murder your son Martin?" the reporter Gustav asked urgently." “no. I am innocent. That was an accident. He was standing too close to the bridge railing and lost his balance when he tried to hit me. Then he fell off the bridge. Everything happened very quickly. It's all in my records", said Gustav. "We'll report on it", said Mr Murray. And then Gustav (he was surprised himself that he was now saying what he had often thought lately) said something that made the reporter Murray suspicious. "The devil is to blame! He caused my misfortune and that's why I'm here! And the devil had used Martin as a tool and then - when he no longer needed him - thrown him away. Because my children not only took drugs, they also had to deal with dark characters. Some death metal and gothic musicians who had to do with spiritualism, witchcraft,... The priest even called them Satanists! And Satan managed to turn my family against me! He stole my family from me! He's the culprit!" said Gustav angrily. The reporter Murray was nervous, irritated and somewhat frightened when he said that. He didn't know if Gustav was serious or not or if he was just crazy On the other hand, he knew that people would often react like that just before death. Especially before an execution! Murray took a step back. Then Murray said, “: I will read this story and then I will cover it and I wish you good luck.” Then he went Then the cell neighbor spoke to Gustav. "Those were blatant words. But that's how many who expected the death penalty react", Riley said... And spoke from what reporter Murray thought. “i’m serious. It's not normal what's happening in the world. It's end times. The big harvest is approaching", said Gustav. "You're really serious?" “yes.” "Maybe you can convince me to become a Christian." "This is the knowledge that I still know from my church visits. God will forgive me. If hard-hearted people can't do it, he knows that bad is not good and good is not bad. And that the law cannot be distorted - at least not with impunity and that I am innocent. Me who just wants to defend myself. I always wanted the best for my children But the best I gave wasn't good enough. I failed as a father. But the death penalty? Why don't the others who judge me so high-handedly and are themselves arrogant, haughty and full of sin receive the death penalty? If I get the death penalty, she will too", said Gustav. "Believe me. They'll get their punishment too", added Riley. "Honestly, I'm a sinner. Like all of us according to the Bible and I don't want to make myself fairer than I am. But I didn't murder my son Martin", explained Gustav. Then they were silent. A short time later, the man in the food truck brought Gustav and Riley lunch (he had returned here after his morning doctor's appointment and, according to him, was healthy again). Afterwards, each of them ate and drank in their cell. Then Riley cleaned something up in his cell, while Gustav wrote down arguments for his defense that could convince the jury and the judge - in a possible court hearing. At 17 p.m. the preacher Bateman came to Gustav again to encourage him. He immediately opened the Bible as he stood in front of his cell. He sat down at the table by the cell and read from the Bible. "In 1 Corinthians 15:21 it says: For since death has come through a man, so also comes the resurrection of the dead through a man" "Do I have a resurrection if I have been executed?" Gustav asked. "If you regret, yes", Bateman replied. Gustav was silent for a while. “You know....The verdict is unfair. A mistake I always wanted the best for my family. I just didn't make it... in the coronavirus crisis. I was weak. The devil with his temptations... had tricked me,” Gustav explained. "Man is weak and imperfect. Especially in times of need. Depression alone causes a sage to act senselessly", Bateman said. “yes.” "God sees everything. The rest is nonsense.philosophies, reflections of imperfect people who also can’t look into the heart.” “Yes. But I know that things don't have to end well for good people in this system either. When you think of the Christians in Rome. Many of these lions were thrown to eat in the arena. Many were segregated and treated badly", Gustav said. "But they will be awakened because they were righteous and died for the faith. All good ones will rise. But not the bad guys. There's the difference", said preacher Bateman. "And I'm dying here on death row", said Gustav. "Be reassured. Everyone has to die. Just a stab in the left and right arms and you've got it behind you", Bateman said. “i’m too young to die yet.” “I agree with you on this point....but ...n’t much can be expected from the world these days. Morality is going down the drain more and more Wars, hate, murder, violence, oppression, adultery, prostitution,...Everything got worse since Corona Then the Ukraine war. It's all just getting worse I feel sorry for the kids these days. Because they have no future anymore Because the whole political system... is completely out of joint. People have lost their scale. They turn away from God Many cheat, lie, commit adultery, pollute the environment, there is prostitution....There is strife, murder, hatred, violence in the world. No government can successfully solve all of these problems - because until now human governments have ruled over people to the detriment. But God's government will succeed!" said preacher Bateman. “Yes. Many will notice", said Gustav. "But many will notice it too late. Because then it will be too late. Many had seen at that time in Noah's time that he and his family had built the ark. But they didn't go into the ark that could have saved them! And then at some point the door was closed, the rain came Then came the flood of senses and then all the ignorant, unbelieving and evil people were gone. Lost!” Bateman explained. Gustav changed the subject. "I need to convince the judges and jury of my story that I wrote down. This is important. I made several copies of my story and the truth of Martin's death", Gustav said. "Do you think your efforts will have a chance of success?" asked preacher Bateman. “I hope so.” Gustav was silent for a while. Then he got emotional and said": The devil. The devil is mainly to blame! And I...I miserable naive unbeliever that I was...I should have realized it sooner. I should have recognized these devil traps sooner! I should have taken more care of my family during the corona crisis! Instead of just working... but ... we hardly had any money in lockdown after all. What could I have done? I had little choice after all.” "What you experienced is very interesting. I would write down everything - including your emotions and what you experienced.” “I already have. I have now made several copies of my story.” "Maybe you can convince people of your innocence", said the preacher. "I want to try that", replied Gustav. “I wish you good luck.” “Thank you.” Then the preacher Bateman left. "Well, then at least he encouraged you again", said Riley from the next cell. "Yes", Gustav replied. "You can give a copy of your story to my lawyer. Maybe it will convince the lawyer when he comes tomorrow.” “yes.” Then Riley was silent. Gustav sat down at the desk and made a new, 5th copy of his story. For safety. When he was finished with the 5th copy, he went to bed and turned off the lamp. And thought for a long time. Will I avoid carrying out the death sentence? And when my innocence is proven, will I be released again? "he thought. Paralyzing fear came up within him. Then he thought of Sally when things were still going well between them. How she rode him at night in the riding position. He saw her shapely breasts in front of him...He longed for her and had excitement. But....unfortunately things haven't been going so well for her since the corona crisis. At least not in bed anymore. He could hardly say what it was and he didn't want to talk to anyone about it. Then he met Lynsey Lawrence during the corona crisis. That was in early April 2020 and they then had an occasional contact with each other for about a year They first started talking on the train. And they both got off at Old Sutherdale... And then he had images in front of him of her naked and standing in front of him. He saw her breasts. Then I had various fantasies. Then all of a sudden, gradually, these images disappeared Then at some point he got tired and fell asleep. Later he couldn't remember what he last thought and dreamed. It was about 8 a.m. when he heard footsteps and voices. He ran his head up from his bed and looked into the hallway. He saw two men walking towards Riley's cell. One man was the prison guard Mr. Travis. The other man in the suit had a briefcase in his hand. Gustav suspected that it was the lawyer Riley had told about. The man glanced briefly into Gustav's cell as he passed by and greeted briefly and succinctly when he noticed Gustav. Then he went to Riley's cell with the jailer. There the lawyer spoke to Riley": Hello Mr. Miller. I'm here to represent you. I’m here in the company of the prison guard.” "I was expecting you", Riley replied. Gustav woke up when Riley spoke to him in such a strangely familiar way. Apparently he really knew his lawyer better! Gustav quickly got up from his bed and went to his cell door - hoping that the lawyer could help him. At that moment he couldn't look into the neighboring cell or recognize Riley. But he could observe a lot through the bars. And what he couldn't see, he could hear. And what he saw and heard was interesting. “But, of course. I have everything prepared", the lawyer told Riley. “i’ll get you out already.” “That’s good. Thank you for your efforts, Mr. Shepherd.” Now Riley pretended that Shepherd was a stranger to him - even though he seemed to know him better. He wants to hide from me that he knows him better, thought Gustav. "New evidence has emerged that you are innocent. DNA from a Mr. Tobias Keller was found at the crime scene. Do you know him?" asked the lawyer Mr. Shepherd. “But, yes. My wife used to have an affair with him. There was almost a divorce because of her infidelity. She later told me that she had deeply regretted her infidelity and had given up on her relationship with him and we were married for another 10 years after that...I didn't know that...” He interrupted briefly. His voice sounded tearful and brittle. Then he continued talking “: I didn’t know my Jill was still in touch with him.” The lawyer Shepherd cleared his throat. “Obviously so. Even after your wife supposedly wanted to mend her ways, she did not break off contact with him, it is now clear that she had an affair with him the whole time after the adultery.” “What? All the time? Throughout the marriage?" Riley asked in disbelief. He was silent for a while. "I'm terribly sorry", said lawyer Shepherd. "It's incomprehensible." "There was also tension between them because your wife had met a third man named Frederick Walker. Once there was a heated argument between them. Tobias Keller murdered her wife in a frenzy. To cover up his murder, he framed you for the murder", Shepherd said. "I always knew that. They wanted to frame me for the murder", Riley replied. “Yes. You were the first person to discover your wife dead. That had made you suspicious. And then you discovered the murder weapon and touched it. That was the mistake.” “I ... can’t grasp it. I was just... nervous at the time,” Riley said, stuttering. Gustav was silent for a moment. And heard Riley say to his lawyer, “: You did a good job.” "I'm doing my best", said Mr. Shepherd. "When will I be released?" Riley asked. "You'll be a free man in two days. That’s the information.” There was a moment's silence. Then lawyer Shepherd whispered something to him. Gustav couldn't understand what he was whispering to him. He didn't really understand everything that was happening around him. Everything seemed like a staged play. So unreal and strange. And he felt something like a person who had woken up from an opium rush in reality He was there somewhere and yet somewhere else. And he felt depressed and depressed. The prison and the courtroom where he had recently been convicted also seemed strange to him. (he didn't even know in which town - which street exactly that was. Because he had forgotten it. And exactly what time this all happened.) "It will all just be very simple. The evidence is on the table. It doesn’t take much work to convince them.” Lawyer Shepherd placed his briefcase on the floor, opened it and pulled out a small folder for the elderly. He opened it and took two pieces of paper out of the transparent cover and handed them to Riley through the small cell window, for Gustav could notice this from the metallic sound and the slight squeak of the cell door that always sounded when she walked up and up. "It's all in there. The defense brief I drafted", Shepherd said. "When will I be released?" Riley asked. “The day after tomorrow already.” “Really? You did a great job. I will recommend you.” “That’s good. You can always recommend me. In your case it was clear that you would be released. I already said that in our last conversation", said Shepherd. "I knew I would be released. That's why I was calmer than other prisoners who are about to carry out the death sentence. The judge and jury had sentenced me to death completely unexpectedly and hastily. How can that be? What world do we live in? And then suddenly I'm innocent and I'm released? How can the jury, judge.... be so wrong? They must be completely stupid. A complete miscarriage of justice", said Riley. "That was all sloppiness! I immediately saw that something was wrong in her case and that there was no way you could be the murderer", said Mr. Shepherd. “Yes. Absolutely not", Riley replied. "A lawsuit will also be filed and compensation will be due for the time you were innocently detained. You will then receive money as compensation. Because that was clear judicial misconduct and indifferent behavior towards the accused - in this case towards you. These were not easy mistakes", said lawyer Shepherd. “If there’s still justice...” said Riley. "There is definitely compensation. The court must take responsibility. Because the investigation was sloppy and evidence was swept under the carpet. That won’t work!” "It's good that it is. First of all, I'm happy to be free", said Riley. “i can understand that.” Then Gustav suddenly called out": Mr. Shepherd. Would you have a moment?" “One moment please. I'm busy", replied Mr. Shepherd. Then they were silent for a moment. Gustav was just about to make himself known a second time when Riley said to his lawyer Mr. Shepherd": I have another case where it is a miscarriage of justice. This is Gustav Walters, who is sitting on the left in my side cell. He is in prison for the alleged murder of his son Martin and is awaiting the execution of his death penalty. He is innocent and he doesn't have a lawyer. Can you help him?” The lawyer Shepherd was silent at first. Then he said, “: I’ll try.” Then he went to Gustav's cell door And then Gustav and the lawyer Mr. Shepherd faced each other Only the bars separated them from each other "You are the lawyer Mr. Shepherd?" Gustav asked. “Yes. I'm Justin Shepherd from the law firm White and Wood. And you?" “I’m Gustav Walters. I would be accused of pushing my eldest son Martin off the motorway bridge and thus murdering him. But I'm innocent. I didn't do it. It was an accident. And I don't have a lawyer to represent me. Can you help me? I have to get out of here because the lethal injection awaits me", explained Gustav. Lawyer Shepherd frowned. “sorry...but I can’t represent you. Because I have enough clients! I’m fully booked.” "But there's nothing you can do?" asked Gustav. “i’ll try this. There are several lawyers in my office. One, for example, is called Earl Duncan. I can give him your name and phone number and he will get back to you. I can't do more", said Mr. Shepherd. "I briefly wrote down my story and the truth about the death of my son Martin. I can give you this story - a copy of it. It would be nice if you could give this to Mr. Duncan", Gustav begged him. "I can do that", said Mr. Shepherd. Then Gustav quickly ran to his desk, grabbed one of the copies of his story that were on his table and which he had marked with his name, address, email address and telephone number, ran back to the cell door with it and gave it to Mr. Shepherd through the bars. "I thank you. Did you write down the address?" asked Mr. Shepherd. “Yes. I wrote it on the back", replied Gustav. “Good. I'll give the story to Mr. Duncan. He will contact you tomorrow", said Mr. Shepherd. “Yes. Thank you very much.” Then the lawyer put Gustav's story in his pocket. And then he left. "Yay! I'm coming out. Morning!" Riley shouted. "I'm happy for you", said Gustav. “and thanks for your help.” “i’m so glad. This will be the most beautiful day of my life. I am free. A lawsuit is being filed because of the miscarriage of justice", Riley said happily. "It's not that clear to me yet", said Gustav. "I think you'll get out of here too", Riley said. "Mr. Shepherd said that Mr. Duncan would contact me. Do you think he will do that?" "Yes, he will. And he'll get you out of here. I really suspect that", said Riley. "I gave him my story. With address and phone number...”, Gustav replied. “I know. Then there will also be a chance of success... Because the law firm White and Wood is reputable. And only good people work there. And...I'm friends with my lawyer. I've said that before", said Riley. Now he admitted it. “Yes. You already said that", replied Gustav. They talked for a while longer. Later, after the meal that had been brought to him by the "food distributor" or "food issuer", he sat down at his desk and wrote down a few thoughts in his defense. At 22 p.m. he went to bed and fell asleep with a feeling of relief. And he thought of Sally. How attractive is she..., he thought. The next day, Gustav got a call on his phone at 8am. It was the lawyer Earl Duncan. "This is Earl Duncan from the White and Wood law firm", he said. "Yes. Here Gustav Walters. I’m sitting... innocently in prison. I didn't murder...my son Martin. It was an accident. I gave Mr. Shepherd my story. He should give it to you", said Gustav, a little sleepy. “Yes. I know. I read your story", Earl Duncan said calmly. “I don’t have a lawyer. Can you represent me?" Gustav asked. “Yes. I can represent you", Duncan said. “Yes. Please. You’ll manage to help me out by representing me....” “Good. I will hereby represent you. We will put all of this back in writing later. In the form of a contract", said Earl Duncan. “Thank you very much.” “we will immediately challenge the verdict. The whole case needs to be reopened", said Duncan. "I will first request the complete court file. And then I have to get used to it, which will take a few days. I will prepare a brief today to have the verdict overturned. I'll stop by your place this afternoon at 15 o'clock. There we talk about everything.” "Thank you very much", said Gustav. Then they ended the phone call. Gustav was close to tears. This time with joy. The anger, fear, unrest over the sentence and the execution of the sentence (his execution) were suddenly almost gone. "Lawyer Earl Duncan of White and Wood Law Firm contacted me. The verdict was initially overturned. He's coming to see me today!" Gustav reported. “Congratulations. Maybe this all has a chance of success and you'll be released", Riley replied. “That’s great.” Gustav was overjoyed. After the conversation, Gustav waited several hours for the lawyer Earl Duncan with his heart pounding and full of hope. He passed this waiting time by reading. Then at 15:15 his lawyer Earl Duncan stood at his cell door, when Gustav saw him he immediately ran to the cell door and greeted him joyfully. Mr Duncan got straight to the point. “I’m your new lawyer now. We will challenge the verdict. Because of several mistakes As I said. There will be a new court hearing. And then let’s see...” said Earl Duncan. "Will I come out? What are the chances?" Gustav asked. "In one case you are like a captain with a ship on the high seas. You never know how this will develop. But in your case... the odds aren’t bad. As I notice, a lot of exculpatory evidence was not passed on. And a lot of other things didn't go legally correctly either", said Mr. Duncan. “Yes. And I shouldn't have defended myself in court. I should have gotten a lawyer back then.” “Yes. That was a big mistake You shouldn't do that. They must have underestimated themselves there.” “yes.” "I have a strategy like that. You explained that you wanted to take the bag of drugs away from Martin on the motorway bridge? Is that correct?" Duncan asked. "Yes", Gustav replied. "And then your son Martin attacked you?" “Yes. That's how it was. And he wanted to hit me and he suddenly lost his balance and then fell off the highway bridge. It was an accident", explained Gustav. "You've already told me all this and I've also read your story or defense notes", Duncan said. “Very good.” "I'll read everything again later and mark a few passages. What is important is the witness who saw you pushing your son Martin off the motorway bridge. And also heard the argument. Apparently everything happened in the dark in the evening. Was there enough light on the highway bridge so you could see a lot?" asked Earl Duncan. Gustav thought. Then he remembered. "There were a few lanterns on the highway bridge that only glowed faintly. One was - as far as I remember - even completely unusual. You could see very little.” "But the text said that you saw exactly how your son Martin behaved, how and where he hit", said Earl Duncan. “That yes.” "But then you just said that it was dark on the motorway bridge because the few lanterns were dimly lit. That sounds contradictory", Duncan said. "At least it was so brightly lit that I could see Martin's movements. Even where he hit. But in my opinion you can't see it clearly from a distance", Gustav replied. "Now I understand. That's interesting. The witness or passer-by allegedly saw exactly how they pushed their son Martin off the bridge. You mean that the witness or passerby couldn't have seen all of this clearly because of the darkness and dim light?" Duncan asked. “Yes. He was standing too far away", Gustav replied. "How far away was he from the bridge?" “I do not know that. But even from seven meters away it's impossible to see much. In my opinion", said Gustav. "It's the question of where exactly the witness or passer-by stood. Had he seen this from 10 meters away, from 20 meters away? Was he still standing on the bridge or had he already left the bridge? That must be clear", Duncan pointed out. "He had left the bridge. It was at least 20 meters away", replied Gustav. "Was that also in the court file?" “i think so.” "And had the physical altercation occurred in the middle of the bridge?" Duncan asked. “Yes. Something like that And the passerby who supposedly saw this must have been very far away. Because he was no longer on the bridge", replied Gustav. “And then it’s also unclear what the witness was looking for at the highway bridge at that hour.” "Maybe he had also drunk something alcoholic, which had an impact on his judgment. Or he had looked at his cell phone and seen everything out of the corner of his eye. That could be the case", said Gustav. “Good. We already have a lot that calls into question the credibility of the witness", said Duncan. “yes.” “Good. I will request the court file. And look at them closely. And also read your story carefully. And then I will draw up a letter, which calls the credibility of the witness into question.” “Very good.” "I'll come by again next week, for example on Monday, and then we'll discuss everything. We'll then go through all the points", Duncan said. “Okay. Thank you very much", replied Gustav. “All the best. Bye.” Then he left Gustav was relieved. Riley, who overheard the conversation, said ": That sounds good. I wish you good luck.” “Thank you.” "It's the last night I spend in the cell. Because I'm coming out tomorrow", Riley said. "That's nice. Then good luck. This will be the happiest day of your life", replied Gustav. They talked for a while. Then at 23 o'clock he put Gustav to bed with a good feeling and fell asleep. The next morning three men arrived: Riley's lawyer Justin Shepherd and the prison warden Mr. Wilson. And another unknown man. They got Riley out of the cell. Gustav now knew what was happening. He quickly got up from his bed, grabbed a piece of paper and a pen that were on the table and quickly wrote down his address, email and cell phone number. Then he quickly ran to the cell door with the note with his contact details to say goodbye to Riley and give him the note. As he stood in front of the cell door, he saw through the bars how the unknown man unlocked the left cell door and led Riley out of the cell. "There you are. I thought you wouldn't wake up. I wanted to say goodbye to you quickly. Because I'm coming out now", said Riley as he left the cell and saw Gustav. "Yes. then I wish you all the best. And thank you very much for your help so that I have a lawyer", Gustav said to Riley. “please.” "And here I'll give you my contact address. Get in touch with me. I wish you good luck", said Gustav. Then Gustav Riley quickly handed his piece of paper with his contact details through the bars. Riley took the note. “Thank you. I'd be happy to get in touch. Good luck", he said. "And I would also like to thank you for your help, Mr. Shepherd", Gustav said to Mr. Shepherd. "Of course. I think you are in good hands with Mr. Duncan", said Mr. Shepherd. “Yes. And I'm coming out too. My lawyer will help with this", said Gustav. But the prison warden, Mr Wilson, was sceptical and remained serious. "Mr. Riley Miller, who is coming out now, was very lucky. We'll just wait and see how this turns out in your case. This must first be decided in court", said prison director Mr. Wilson to Gustav. “But I wish you good luck.” The corners of Gustav's mouth went down a bit and his joy and optimism were minimized. "All the best", Riley said to Gustav one last time. And Gustav called "All the best" back. Then they left. Gustav was internally happy for Riley's release and at the same time internally sad that Riley was now gone, now he was alone in his cell. And had no one to talk to and to give him courage. Because the other two prisoners were seven or eight cells further to the left in this building, most of whom were quiet and had almost no visitors and with whom he had no contact. Gustav was glad that his lawyer Earl Duncan promised good prospects. That's why he was a little optimistic about getting out of prison here. And towards the death penalty, which hovered over him like the sword of Damocles. On the other hand, he had to think of the words of the prison warden, Mr Wilson, which were less optimistic and tarnished his joy. Was he perhaps right? He didn't know. Although the lawyer Duncan promised him good prospects, he had not yet read the court file. And he became more and more aware that it wasn't so certain that he would get out of here. That was great when Riley was still in the left side cell here. Yes, Riley is a good guy, a friend, he thought. Gustav was heterosexual and he was "bi", but whatever. It was friendly and humane. He didn't have any more friends. And he now inevitably had to check off his family out there, who had probably already written him off. Who had forgotten him. He was also internally at peace with the whole world out there. He only had a certain anger at the jury and the judge from time to time. But knowing through the preacher that, according to the Bible, it was wrong to hate someone, he fought as best he could feelings of hatred and resentment towards themYes. He had to forgive! That's what mattered. He read and pondered all day long. Also in the Bible. And he wrote a diary every now and then. Every now and then the prison guard Travis came by and spoke a few words to him. And the "food distributor" (whose name he couldn't remember) brought him his food morning, lunch and evening. Nothing more happened. The next three days in prison were also uneventful. Gustav read most of the time. He got his food and chatted every now and then with the prison guard Travis, who came every now and then to check that everything was going well (the only person at that time with whom he exchanged a few words every now and then). Otherwise, no one came by - neither the prison warden, Mr. Wilson, nor anyone in his family, nor the doctor, Dr. Stone. Disappointingly, Riley didn't call him either. Whatever the reason It felt like he had been forgotten and he could now rot in his cell. Yes, these neglects had always been his problem and his fate. Because his mother died early and his foster mother had often neglected him. She had been away a lot when he was a baby and toddler. That's why he often had such "chaos" in his life later on. And also mental problems. And other deficits. But what the heck. You can't rummage around in old stuff, you have to forgive, he thought And he forgave her too! Gustav knew: Forgiveness was the most difficult lesson according to the Bible - especially when a person did something really bad to another person. Then on the 4th day after Riley's dismissal, at 9 am, attorney Earl Duncan called Gustav on his cell phone. "Here Earl Duncan. I’ll stop by your place again later at 16, if it’s okay.” “That fits. Finally", said Gustav. "I have news that we need to discuss", Duncan said. “Okay. Very good. Then see you later.” Then they ended the cell phone call. Gustav waited for him for seven hours. In those hours he read that seemed like an eternity. Then at exactly 16 o'clock Earl Duncan stood in front of his cell with his briefcase in his hand. Gustav quickly ran to the prison cell door And then they talked to each other He again outside the cell, Gustav inside the cell. "I hope you're okay", Earl Duncan said. "According to the circumstances. I'm in a really difficult situation", Gustav replied. “I’ll get straight to the point. I had sent the letter I had drawn up to the court. We’re just waiting for an answer.” “And ....what do you suspect? Will the answer be positive for me?" Gustav asked. “Mr. Walters. We have to be patient. I know it is very difficult in your situation. But it can't be changed", Duncan explained. “Okay.” "I can tell you that the court will examine any new evidence and an appeal will be made. The death sentence will - as it stands - be overturned and then there will be a new, fair trial. I can tell you that", said Duncan. "I thank you. They're doing their best", Gustav replied. "That was all. I say goodbye.” Then he went away. Gustav went to his desk, sat down at his table and thought. Then he started reading more. At 18 o'clock the prison guard Travis came and sat down at the small table with various stationery that was in front of his cell. "And do your efforts have a chance of success? I heard her lawyer was there today...” said Mr Travis. “Yes. He was here He's already getting me out of here. Everything is going well", replied Gustav. “Let’s hope so. Your cellmate Riley was lucky. Was an attractive guy. I liked him. He made such a good impression. It was clear that he would be fired. As I said...It was luck", said Mr Travis. “I hope I’m lucky enough as well. Because for me the whole thing is a miscarriage of justice. I am innocent", explained Gustav. "It's nice that you have a lawyer. That's something. But everything else has to be decided by the judges and jurors. In difficult cases, the governor. And a lot can come out of that. Hopefully good things", he said. "but when new evidence or arguments emerge to exonerate me...?" “Yes. But as I said, the jury will decide. I know of a case like this - there was a young man who allegedly murdered his friend. He had some evidence against him doing it. But in the end he still received the death sentence and was executed. It didn't take long before he was underground", said Mr. Travis. Gustav's fear and nervousness suddenly rose from his feet to the tip of his skull. His hands were shaking. And his optimism was suddenly gone. "But the evidence should have been put on the table and taken into account!!! THAT CAN'T BE DONE! WHAT KIND OF LOUSY DISH IS THIS? The governor must be informed in such a case", Gustav suddenly shouted loudly. "Moderate yourself. Otherwise the prison warden and the doctor will come and give you a sedative injection!" Mr. Travis said energetically. “Because order and discipline reign here.” “Sorry. But you have to understand... I'm being sentenced to death here for an act I didn't commit", Gustav said again. "You've told me that several times too. Probably two hundred times. But I can't do anything else for you. I can bring you some new books. Or the doctor can give you a few more sedative pills.” "I still have pills from Dr. Stone", said Gustav. "Did you take it?" Travis asked. “Yes. Every now and then. When I'm restless. They don’t help very much.” "Or I can send the preacher over to calm you down. Or have other, stronger sedative pills brought. Those are the options", said Mr Travis sternly. "I don't want any sedative pills anymore. But you can give me new books. And send the preacher over. I just want to get rid of the inner tension. And my fear", Gustav replied. “Yes. Unfortunately I can't do more", said Travis. “Okay. That’s quite something.” Then the conversation was over. After that he read. Otherwise the day passed uneventfully. He later went to bed at 0 am. The next day, at 10 am, the preacher Bateman came to him. And he stood in front of the cell again and then he read some more Bible texts to Gustav About resurrection for the righteous, about real repentance, about forgiveness of sins,...Finally he asked ": Do you think the lawyer can get you out of here?" the preacher asked Bateman. "I hope", replied Gustav. "The important thing is that you repent of your sins! And working on you.” “i know.” “praying for You.” Then he put his Bible in his pocket and left. "Hopefully my lawyer Mr. Duncan succeeds. I almost want to be here. Out. Out", Gustav thought. Then he read for the next few hours. Then he went to bed a little after 23 hours. The next six days passed uneventfully. He mostly read into his cell. Often felt lonely Was scared. It seemed to him that he had been completely forgotten or written off by those around him and that he was slowly or surely rotting in his cell. Then the jailer Mr. Travis Gustav brought a newspaper. He handed it to him through the bars. "Here is an article about you. You're in the Alabama News newspaper now". You're a little famous now. Read the article on page five and you'll be amazed", said Travis, who had a cigarette in his mouth. Gustav took the newspaper that Travis handed him through the bars, opened it and read the article about himself carefully on page five. It was reporter Taylor Murray who had visited him here in prison about two weeks ago and then wrote the article about him about a week and a half ago. But he wrote negatively about Gustav because he was not convinced of his innocence. The newspaper "Alabama News" said the following": Murderer Gustav W. (48 years old) pushes son Martin W. (21 years old) off the C 3 motorway bridge. He is found guilty in court, sentenced to death, but pleads not guilty. Here's a quick rundown of the events that happened in Old Sutherdale... "Gustav read everything carefully and got a red head. "Such a liar! He claims something I didn't do! He labels me a murderer and just wants to see me in prison and dead in the end!" Gustav shouted. “That’s bad luck. But that's how it is. The evidence speaks against you. I'm sorry", Travis replied calmly. "Oh, that's so easy as an outsider who isn't affected to say "I'm sorry." If you were in my shoes, you would definitely say something different! I'm sentenced to death! Do you know what that means?" Gustav asked him angrily. "I ask for forgiveness for using the wrong words. But....I can very well understand what you're going through", Mr Travis replied. “YOU don’t understand anything. You call it a day, go home and everything is fine", said Gustav. "Unfortunately that's not the case. Unfortunately that's not the case. My wife died a year ago. Heart attack. I was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer three years ago. I've had several chemotherapies And I'm having a hard time doing this job - believe me. Also because I often lack the strength. That's why I look so thin and gaunt and my face is becoming more and more like that of a skull. I will also die of cancer soon. And that will probably be painful. While things will go faster for you. Just a prick, a sting and then it's over. And what do you think it will look like for me!? Very bad!" replied Mr. Travis. His voice sounded bitter Gustav, standing at the cell door, looked closer into Mr. Travi's gaunt skull face. He saw the expressive eyes that lay deep in the caves, his narrow mouth, the sunken cheeks with the distinctive cheekbones, his body-pale skin color and his bald head, which made his skull-like skull appear more eerie. And his wrinkled, thin neck. Gustav knew. He was doomed to die! "I'm very sorry", said Gustav. "Now you understand why I talk like that", replied Mr. Travis. “Yes. I didn’t know any of that. Nochnal: I’m sorry.” "I'm very sorry for you too. Believe me On the other hand: neither of us are very young anymore. I'm 63 and you - I think about 50 years old. My family is no more - my wife is dead and we had no children And your family - from what I heard - left you. And we live in a bad world today. There's the Ukraine war, that's the climate problem, there's corona, inflation,...There is crime. There are small children and young people who deal with drugs at school, commit theft crimes, burglaries and bodily harm. I know of cases where children have threatened parents and teachers. There are many who are lonely, old people who nobody cares about.....Do you really want to live in a world like this?" asked Mr. Travis. "Do you really think there's something positive coming?" "I trust in God. He will create a new order. That's what the preacher said", Gustav replied. “Good. Then you have now come to faith. I wish you good luck", Mr. Travis suddenly broke off the conversation. "I wish you good luck too", said Gustav. Then Mr. Travis left. Gustav then sat at his desk in his prison cell and wrote a diary thoughtfully and depressedly. And went - after taking a pill from Dr. Stone had already gone to bed around 22 p.m. The next day at 9 a.m., his lawyer Earl Duncan answered his cell phone. He sounded excited. "Mr. Walters, we have to meet today at 15 o'clock. It's important", he said. "We'll do that? Is there anything important?" Gustav asked. "We received a brief from your son Tim", Duncan reported. "Really?" Gustav asked. "We'll discuss this at 15 o'clock. I can't talk for long now. We'll meet at 15 o'clock and then we'll discuss everything. See you later", he said. Then he ended the cell phone conversation. Gustav was excited. WHAT happened? he asked himself. He sat down at his desk and nervously wrote some diary, writing down his current experiences Several hours. Then at 15 o'clock his lawyer Earl Duncan stood outside his cell door. Gustav quickly got up from the desk and ran to the cell door Earl Duncan immediately got to the point after the brief greeting. “We have good news and bad news. Should I start with the good news first?" Duncan asked. "Yes. it's okay", said Gustav. "The good news is that there is an appeal and a new trial. I was optimistic at first", said Duncan. “And then? What’s the bad news?” Gustav replied. "Your son Tim, with the help of a lawyer, filed a new brief with new allegations. He allegedly saw you push his brother Martin off the highway bridge", Duncan reported. "That's crap", said Gustav. "And now?" "It's going to be difficult because there are now two witnesses..." Duncan explained. “i do not understand. Why Tim? And why is he so late in claiming that he saw me on the highway bridge? That can't be done!" said Gustav. "I don't know that either", Duncan replied. "It was dark. He couldn't even see me. It was dark!" said Gustav. "Just", added Duncan. "He was never around. This is a drowning and a lie.” "And why would Tim lie?" "He wants me dead because then he will inherit", said Gustav. "Why inherit? Do you have that much?" Duncan asked somewhat critically. Gustav was silent for a moment. “you have to tell me everything. Otherwise I won't be able to work successfully", said Earl Duncan. “Good....Shortly after Martin died, my uncle Richard also died and I inherited ... his house, for he was childless. The house is worth around 600,000 euros. And when I had heart problems, I had taken out life insurance", said Gustav. "A life insurance policy?" Duncan asked. "I was sick. I had two heart operations. I may have had endless conflicts with my children...but as a father who loves the children despite everything that happened, I didn't want them to end up with 'nothing' later if I died", explained Gustav. The lawyer Earl Duncan looked at Gustav somewhat skeptically and frowned. "I don't have any children of my own. But I'm trying to understand that. Is there anything else you didn't tell me?" he asked. "That was all", Gustav replied. “Good. Then I get to the point. The court date is Thursday 5.5.2022 at 10am in the courtroom... I will try my best to get her out of prison and save her from the death penalty", Duncan said. "How big are the chances?" asked Gustav. The lawyer Earl Duncan looked at him seriously. “about 50 percent.” "Not more?" asked Gustav. “Maybe 60 percent. Nothing more. There is also the other side with the accusations and evidence. We'll have to wait and see what the judge and jury say. I can't do anything more for you at the moment. That's where we meet. If you have any news during this time, send it to me by email. That's all I can do", Duncan said. “thank you.” Then he left Gustav was left thoughtful. He restlessly sat down at the desk that day and continued to write down his thoughts, feelings and arguments in his defense and also wrote in his diary. In the next few days, Gustav was also filled with unrest, tension and fear of the death sentence being carried out. Although there was a bit of hope that the lawyer Duncan would get him out of his predicament. And Gustav hoped that the lawyer Duncan would manage to free him. In the whole of the next few days he was visited only once by the warden of the prison, Mr Wilson, and the doctor, Dr. Stone, who examined him briefly and gave him other, stronger tablets to calm him down And every now and then he could talk to the warden, Mr Travis. Otherwise no one visited him. He spoke to the lawyer Duncan on the phone from time to time and they discussed the whole situation and prepared for the court hearing on May 5th. He also wrote his will - because he feared losing the trial and being executed. There he appointed the alcoholic and unemployed Stephen Sanders, the only friend he still had and with whom he had little contact (which he had not said anything about in prison), as sole heir and thus disinherited his son Tim and daughter Ginny - out of revenge for what they had done to him. He sent this will to his lawyer, who would pass it on to the notary... After two and a half weeks, the court hearing was on Lower Road in the Wineburgh district of Montgomery, Alabama. Early in the morning, Gustav was led outside from the prison complex to the New Blackcastle district of Montgomery, Alabama, by several men who had handcuffed him. And they took him to a white transport guarded by some men. After several men handcuffed him into the van, placed him in one of the rearmost seats, and all boarded, they then drove him to the courthouse on Lower Road in Montgomery's Wineburgh neighborhood. Then several men took him out of the white van and led him into the courthouse in handcuffs - past various sensationalist reporters who took photos of Gustav with cameras and past onlookers who wanted to see him either dead or alive. Then Gustav was taken to the courtroom. A little later, Gustav sat down at a table next to his lawyer Earl Duncan. Meanwhile, a crowd of people came into the courtroom. (Gustav didn't know who all these people were.) And Gustav's son Tim came into the courtroom with his lawyer and also his daughter Ginny with her lawyer. And a court draftsman who wanted to draw Gustav was also present. The jury and the judge also entered the courtroom and took their seats. About ten more minutes passed. Then the trial began. Judge Miles Fletcher, sitting on a pedestal, opened his Gustav court file before him and began his speech": Mr. Gustav Walters, born March 30, 3, 1974 in Montgomery (Westgate), Alabama. Later living in Old Sutherdale in Montgomery, Alabama, at number 21 Yello Trees Road. You are charged with murdering your son Martin Walters on November 11, 2021 by pushing him off the Keystone Bridge highway bridge in Old Sutherdale C3. You, Mr. Walters Senior, may have been guilty under the Intentional Manslaughter Model Penal Code. You are a Murderer What do you have to say about that, Mr Walters?" “It wasn’t me. That was an accident", said Gustav. "But, there were witnesses who saw how you argued with your son, how you got into a fight and how they pushed him off the railing in cold blood", said judge Miles Fletcher. Then Earl Duncan took the floor. “Objection. It was dark. They couldn't see exactly how the accident had happened It was pitch black", Earl Duncan interjected. “So? Now we want to question the witness, Mr. Nelson Fleming, who observed everything. Mr. Fleming, please tell me what you observed", Judge Fletcher asked him. “So...I went for a walk and even wanted to go to the bridge. Then I saw two men arguing on the bridge. They hit each other, then fought. Then I saw Gustav hit his son Martin several times. He was defenseless and staggered. And then Gustav Walters pushed him off the bridge. I see these images in front of me I can't forget it. It was terrible", Fleming said. "You heard it, Mr. Walters", the judge said. "It looks like this isn't manslaughter anymore No Involuntary Manslaughter. But he wanted it! For me this is premeditated murder. Anger for trivial reasons. A low motive", said Tim's lawyer. “Objection. It was dark. You couldn't see anything from a greater distance", Duncan interjected again. "Yes", Fleming said. The lawyer Earl Duncan then asked Fleming several questions.": If you supposedly saw this clearly, they must have been standing pretty close to Gustav and Martin on the bridge. Where exactly were you, Mr. Fleming? How far was the distance between you and Gustav and Martin?" "I was standing pretty much at the end of the bridge when I heard screams. As I had just left the bridge, I turned around and looked at the bridge. And then I saw her...I saw it all from about ten meters away", Fleming said. "Where exactly on the motorway bridge did Gustav Walters fight with his son Martin Walters? And where did Gustav push his son off the highway bridge?" Judge Fletcher asked. "This all happened in the middle of the bridge", replied witness Mr. Fleming. “Wrong. If he supposedly saw it that closely, he must have been standing on the highway bridge. Because it is long. It can't be ten meters away. If you saw everything when you left the bridge, the distance must have been greater. About twenty meters away", Duncan replied. "That's actually strange", said the judge. "So. I don't know exactly", said Fleming. He suddenly seemed a bit insecure. "But Mr. Fleming. So you didn't see exactly how Gustav pushed him down. Is that correct? Because at a distance of twenty meters it is more difficult to see anything in the darkness", asked Mr. Duncan. "Yes. I saw that clearly. He pushed him down", Fleming said. "But how can you do that when you've been so far away?" asked Earl Duncan. "I may have been at the end of the bridge", Fleming said. "You said earlier that you had left the bridge", said the judge. "It was the shock. Watching a murder is ... not easy. Maybe I messed this up", Fleming stammered. "That can be of course. But you stand by the statement that he did it?” the judge asked. “yes.” “Objection. That doesn't prove anything. Maybe when it was so dark on the bridge he saw a raven. At least not how Gustav Walters pushed his son down. That seems far-fetched to me. A product of fantasy", Earl Duncan said in defense. Mr. Earl Duncan whispered quietly to his client Gustav ": That's good for you, Mr. Walters". Mr. Fleming’s testimony shakes.” "Yes", Gustav simply said. "So...then there is another witness statement... from Mr. Tim Walters, the son of defendant Walters Senior... Mr. Tim Walters. What did you see that fateful evening?" the judge asked Tim. “So...I observed an argument even in the apartment between my dad and his son, Martin - my half-brother. It was about drugs. And about the CDs and strange books by the band Blue Black Vip. These are death metal and gothic musicians that I've been friends with for a few years. My father had something against her. Because somehow he found her strange. Sure - we once did silly things, went to the cemetery in Old Sutherdale a few times dressed in black and shot some selfie videos with our cell phones. For Tik Tok or YouTube. To upload them there later...Own music videos. That was our thing. We hoped to get a lot of clicks. "Fame" was a bit important to us. We were a bit naive back then - today I see it a little differently. My friends, I admit, were a bit "strange" at the time. But I didn't take everything we did so seriously. It was a joke to me. In any case, I was only interested in the music videos. Ginny, my sister, looked like that. She didn't go along with it anyway, which means she didn't go to cemeteries and didn't take drugs or anything....She also took part in the music videos we made. That's it. My older brother Martin took it all more seriously That was something different. He found the death metal musicians we interacted with and what they were doing particularly great. And then he also took some harder drugs. We knew five death metal musicians we met on the Internet that we were hanging out with. They were about our age A little bit older About 20 and 21 years old. Three of them were pretty normal, which means they were just dressed in black and sometimes drank a beer or smoked weed. There was nothing more. But two of them - they were Nick Knight and Gary Phillips, they were in a worse mood. They had also studied spiritualism. Demon stuff and so on.. I didn't want anything to do with that! Gary and Nick often went to cemeteries, for example to the cemetery in Old Sutherdale, and did a lot of stuff there. They then brought the books in black, CDs and amulets to our house. They took some of it back with them and left some of it behind at our house. Which was a mistake With the whole thing seemed strange at the time Ginny and the other three death metal musicians, who were more normal and didn't deal with spiritualism and so on, also started to find Gary and Nick more and more strange Even they said to themselves ": Do a little nonsense a few times, Having fun and making videos is okay - even in the cemetery - where the footpath was and no one was disturbed. But what Gary and Nick were doing, none of us were up for it anymore They overdid it! We all didn't want to have anything to do with all the spiritualism and other stuff that was starting to seem scary. It changed me. And others around me too. I felt an aura like that at times - it got cool, changed me at times....I can't describe it. We refrained from doing so. Then Father Wyatt Warren came to visit us in our apartment. Ginny and I ended up telling him about Nick and Gary and that they were into spiritualism. He warned us how dangerous that was! And so we decided to break off contact with Nick and Gary. They took back some of the books, amulets and CDs that they had left with us. They left some things with us, such as two amulets, a book and a CD. At some point we throw some of it in the trash. We burned the rest I hadn't dealt drugs. There was a friend of ours who had bought stuff like that for us two or three times - I was there once. That's it. Martin bought something every now and then - but without me. I didn't take part in it anymore. And neither does Ginny. Wit didn't want anything to do with it anymore. The fact that Martin continued was a problem for all of us. Maybe therapy would have helped - who knows? My father somehow didn't understand any of this. He couldn't go away with it anymore. His nerves were on edge during the corona crisis. That's been it since these things - the books, the amulets, the CDs, ... by Nick and Gary were lying around with us. That's how I noticed. Martin was more violent because he still had contact with Nick and Gary. He became - it seemed to me from his behavior - stranger Somehow different. Father also changed, became more aggressive At least for a while he was like that - until Father Warren helped my father and us there with prayers and so on...then things got better at times...My father had many problems during the corona crisis. Even with alcohol. And he lost his jobs as a photographer during the corona crisis. He expected an inheritance from his sick uncle Richard. He was very impatient. Because then he would have all his worries gone. Then he would have had nothing but worries about Martin.” “There’s something interesting. Keep talking", said Judge Fletcher. "And he didn't like it when his son Martin was hanging around like that. And how he often shouted at him. Because he was angry that he continued to associate with Nick and Gary, who were doing bad things. That wasn't normal in his eyes. Devil stuff But it wasn't just Martin who wasn't normal. Father also changed more and more and was no longer normal", said Tim. “Am I listening correctly? He wasn't normal anymore?" asked the judge. "My father used to be more normal. I mean before Nick and Gary showed up at our house during the 2020 corona crisis - but only briefly and secretly because of Corona - and brought some black books and amulets with them. Then he lost all orders during the corona crisis and became depressed. He didn't even care about us anymore, he started drinking, Martin and I then took drugs for a time. Also because we were frustrated. Just me a little bit, Martin more violently Then my dad and mom told us it wasn't okay to do drugs. I saw this and stopped taking drugs, just concentrating on my teaching. My sister Ginny hadn't taken any drugs anyway. That wasn't an issue for her. She also only had contact with the three death metal musicians, who were a little more normal. But it was only superficial. A little fun. But not to Nick and Gary.” "Get to the point, Mr. Walters Junior", demanded Judge Fletcher. "When father was home alone one day in the Corona year of 2021 and was in a bad mood, he picked up a book that Nick and Gary had left behind some time ago and read it out of curiosity. I was in the living room when he read this. Then he said that he suddenly felt something. He suddenly became nervous. Maybe he had something with his nerves or it was something psychological? I thought. Or something else? His eyes suddenly widened and something was wrong with him. At least that's how it seemed. Of course, none of us could say that clearly. We asked if he had another heart attack. It was strange", Tim reported. "And then?" asked Judge Fletcher. "It only took a few minutes. My mother, who had also observed this, also noticed that father was in a strange mood. That something had gotten into him. That he may have been ill Or was it a mental problem? You couldn't say that clearly. We then decided to burn or throw away the books, which had a negative influence on us and which had a negative energy. And we did. The CDs, amulets, books, chains...everything ended up in the fire in the back garden of the tenement or in the garbage can. We thought everything would be okay. But that was a mistake. At least as far as Martin and father were concerned. Father drank more and more, became angrier, more aggressive Often, an argument would break out with him over a minor matter. “THAT’S NONSENSE! THEY JUST ARGUED - NOT ME DAMN IT!. They want to blame me for everything that happened!" Gustav shouted. "Mr. Walters Senor. Please let your son finish!" shouted the judge. "And then there was the matter with Lucy. Father didn't get along with my mother Sally either The marriage was about to divorce. And that's when the Lucy Lambert thing happened. He met her in April 2020. They had a secret relationship that lasted about a year or a year and a half. My mother Sally found out by chance. And then there was a row and my mother wanted to break up with him. And she wanted to take us - the children - with her", said Tim. "I didn't even know that. So the case takes another turn", said Judge Fletcher in surprise. A murmur went through the courtroom. And the jury also spoke briefly in a whisper to each other The lawyer Earl Duncan turned to Gustav and whispered to him ": An affair? Why didn't you tell me all this? Now none of this looks good for you anymore", Mr. Duncan whispered to Gustav. “I didn’t know...” Gustav stammered. "Oh, you didn't know that? This influences the whole process. And I'm trying hard with you all the time. Damn!" hissed lawyer Duncan Gustav. "It was only very short", Gustav whispered. “A year or a year and a half is not short in this case. Damn it", said lawyer Earl Duncan. He was angry and disappointed. "Keep talking", Judge Fletcher told Tim. And then Tim continued talking. "It was very hard for me. For all of us. Father Gustav always said we should change. Let him change too", he said. "THAT'S A HUGE LIE! It wasn't like that", Gustav shouted. "Yes. That's how it was", Tim said. “The affair was brief.... and besides, Sally had started an affair earlier than I had. With a man. With some Gareth, a handyman I heard that.” Another murmur went through the courtroom. “That never happened! I didn't have an affair! HE had been having an affair!” Sally shouted through the courtroom.” "That's not true", Gustav shouted again. "All the photos I took secretly prove this", Sally shouted. "And I took photos too!" Gustav countered angrily. Whether what Gustav or Sally said about the photos was a bluff or an empty threat, no one but them knew. Everyone in the courtroom now knew that Gustav's relationship with Sally was brokenIt was pure monkey business in the court. A mix of drama, horror and black comedy. Then Gustav whispered to his lawyer Mr. Duncan": Sally! It is she who turns the children against me! Because I didn't do anything bad. Except that I had neglected my family a bit - because I had to work in my time of need.” “Quiet please! We can't get any further like this Now Tim keeps talking! "Judge Fletcher shouted. Then Tim keeps talking. "Then one evening father was in a really bad mood. He was sitting in his living room watching TV and there happened to be a CD of my death metal boys Nick and Gary on the living room table. We had already burned or thrown away all of their other things. We had only forgotten that one CD that was lying on the living room table - we didn't throw it away until later. Father put this CD in the CD player out of curiosity to listen. As the eerie music played, a shiver ran down our spines. And after almost a minute, father pressed Stop and decided to throw away the CD. Then Martin got a call from a guy like that. Because he had supposedly promised him that he would buy some of the stuff he had there. Packed in a bag. Of course, Martin spoke extra quietly so that no one could listen. But father suspected something after the phone call and then he and Martin had an argument. Then Martin left the apartment and went to the motorway bridge. And then father secretly followed him. And me too - because I thought something bad was going to happen. Which my father didn't know! I wanted to warn Martin. But it was too late. I instinctively took my phone out of my pocket and filmed the whole thing. Then father and Martin had a heated argument on the highway bridge. They fought shortly afterwards. And father wanted to take away the stuff he had just bought from a guy. Then he beat him violently several times. Then he fell against the railing Martin was still screaming ": Please, father, don't do it" But then father pushed him down. I still heard Martin's scream. I was able to record all of this on my cell phone despite the darkness. I was also able to zoom in. I had photos taken of the individual video scenes and submitted everything. They're in the court file", Tim said. “THAT’S A MEAN LIE! THAT’S A MEAN LIE!” Gustav shouted. Then he was silent For with this statement he knew: He had lost. He was going to lose the case. And that would mean his death sentence. "Why didn't you tell me everything? I was convinced of your innocence. But if you really did...then you deserve the death penalty too,” lawyer Duncan whispered to him. Then a murmur went through the courtroom. "Ugh", someone said. "He did it", shouted a woman's voice. "He should die", said someone else. "Please rest!" said the judge. "I'll question him now." But Gustav started crying. “I CAN’T REMEMBER! I don't remember doing that! It wasn't me!" he shouted, crying. "You had had an affair too. Whenever you came home, you smelled like perfume", Tim said. Then Tim's slanderous, hard-hearted nature emerges again, thought Gustav. "But your mother had also had an affair. I know that for sure. That turned out later. You'll find out at some point!" said Gustav. "That's a lie!" Sally shouted. This is partly a terrible gang. Depraved, corrupt and lying. Everyone as they are there. Cold-hearted, slanderous, arrogant, haughty, lying, materializing, unfaithful to one's partner. All depraved and corrupted. My children too It must be partly because of Corona and the devil and his demons that everyone here is so terrible. Unfortunately, before it happened to Martin, I had developed disadvantageously at times - and it wasn't until I was in prison that I was able to change a little for the better, thought Gustav. “You’re all against me. I'm supposed to die because you want the money I inherited after Uncle Richard's death a month after Martin's death. That's how it is! Sally incites the children against me! The whole family is against me! They hadn't visited me in prison once! This is not all excellent and fair, but from the devil. I know because I studied the Bible a bit in prison with a preacher. I've changed for the better. I don’t want anything to do with my family anymore when they’re that mean.” "I just want to say something. You eliminated Martin because you wanted to be free. You didn't get along with my mother, you were on the verge of divorce. You haven't even had sex together yet. But you had your friend Lucy - who had also recently left you. You wanted to live with her and leave your family. And with your uncle Richard's money you wanted to make a new start with her!" Tim shouted to his father. "That's not true!" Gustav shouted. "You had all this planned. Secretly!” “you have flaws too! Not just me! It was the devil that drove me crazy! Devil is to blame!" shouted Gustav. "That's too late now", his lawyer Duncan said to him. "There was all the pressure in the corona crisis. I hadn't had any more orders....I was in danger of going broke and Sally wanted to break up with me too. And then Martin had changed...He then dealt with Nick and Gary, took drugs, there were these books, CDs and amulets that influenced us! All of that was too much for me. The fact that Martin had threatened us - me and my family - was also too much for me. He had even stolen my wife's rings. Should this continue? I had to protect my family! I had always tried to talk to him and it always had no effect. Then there was a real argument between us on the motorway bridge. Something then hit me - that's what they say in the old saying. I freaked out! And that's where it happened. It was over all of a sudden... It was an accident. It wasn’t intentional.” A tear ran down his cheek. "There we have it", said Ginny. "He wanted to be free for the new woman", Tim interjected. “IT WAS THE DEVIL! HE'S TO BLAME! He destroyed me and stole my family. Only Pastor Wyatt Warren came three weeks later, he prayed with me, I became a different, more normal person, the evil was gone. But it was too late. I was then convicted! I was supposed to say that earlier...but I couldn’t think of it! All of these experiences and the shock with Martin had partly caused me amnesia. I couldn't remember a lot of things. Only now can I remember!" explained Gustav. “That’s enough. We, the jury, and I are withdrawing for deliberation.” Mr Duncan spoke to Gustav. “I’m sorry. But the matter has come to an end. After what happened now and everything came out, there's nothing I can do for you anymore. May God have mercy on you "he said The jury deliberated for about five minutes. Then the judge and jury sat down in their seats. Then Judge Fletcher announced the verdict": I hereby announce the verdict. You are guilty of treacherous murder. We know you had an affair. They wanted to be free for this relationship. Uncle Richard's inheritance was just right. And Martin had been bugging you for a long time with his drug addiction, outbursts of anger... and all the problems he had caused. It looks like they wanted to get rid of him - maybe to protect the rest of the family. Anyway After an argument and a fight, they pushed him - when he was defenseless in a moment - off the highway bridge. Two witnesses saw that", said the judge. "THAT'S NOT TRUE! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!” Gustav shouted. "It's not negligent homicide or anything like that. It was a cold-blooded murder. They had an outburst of anger for a trivial reason - which would be a base motive and therefore there is already a murder feature. They wanted to get rid of him. They acted with intent", interjected Ginny's lawyer, Ms. Doyle. "According to mens rea, this is still common law specific intent. Malice. Knowingly. He is extremely guilty and deserves the highest punishment", said Tim's lawyer, Dr. Reed. "In my opinion, this is general intent. Malice. Knowingly. Purposely! He is a first degree premeditated murderer", said Ms. Doyle. "That's not true! I am innocent! It was an accident!" Gustav shouted. "Several pieces of the puzzle come together, which when put together form a picture. I now pass judgment. You are charged with premeditated murder. And are sentenced to death by lethal injection. The verdict is final", Judge Fletcher said. His voice thundered through the courtroom, making Gustav shudder. Gustav was horrified and shocked by what he considered to be a legally flawed and amateurish court hearing. And about the unjust judgment. Where am I here? Why is there the death penalty here? Why hasn't the death penalty been abolished long ago? In Germany and France, for example, there is no death penalty. So I'm here somewhere in the Middle Ages? Or am I in London in the 18th or 19th century? he thoughtIt didn't seem real to him at all and it seemed to him that he was completely losing his mind. “i didn’t mean to. SATAN IS TO BLAME! He ruined me and stole my family! I didn't KILL MARTIN. I'M INNOCENT!" Gustav shouted. Then he became quieter and said ": I'm giving up. Then I'll just die. I had really neglected my family a bit during the corona crisis and I'm sorry...and then I just have to die", he said at the end. Several tears streamed down his cheeks. Then several police officers came up to him, handcuffed him and led him outside the courthouse. And then they went with him - past the sensationalist people and reporters to the white van and invited him there. Again they drove him in handcuffs and closely guarded to the prison building in the New Blackcastle neighborhood of Montgomery. When the white van stopped in front of the prison building, several men took him out of there again and took him to the prison building in handcuffs. Shortly afterwards they took him back to his cell, where he had been before. And locked the door. "I don't want to die. It's the devil's fault", Gustav shouted. But no one seemed to notice his screaming. Not even the prison guard, Mr. Travis. Gustav stayed there - full of fear and exhausted for several hours. In the meantime he had resigned and given up all hope of avoiding the execution of the death penalty - his fate. He even refused to eat - the last meal he was brought. After about five hours - during which Gustav had often screamed and cried and was on the verge of suicide - the prison warden Mr. Wilson, the doctor Dr. Stone, the prison guard Mr. Travis and several men came to Gustav's cell. They stopped in front of the prison cell. "Gustav Walters. We came to get you", said Mr. Wilson. "The time has come", said Mr. Travis. “may God have mercy on you.” “Yes. I'm ready. I'm getting the just punishment now. I didn't take good care of my family and now Martin is dead!" Gustav shouted. Then he unlocked the cell door for Mr. Travis. And then several men went into the cell, grabbed him and led him out of the cell. Gustav did not resist anymore He had resigned. He was as good as dead already. The men walked down the hallway with Gustav, who had little strength left. Shortly afterwards they walked along several more corridors. Then they led him into a room where there was a stretcher. And next to it were some medical devices that were unknown to Gustav. When he looked closer, he saw the cannulas, the syringes, the container with the poison, the cables. Just all kinds of devices.... And he saw the bier. Left and right were pads for the outstretched arms. And at the end of the cushions were the straps and handcuffs to which his arms were to be strapped. And there were shackles at the foot too. "Please extend your arms sideways like two wings. And lie down on the stretcher like that. The two arms on the pads left and right", said Dr. Stone. Gustav obeyed and put his arms out to the sides like wings. Then he lay down on the bier like a bird with his arms outstretched. He had his legs straight out and his arms on his left and right were placed on the cushion. Then two men strapped his arms left and right. And also his legs. Gustav was then given a sedative. A little later, puncture sites on the arms on the left and right were anesthetized, then the vessels were punctured. And then Dr. Stone quickly put the two catheters in his arms - left and right. "Does it hurt a lot?" Gustav asked exhausted last time. “if you don’t resist - no.” He saw that through a pane of glass that several people were there watching him lie on the stretcher and the men around him preparing his execution. There was a lot of audience there. People unknown to Gustav. And there was his family. You'll watch me get executed, he thought However, he stopped looking at his family. He had finished with her. It's over anyway, he thought. Then he saw the preacher Bateman standing there. "Preacher. Can you pray for me?" asked Gustav. “Yes. I will pray for you", Bateman said. Then Bateman prayed for Gustav, saying, “May God have mercy on you.” Then the doctor Dr. Stone prepared the lethal injection Shortly afterwards, the poison flowed from Gustav's veins. And everything blurred before him.... Then Gustav suddenly heard a voice. "Gustav. Gustav. Are you awake?” "Who's there?" he thought, exhausted. “you are here.” Then Gustav slowly opened his eyes and looked into a friendly face. It was the face of the preacher Henry Bateman. At that moment, he didn't know where he was And why Bateman was there all of a sudden He felt like he was in a strange environment. And yet some things seemed familiar He looked to the right and saw a nightstand with a glass of water, tablets, a plate of fruit on it. Then he saw the catheter in his right arm that they had placed. Then he looked to the left and saw an empty hospital bed. Yeah, now he knew where he was He was in the hospital! And he now remembered it more closely: He was suffering from cancer. And he was here at Old Sutherdale hospital for lymph gland and stomach cancer. The doctors only gave him a few more months of life. And the preacher was his friend Henry Bateman, whom he had known for a long time and with whom he had studied the Bible. And which he had also dreamed of and studied the Bible with him in his dream in prison. And since he would die soon and his life shortly before death increasingly resembled life in a prison death cell, he also knew why he had dreamed of the prison cell. That had to do with his life. Yes, he was like he was on death row. At least that's how he felt. He then remembered his dream more closely and compared it to his real life situation: the whole court case was just a dream. Nothing was real. He also didn't kill his son Martin, he wasn't convicted by a court, there was no prison in his life, there was no Heiner, no doctor Dr. Stone, no prison guard Travis, no prison warden Mr. Wilson and no judge Fletcher and no jury. Everything wasn't real. Reality was only or what was parallel to his dream: that he had really lost his 21-year-old son Martin in the corona crisis: from a drug overdose. He was found dead behind a park bench near the cemetery in Old Sutherdale on 18.4.2020. And he couldn't get over that. Added to this is his cancer: lymph glands and stomach cancer. It was also a reality that the relationship with his daughter Ginny was very difficult. What was real was that his 19-year-old son Tim really got involved with some punks at times during the corona crisis, took some light drugs at times (fortunately he had stopped doing that now) and that he once brought home a punk named Geoffrey Barker, who had dealt with spiritualism and then left a strange book at their house. Because the book seemed strange to him and his family and the punk who owned the book he had left lying around strangely didn't come forward and pick up the book, they threw it away sometime in November 2020. Pastor Wyatt Warren of the Free Church advised us to do this when we told him about the book. Actually everything was there. Because otherwise we stayed away from spiritualism. And when Martin died, Gustav felt responsible for his death and felt intense guilt. If I had cared more about him, it wouldn't have happened, he often told himself. The whole thing was a shock! In the end the whole family was destroyed! Then the preacher Henry Bateman said to Gustav ": You had a bad dream? Do you know where you are?" “Yes. In the hospital", Gustav replied. "You moaned like you were in pain. You must have had very bad dreams", said Bateman. “Yes. It was a horrible dream. I dreamed that I was in the courtroom - my whole family accused me, I was accused of insidiously pushing my son Martin off the motorway bridge. I would never do something like that! I was executed by lethal injection at the end of the dream.” "Luckily, this is all just a dream", Bateman said. “But...why do I have the dream? Maybe it has to have a meaning", replied Gustav. "You feel guilty about your son Martin. Sure ....You could have done more for him. While Tim was still getting things together and no longer taking drugs, Martin, the family's problem child, was no longer able to get off drugs", said Bateman. “Unfortunately, no.” "What's your relationship with Sally, with your son Tim and with your daughter Ginny?" asked Bateman. “Still difficult. None of them had visited me here in the hospital after my cancer operation", said Gustav. "That's a shame", Bateman replied. “That’s often the case these days. Away with the old. Away with the sick. Anything that is uncomfortable or different has to go", explained Gustav. "Why is it that the children don't visit you?" Bateman asked. “I used to take care of my kids all the time...but then came the coronavirus crisis in spring 2020. I lost all my jobs as a photographer during the lockdown in mid-March 2020 and I had to work a lot - for example, looking for new jobs to make ends meet financially! Then I didn't have much time for my children anymore. And then Martin had a drug problem. He then met the wrong people. Even in lockdown. And then one day we found Martin dead in the park behind a park bench in Old Sutherdale. On April 18, 2020. That was a shock! I blamed myself for the death of my son, Martin.” "But remember - you didn't kill him like in a dream. It's the guilt that torments you. You did your best! Even though you are sick. Nobody asks for more. Or shouldn't you ask. The fact that your wife Sally left you at the end of 2020 and took the children with her is bad. Also that she doesn’t come to visit you anymore.” “I think....Corona and Satan stole my family. I firmly believe in it", said Gustav. "Be sober and watch; for your adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he devours. This is what it says in 1 Peter, 5:8", said Bateman. "Bad times", said Gustav. "Do you think your family will come to visit you soon?" Bateman asked. “Yes...when it comes to money and inheritance. They will come to visit me. But they come not because of me, but because of inheritance. You probably want to know what the will is like.” "And do you want to pass something on to your children Ginny and Tim? And maybe your ex-wife Sally too?" asked Bateman. Gustav thought for a moment before answering. "My paternal uncle Richard, who was childless, unfortunately died in mid-2021. Because I got along so well with him, he named me as the sole heir. I had inherited the house and shares. If sold, the house is worth at least 600,000 or 700,000 euros, the shares are worth around 70,000 euros. My children, who are now teenagers, should both inherit equally.” "And you do that even though your children don't visit you?" Bateman asked in amazement. “Yes. I say to myself: I did my best. And maybe they will be nicer to me in the future and visit me more", said Gustav. “I hope so. If you pass something on to your children...Then next time the devil will use money as a means to destroy the family. The devil uses a lot of traps", Bateman said. “I hope not. I hope that my children will be nicer to me in the future", replied Gustav. "Unfortunately I have to go. I still have an appointment. I'll come back in a few days", Bateman said. “then see you next time.” Then Bateman left. Gustav was alone in his room for several hours, staring at the ceiling and thinking. Then suddenly Tim came into his room He had a bouquet of flowers in his hand. "Hello father. How are you?" he said. "I'm doing according to my circumstances. I'm seriously ill and don't have long to live. It can end at any moment. Because cancer is an insidious disease", explained Gustav. “Don’t say it, Father. don’t say it. You'll get well again", Tim said. He wiped his eyes. To Gustav it looked as if he had wiped a tear from his eye. It was probably just a show. He saw that Tim still had his bouquet of flowers (which were probably cheap flowers from the supermarket) in his hand. "There's a vase on my bedside table. You can put the flowers in there", said Gustav. "Okay", he said. Then he went to the nightstand with the bouquet of flowers and put it in the vase. "You can find 20 euros in the bedside table. You can have those.” "Thank you very much!" Tim replied. Then he opened the drawer and took the 20 euros that were lying there. Then Tim began his expressions of remorse. “sorry I didn’t visit you once.” “It’s okay, boy. Not so bad. You all have work to do. You also want to have a little fun. At your age you also have women on your mind. I used to be young too, you know ... I know what I'm talking about", said Gustav. “Yes, father.” Gustav noticed that Tim seemed depressed. "What's wrong, my boy?" Gustav asked. "I met such a young woman there. I had also kissed ....well, a bit. And then I asked her if she wanted to go with me. That was on the cathedral when she had just bought sweets. She didn't respond to my serious question at all. She just sucked her lolly and just looked at me strangely. And then she told me that although she thought I was nice, it was somehow too immature that she didn't want to commit herself tightly, she wanted to gain experience first and not commit straight away. Especially not someone like me", she said. “Yes. Then she's not the right one. Maybe someone in the Free Church is a great woman for you. I've been visiting the Free Church regularly for half a year... I used to not be such a churchgoer.” "I know what you're getting at. You think I’d better find another one.” “Exactly. But someone who wants to have several men at once is unlikely to be sad.” "FATHER, WHO SAID SHE WOULD HAVE DIFFERENT MEN?" Tim shouted angrily. "But you can hear that", said his father Gustav. "You think she's too spoiled", said Tim. "I didn't say that", Gustav replied. "But hinted at ""I think that when it comes to the topic of relationships, you are completely disoriented and don't know where left and right are. You can't just go by your heart and inner urge. You also have to go after your head. That's how it is in love and partnership - marriage. You need principles...” “father, we’re changing the subject.” “yes.” Then they were silent for a while. Then Father said": It's good that you're here. Because I will die soon. And I have now made my will. Even before I got to the hospital That's up to the notary", Gustav said. “Don’t say that. You will get well again", replied Tim. "Unfortunately my daughter didn't come. But that's so common these days. In this world the elderly are no longer visited. This is often the case. Everyone only thinks about money. Or about selfish pleasure", explained Gustav. "She probably thinks of you often after all." "She doesn't. But whatever. She needs to know what she's doing. I did my duty. I deposited a will with the notary. As you know, I inherited his house from my Uncle Richard with a size of almost 1000 square meters of land. The house and its land are worth around 600,000 or 700,000 euros. There are also shares worth around 70,000 euros. I have decided - although my relationship with you was not always easy - to appoint you as heirs. Everyone will inherit half of my entire fortune. I just wanted to share that", said his father Gustav. "Thank you, father, for thinking of me", Tim replied. "I should have been a better father to you and Ginny. But what the heck. Let's change the subject....I'd had a bad dream...” "What dream?" "I had dreamed that you would accuse me, sentence me to death and end up executing me. Also because in the dream I was responsible for Martin’s death.” His father Gustav briefly told him what he had dreamed and what he could still remember. "This is a terrible dream", Tim said. “Yes. That's right. I didn't kill Martin like I dreamed, though... But I should have taken more care of him. I should have cared for you more.” "Father, you don't have to feel guilty", Tim said. “Don’t talk any further...I should have cared about you guys more...but I want to make this up to you. You both get my fortune. In equal parts. And I hope you'll be happy with it", said father Gustav. "Was I such a bad father?" "Father, you were a good father", Tim replied. "And you're a good son", said father Gustav quickly. Although that didn't correspond to reality. Tim then hugged his father Father had tears in his eyes. They talked for a while longer. After about half an hour he left the hospital and left the hospital. On 5.6.2022 Gustav Walters died suddenly of cancer. Bateman did not learn of this until a day later Gustav had named his two children, Ginny and Tim, as sole heirs in his will. They were to inherit his fortune in equal shares. About five days later, on Friday 10.6.2022 at 10am, Gustav Walter's funeral took place in Chapel 3 of the cemetery in Old Sutherdale. Only a few people were there. His son Tim, his daughter Ginny, an aunt from Oklahoma with whom Gustav had little contact. A middle-aged cousin and cousin from Phoenix, Arizona, with whom Gustav didn't have much contact either. And Henry Bateman himself. Two friends. And some, other people who were unknown to Bateman. When the flower-decorated coffin was on stage, Father "Father" Michael Smith gave a speech to the small audience. Afterwards, four pallbearers came onto the stage and carried the coffin containing Gustav's body out of the chapel to the place where Gustav's grave had been dug and where the coffin would be lowered with ropes. The mourning community followed the coffin and the pallbearers. Then they arrived at the place where the grave had been dug, then the Father gave a speech and prayed for Gustav and for the mourning congregation. Then the coffin was lowered into the pit with ropes. "Did you know Gustav well?" Bateman asked a mourner. “i’m the cousin. But I didn't know Gustav very well", he said. "That's a shame", said Bateman. "I don't even know his children. I last saw her ten years ago. They look good.” "Do you have children of your own?" Bateman asked. “no. That didn't happen to me. I had always worked a lot as a real estate agent. And unfortunately I hadn't found the right woman in the last 30 years. And now I'm 50 years old and feel too old for that", said the cousin. "But there aren't many people at the funeral", Bateman said. “Yes. Too bad.” “Well. Often the whole family only comes together at the funeral. Otherwise, you don't have much contact with each other And nothing to say either. Or the family is divided over inheritance. And now Gustav is underground. And then the family comes and fights over the money. That’s how it usually is.” “That’s right.” The preacher Bateman was right. After the funeral, the disputes between Tim and Ginny and their mother Sally over Gustav's inheritance began. At first, Sally got a shock from being disinherited, with the result that her children were no longer in contact due to inheritance disputes. It didn't take long for her to become depressed and commit suicide. Then most of the money was lost in legal fees. Tim later speculated in stocks and lost almost all of his assets. He also started taking drugs again. And at some point he collapsed on the dance floor in the club and went to the madhouse. Ginny bought a sports car. When she went on a city tour with him in Montgomery, the friend behind the wheel was driving too fast and had a serious accident. He died instantly. And she was seriously injured and had been confined to a wheelchair ever since. All the money she had was soon spent. Afterwards she stayed alone in a wheelchair in her small apartment. Yes, the devil not only stole Gustav's family, but also completely destroyed it. What had happened to Gustav, his wife and his children, he (Gustav) would certainly not have wanted - if he were still alive - thought the preacher Bateman. That's how it can be if you're too attached to money. The devil also exploits such human weaknesses. THE END
• 
  2023-05-16

  Vigilantism in Pandemic Japan

  It is about the excessive vigilantism that Japan experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some people became the target of harsh criticism for failing to abide by governmental regulations, and I can remember that I felt a sense of experiencing the negative aspect of society seeing such harsh vigilantism against others. It is important to me because I can unconsciously become part of such vigilantism and should be aware of why I should not relentlessly accuse others of their actions.
• 
  2023-05-15

  Pandemics and Human Tendency

  Human beings have experienced pandemic throughout the history. However, the there are always conflicts, violence, and division occur. In order not to repeat the history, it is important to learn from the past and apply to our everyday lives.
• 
  2023-05-15

  What we need to learn from Covid

  This is based off of what I have seen and heard throughout the pandemic. I have decided to post this because we need more awareness of the issues in education.
• 
  12/07/2021

  Heather Perrault Oral History, 2021/12/07

  Heather Perrault is an Eau Claire, WI resident and currently works for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections as a parole officer. In this interview, Heather talks about her experience with COVID and how it affected her life as a stay-at-home mom/ pseudo-teacher for her kids as well as her job that she rejoined about halfway through COVID. She also talks about how COVID has affected her family and friends in terms of their physical and mental health and how the people she oversees as a parole officer may be affected by COVID as well. Heather also gives future generations advice on how she thinks they should look at information about the pandemic in the future.
• 
  06/06/2022

  Francisco Guzman Solano Oral History, 2022/06/06

  En esta entrevista Francisco Guzman Solano es entrevistada por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Empiezan con los cambios que había pasado desde el ano anterior. Francisco habla de su familia y vida social. Hablan del uso de las máscaras, vacunas y la información falsa. De allí, hablan de la economía y la inflación, del gobierno y las elecciones. Hablan del crimen y las drogas. Para terminar, hablan de las fuentes principales de noticias y el futuro.
• 
  05/31/2021

  Silvia Muñoz Mata Oral History, 2021/05/31

  En esta entrevista Silvia Muñoz Mata es entrevistada por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Empiezan hablando de los cambios que habían ocurrido desde el ano anterior. Hablan del trabajo y el trabajo virtual. De la violencia domestica y otros problemas que existen en la sociedad. De allí hablan del crimen, violencia y las divisiones económicas que existen alrededor de ella. Hablan de las vacunas, gente conocida que no se quiere vacunarse y las teorías conspiratorias que existen sobre las vacunas. De allí hablan del gobierno, familia y salud física y mental. Para terminar hablan de narcotraficantes y del futuro.
• 
  06/10/2021

  Francisco Guzman Solano Oral History, 2021/06/21

  En esta entrevista Francisco Guzman Solano es entrevistado por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Empiezan hablar de los cambios que Francisco ha visto desde el ano anterior. Hablan de la economía y el gobierno, de su trabajo y la vacuna. También hablan del aumento del crimen, de las drogas, y de las noticias falsas. De la Caja y el ministro de Salud. Francisco también habla de su familia y su hogar, de las fuentes principales de información y la sociedad. Terminan hablando de las clases virtuales de su hija, de la educación y del Ministerio de Educación.
• 
  05/13/2020

  Christopher May Oral History, 2020/05/13

  En esta entrevista Christopher May es entrevistado por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Christopher es jefe de policía, tiene 42 años y vive en Heredia. Habla del momento que escucho del virus del covid por primera vez y como ha cambiado su vida desde ese momento. Habla de su trabajo como policía y los cambios que enfrentaron, del uso de la mascarilla y de la transición al trabajo remoto. Christopher también habla del crimen y la violencia doméstica. También habla de su hogar y dinamica familiar. De cómo era un día normal para ellos y como había cambiado por la pandemia. Habla se sus padres y suegros y como les ha afectado la pandemia. Habla de la salud mental de su familia y de sentirse aislado. Habla de la economía, el turismo y el gobierno. Para terminar, habla del capitalismo, las noticias, y el desempleo.
• 
  05/09/2021

  Josh Miller Oral History, 2021/05/07

  Josh Miller is from Eau Claire, Wisconsin and he is a police officer. We discuss how Covid 19 has impacted his work, family, and community and how he feels about the pandemic.
• 
  04/22/2021

  Gary Luloff Oral History, 2021/04/29

• 
  2021-06-11

  My trip back To India

  I study in Chicago. I am originally from India, so when the second wave of covid hit India I was still in school. Fearing my family's safety I decided to go back to India. Over the summer I spent most of my time inside trying to find oxygen sources for people in need. At one point my phone was filled with numbers of oxygen suppliers many of them turned out to be a scam artists. I still cannot believe how at a time when it seemed like everyone was dying from Covid people somehow still found ways to make money illegally.
• 
  03/29/2021

  Jim Robinson Oral History, 2021/03/29

• 
  04/30/2021

  Daniel Monson Oral History, 2021/04/30

  The contributor of this item did not include verbal or written consent. We attempted to contact contributor (or interviewee if possible) to get consent, but got no response or had incomplete contact information. We can not allow this interview to be listened to without consent but felt the metadata is important. The recording and transcript are retained by the archive and not public. Should you wish to listen to audio file reach out to the archive and we will attempt to get consent.
• 
  2021-09-21

  HIST30060 Footage of smoke on the Westgate Bridge during anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne

  This video was taken on 21 September 2021, capturing the view of the Westgate Bridge from Williamstown, Melbourne, as anti-lockdown protestors fill several lanes and disrupt traffic. The footage shows smoke coming from the bridge and all traffic brought to a standstill. There were also helicopters hovering and police car lights joining the scene later on. I was on a walk with a friend along the Esplanade at the time this footage was taken. It felt quite scary to be seeing aggressive, violent attitudes manifest so close to home. We knew what was going because of news updates coming through our phones. After the initial shock and fear at witnessing this happening on a few kilometres away, my friend and I walked the rest of the way in silence, too appalled by the behaviour to do more than shake our heads in dismay.
• 2020-01-01

  The real pandemic

  during the covid 19 pandemic everybody was panicking and worrying about getting a vaccine. i just moved here from another state and i left my mom and brother back home. they lived in a bad neighborhood so during the pandemic they was not only afraid of the covid pandemic but the violent pandemic that plagued the streets where they lived. during the pandemic i lost both my mom and brother to gun violence.
• 
  2021-08-14

  One person stabbed as COVID anti-vaxxers and counterdemonstrators clash in front of L.A. City Hall

  The title of this article quickly caught my attention and then I immediately felt saddened by the reality that this pandemic has been politicized from the beginning. People have become so passionate that they have lost all reason. There are always two sides to every story but I find it so hard to understand who oppose vaccinations and reject science. Its not at all surprising that the anti-vax side of this particular story showed up in MAGA hats, its further proof of the political foundation of their argument to "fight for their rights". I understand that people want the right to decide, but then those same people refuse to get tested regularly. This issue has been a messy and passionate one from the beginning and its really hard not to blame Donald Trump for the misinformation that is still being used by the anti-vax community.
• 
  2021-03-10

  Pandemic downturn leads to animal abuse crisis in Kazakhstan

  Kazakhstan is facing a multitude of problems, including a weak currency, dependence on fluctuating oil prices, a closed political system and dire human rights. Amid all of this, the fate of its abused pets may seem trivial. However, passionate activists are rising up to take a stand for animal rights. As the Central Asian state’s socio-economic conditions have worsened over the past year due to the pandemic, more pet owners have been abandoning their animals or committing violence against them. And just as animal shelters are more needed than ever, they’re grappling with an influx of animals, a lack of funding and a legislative vacuum on animal rights.
• 
  2021-02-01

  Why is Arizona worst for COVID-19 nationwide? Here are 7 contributing reasons

  This article discusses why Arizona's Covid rate was the highest in the country as of February 1, 2021. Contributing factors included a lack of mask-wearing and cross-border traffic.
• 
  2021-07-22

  Hospital staff charging $21,000 for an ICU Hospital Bed

  Hospital beds and medical supplies face enormous pressure with the ongoing pandemic. This article indicates that hospital staff were charging over $21,000 for an ICU hospital bed, a scheme that was broken up by the Peruvian police. If one hospital has been caught, how rampant could this practice be? Also, how can the average Peruvian afford such astronomical prices? The fees and the fact that people paid them show the disparity in healthcare access between Peruvians of means and those without.
• 
  2021-07-14

  California woman first to face federal charges over fake COVID immunizations, vaccination cards

  A homeopathic doctor in California became the first person in the United States to face federal charges over fake COVID-19 immunizations and falsified coronavirus vaccine cards. Juli A. Mazi, 41, of Napa was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of false statements related to health care matters, the Department of Justice said in a press release. "This defendant allegedly defrauded and endangered the public by preying on fears and spreading misinformation about FDA-authorized vaccinations, while also peddling fake treatments that put people’s lives at risk. Even worse, the defendant allegedly created counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards and instructed her customers to falsely mark that they had received a vaccine, allowing them to circumvent efforts to contain the spread of the disease," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco.
• 
  2021-06-23

  HERMIT HERALD, ISSUE 118

  Portland promotion
• 
  2021-06-01

  hermit HERALD, ISSUE 116

  Ransomware made easy
• 
  2021-04-23

  hermit HERALD, ISSUE 111

  Chauvin appeal
• 
  2021-04-24

  Racist attack in Edmonton

  On April 16th 2020, a 14 year old 8th grade student named Pazo was brutally attacked by seven white students. This attack was entirely racially motivated, they screamed slurs at him, beat him mercilessly, taunted him. They dragged him, choked him, and recorded their actions which they posted on social media. They attacked Pazo because of the colour of his skin, Pazo has stated after the attack that this assault has "made me afraid to wear my own skin." This is more than unacceptable, this is disgusting. As the post stated, these 'kids' gave Pazo a concussion, memory loss and a blood clot in his chest; he could of easily have been killed. What's worse, is there was no action taken by the school, which called this brutal hate crime a "altercation" by the school board. Ontop of this, the post states that the Edmonton Police also refused to investigate this assault, turning away the boy's family twice. This assault would of likely been swept under the rug if it were not for the pushback of the community, and the outrage generated by the presence of the video online. With the growing pressure from the public, the Edmonton police service are being demanded to investigate this assault, which again is only made possible through the pressure of the people. Furthermore, the lack of action and attempts to nullify the significance of this assault by the principal and the school board has resulted in students and teachers pushing for the forced resignation of those accountable, such as the principal and superintendent. Other social media platforms have stated that this is not the first time the principal of the school has played down similar incidents; which has left students feeling vulnerable. This cannot continue, these students must be held accountable - Albertans need to understand that white supremacism is a very real problem, and it is not going anywhere by ignoring it. As we have seen throughout the pandemic, events such as this are a rarity - we only know of the severity of the attack and the response of our education institutions because this attack was recorded and circulated online.
• 
  2021-04-23

  My Chaotic Covid

  For me, the pandemic has been the exhaustingly consistent cherry on top of everything that’s gone sideways in my life over the past year. Now, this isn’t meant to be a pessimistic rant about the past 12 months, but just a sequence of events that kept things spiraling out of control while I tried my best to stay on top of the chaos and maintain an energetic passion for life and hope for the future. These traits used to come super naturally, as I had been following my ten year plan pretty successfully as of last March, until the rest of the year, which I thought to be set in stone, was pulled out from under my feet. I was having the time of my life in Rocky Point over spring break when Covid started hitting the fan. ASU announced a ‘temporary’ switch to online classes while I was on the road coming back home, and I drove straight into midst of a sudden global pandemic. Luckily, I had gotten out of Mexico in time before the borders were closed down. I was working at Harkins Theaters at the time, and my last shift was one with a whole bunch of disposable gloves and excessive new sanitization rules in concessions. I left that night not realizing that that would be my last shift there. I was at least planning on being there for another few months, before I would start a summer job I was recently contracted for. I was going to go on tour as a videographer with the Cavaliers drum and bugle corps, filming professional marching band videos and cutting together rad highlight reels all while traveling the country and getting paid for it. That was canceled soon after I was furloughed from Harkins. I went back home to visit my dad and brother in the midst of it all, but I don’t think my brother was ready for that kind of personal contact. He wound up giving me a black eye after I ended up getting too close to him and intentions were misconstrued. Shortly after, while already recovering from a destroyed face, I came down with a long, rough sickness that was aligned with the known symptoms and assumed by everyone to be Coronavirus. Unfortunately Covid tests were far from accessible at that point, and I was never able to confirm if that was the case. Trying to get away from the bleak outlook of everything, I took a few of my friends up to my grandparent’s empty house in Sedona. My roommate proceeded to secretly bring alcohol, drank too much and fall off a ladder, leaving a large-man-sized hole in the wall of my grandparents’ expensive house. While staying in Sedona the following week on one of my trips to head up and fix the wall, I got a call from my dad that my mom had passed away. She had been suffering for the past twelve years from a stroke and aneurism she had when I was eight, and on April 6th she finally let go. So that was a lot of emotion to throw on top of everything. After spreading my mom’s ashes with my dad and brother, I came back to find a baby monitor camera had been hidden on a shelf in my bedroom. I didn’t know who put this camera there, hidden in a sock, but it had been filming my girlfriend and I for the past three days and had gotten some pretty personal stuff on camera. It wasn’t hard to put together that that was the whole point of the monitor. My roommate felt violated as well, as he said he thought it was one of his friends who had put it there, and was on board with the whole police investigation we launched after the fact. I trusted my roommate, and while he had gone through a bit of an alcoholic phase the month before, I thought he was doing better. He had been one of my best friends for over five years at this point, and I didn’t want the worst case to be possible. But a few weeks later, my girlfriend’s phone mysteriously went missing in my apartment for a night. The next day she found a monitoring app downloaded onto it. My roommate had taken her phone, copied off all of all her private, ‘personal’ images of herself, and installed a program to track her and check in on her camera and microphone without her knowledge. Luckily we found this evidence soon enough, but it wasn’t an enjoyable experience kicking my best friend out of our apartment. The police found evidence that he put up the camera soon after and he was arrested. Two counts of voyeurism, one count of lying to the police, and everything he had taken off my girlfriend’s phone. I haven’t talked to him since last May, I can’t legally, it’s currently April of ’21 and his trial has yet to reach sentencing. After all that had happened, Summer was not what I had initially thought it would be. But it wasn’t all that bad. People started wearing masks, I got a temporary job making dough at Little Caesars, I was able to hang with my actual friends and the worst of it looked to be over. And while that much was true, the pandemic itself was far from over and slowly the months of lost experiences and thoughts of unfulfillment and wasted potential began to sit in. I got a different apartment in August, but it was an older and more run-down first floor unit with unexplainably loud upstairs neighbors. I’ve spent the entire lease of that unit trapped inside and longing for a normal college experience. These were supposed to be the craziest years of my life, and I felt like I had missed out on countless memories. I was working as a video editor from home on top of online school, and the days blended together into hopeless rituals of helpless procrastination. The motivation to thrive while held up in the new apartment was hard to find. But I still made it. I didn’t give up on pushing forwards. I’d put things off and the passing of time ultimately became an illusion, but I kept making sure I stayed productive. I edited together a vlog series through the beginnings of the pandemic, worked on other personal projects, and was able to get a pretty sweet internship doing remote editing work for a television studio in LA that I ordinarily wouldn’t have been eligible for as in person work. I made it through the 2020-2021 school year, my junior year, with good grades and came out on the other side more hopeful than ever. I got fully vaccinated a few weeks ago, I’m beginning to live again, and the bright outlook of a fresh start in a soon to be newly reintegrated world gives me an unparalleled excitement. I am looking insanely forward to all the new people I’ll meet, memories I’ll make, and experience I’ll gain through my senior year being back in person. Everything’s coming back together, and as long as everyone can make an effort to get vaccinated and keep each other safe, calm, and hopeful, I’m more than prepared to cram 13 months of missed experiences into the best, jam-packed, fulfilling, productive and exciting year of my life. …Yet.
• 
  2021

  Policing Isn't Broken — It Was Designed This Way

  Our policing institutions were designed to exert control over Black people. We need to limit the role, responsibilities, power, and funding of police so interactions that lead to the death of Black people don't happen in the first place.
• 
  2021-04-21

  Derek Chauvin guilty in death of George Floyd

  The jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of all three charges in the murder of George Floyd. Crowds outside the Minneapolis courtroom and at the location where Floyd was killed chanted "justice" and "Black lives matter" after hearing the verdict.
• 
  2021-04-15

  Daunte Wright's mom says she 'wants 100% accountability' in wake of officer's arrest

  The mother of Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man shot dead by a Minnesota police officer at a traffic stop, said she "wants 100% accountability" in the wake of the officer's arrest. "If that even happens, we're still going to bury our son," Wright's mother, Katie Wright, said at a Thursday news conference. "We're still never going to be able to see our baby boy."
• 
  2021-04-17

  Police clash With protesters during Adam Toledo demonstrations

  Police in Chicago, Illinois, clash with protesters during demonstrations for 13-year-old Adam Toledo following the release of the police body camera footage.
• 
  2021-04-11

  Pandemic Street Art: teenage tagger made to apologize and cleanup

  New York teen tags the streets in "response to multiple stressors. Quarantining boredom. Family problems. Feeling stuck since graduating high school and not yet finding a job or college that fit."
• 
  2021-04-12

  Being Asian During Covid

  This piece describes the minor hardships I have experienced during Covid as a young man who happens to be Asian.
• 
  2021-01-15

  Retired Oakland cop attended US Capitol riot, OPD internal affairs investigation underway

  A former Oakland police officer has received a visit from the FBI. Jurell Snyder tells the ABC7 I-Team, agents interviewed him about attending last week's Trump rally that led to the assault on the Capitol, and about his social media posts promoting conspiracy theories. Some current Oakland police officers liked and commented on Snyder's posts, and now, the department is investigating those officers.
• 
  2021-03-29

  Justice for Sofia Ramirez

  Photographer Malcolm Dole has been documenting street art during the pandemic.
• 
  2021-03-29

  Street art during the pandemic

  Malcolm Dole is a Seattle photographer who is capturing photographs of street art during the pandemic.
• 
  2021-04-02

  Christopher Martin Testifies at Trial

  Christopher Martin, 19, who reported George Floyd’s counterfeit $20 bill to his manager, said he feels like a “contributing factor” in his death.
• 
  2021-03-29

  911 Dispatcher Jena Scurry Testifies in Derek Chauvin Trial

  Jena Scurry, a 911 dispatcher with the city of Minneapolis, testified in court Monday that she called police after watching footage of George Floyd's arrest because "something wasn't right." Scurry took the stand in the first day of testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis police officer charged in Floyd's death. Scurry saw Chauvin on camera kneeling on Floyd's neck during the fatal May 2020 encounter. Watch part of her testimony here and read more: https://cbsn.ws/3rvfM6F
• 
  2021-03-29

  Derek Chauvin trial begins

  Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer filmed with his knee on George Floyd’s neck in May, faces murder and manslaughter charges for the encounter that sparked months of historic protests around the world. This stream contains graphic content. Chauvin faces charges of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers charged in the case — J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao — are set to be tried separately in August. George Floyd died on May 25 after being handcuffed and restrained facedown on a Minneapolis street during a police investigation of a counterfeit $20 bill that allegedly had been passed at a local market. The Post’s Rhonda Colvin will anchor live coverage featuring reporters Holly Bailey and Joyce Koh from Minneapolis. The program will also feature reporters Keith Alexander, Mark Berman, Tim Craig, Nicole Ellis, Hannah Jewell and Eugene Scott
• 
  2021-04-03

  Mask trash #29

  Two disposable masks one black and one blue and white outside the ACYR in Phoenix.
• 
  2021-03-23

  News Article: Here's how much vaccines are selling for on the illegal market

  This article relays data gleaned from cybersecurity firm Check Point Software to a CNN reporter, Samantha Kelly, related to the illicit market for COVID-19 vaccines and proof of vaccination cards available for purchase through the dark web.
• 
  2021-03-29

  Senior Border Patrol officer says border migrant flow will only worsen

  "Senior officer says border migrant flow will only worsen" By Lyda Longa, lyda.longa@myheraldreview.com, Mar 29, 2021 The situation with undocumented migrants flocking to the Southwest border of the United States from Mexico is only going to worsen, a senior Border Patrol agent warned Friday. The agent, who spoke to various media outlets during a conference call, said at least 380,000 undocumented people had been apprehended at the Southwest border in February and the numbers would be higher for March and beyond. The agent spoke on background with the agreement that media would not reveal his name. “I fully expect to see the numbers increase as we go into the summer months,” the senior agent said, concerning migrant crossings. In Cochise County that warning has begun to bear out near Douglas and in Willcox, where the already stretched-thin Border Patrol is arresting more single adults attempting to slip into the country or taking in and processing children who are flocking to the border unaccompanied. Douglas Mayor Donald Huish said Friday the latest information he received this week from Border Patrol agents at the station just outside Douglas is that they’re confronting and repatriating about 100 single adults daily who are trying to slip in illegally. “They are getting closer and closer to town,” Huish said. What concerns Huish even more is that Border Patrol agents from the Douglas station are being pulled out to help in busier areas such as Yuma and Tucson. “They’re siphoning them off to the western part of the state and leaving us with a skeleton crew,” Huish said. In Willcox, Mayor Mike Laws said he was told two weeks ago by the Border Patrol there were 54 unaccompanied children at the Border Patrol station. “That was two weeks go. Who knows now?” Laws said. “The station can only hold up to 81.” Laws said he was told by Border Patrol that a “third party” has been arriving at the facility and taking 10 to 20 children to Phoenix by via bus. The mayor said he does not know how often the transportation comes or who the third party is. “We have not seen anyone (undocumented migrants) running the streets so far,” Laws said. “All we have is the youths, but we don’t see them either.” Laws and Sierra Vista Mayor Rick Mueller said citizens in their respective communities would gladly help the undocumented migrants but there aren’t enough resources available to do so. Laws, Mueller and other mayors in Cochise County signed a letter recently asking the federal government for help with the matter. Last week, the town of Gila Bend, which has a population of about 2,000, declared an emergency after Border Patrol agents dropped off a group of migrant families with children in a park. Gila Bend Mayor Chris Riggs told reporters he and his wife ended up using loaned vans to drive the families to the Phoenix Welcome Center so they would have a safe place to stay. Riggs said Border Patrol agents told him to expect more of the same. Mueller said there have been no such issues in Sierra Vista, but he is worried that the municipality, if hit with something similar to what happened in Gila Bend, would have no resources to offer. Last week Arizona senators Kyrsten Synema and Mark Kelly announced they’ve been pushing for more federal resources to help Arizona cities with a sudden influx of undocumented migrants. The senators helped secure at least $110 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as reimbursement to cities that assist migrants left within their jurisdictions. Also last week, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Florida Senator Rick Scott — who sits on the Homeland Security Committee — called on President Joe Biden and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to visit the Southwest border. Ducey and Scott, accompanied by a handful of law enforcement and other elected officials, had toured a portion of the border near Douglas. At his first press conference on Thursday since taking office in January, Biden said he would come to the border soon, but thought a visit now would deflect attention from the issue at hand. The senior Border Patrol agent who spoke Friday, meanwhile, said 300 Border Patrol agents who work along the northern border of the U.S. have been “mandated” to the Southwest border to assist with the influx of migrants. He said about 2,000 family units out of the 6,000 who are trying to cross daily are being processed in Texas by the Border Patrol. The agent revealed that unaccompanied children are being kept in Border Patrol facilities longer than the 72 hours established by law because too many are showing up and agents are overwhelmed. “They’re keeping them a few days, sometimes up to a week,” the senior agent said. Once an unaccompanied child is encountered, Border Patrol contacts the Department of Health and Human Services. The latter makes arrangements for the migrant children to be taken by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The agent also mentioned an increase in the criminal element among undocumented migrants. “The threats we see are significant,” the senior agent said. “We have seen criminal (undocumented migrants).” Additionally, he said that COVID testing for migrants is only being done in facilities in Del Rio, Texas, and soon in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Other than that, testing is being undertaken by non-governmental agencies that are helping the migrants and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials. He said it was probable that some migrants with COVID-19 may have been released into communities.
• 
  2021-02-14

  "I'm Done Downplaying My Asian American Experience"

  In response to the rise in anti-Asian racism and crimes, Allure magazine reached out to six prominent Asian Americans within the beauty industry to share their experiences as Asian Americans. They share not only accounts of bullying and racism, but also how the beauty industry can help change the narrative.
• 
  2021-03-23

  Pandemic TikTok

  With talk of everything going back to "normal" with vaccinations and whatnot, mass shootings are coming back.
• 
  2021-03-21

  Oral History: Interview with Anonymous Peace Officer #2

  James Rayroux 0:01 My name is James Rayroux, and I'm a graduate student in global history at Arizona State University, and I'm working as a curation intern with the "Journal of the Plague Year" COVID-19 archive. Today is March 21, 2021, and it's just after 8:12pm or 2012 hours here in Arizona. I'm speaking with a narrator who wishes to contribute to the COVID-19, archive anonymously. Sir, I first want to thank you for speaking with me and contributing to this COVID-19 archive. Do you consent to having this interview recorded, transcribed, and immediately posted to the "Journal of the Plague Year" COVID-19 archive, where it will be made accessible to the public? Anonymous Officer 0:43 Yes, I do. JR 0:44 Thank you again for agreeing to speak with me and making time for this interview. In lieu of your name, or location, can you provide a summary of your background and professional experience in law enforcement? AO 1:01 Sure, I've been sworn law enforcement for almost 23 years in a state in the Rocky Mountain region. I've worked both for municipal and state government, and I work for small to medium sized agency now about 35 sworn officers. I'm a military veteran, I was US Navy prior to my time prior to going to the police academy, and I worked a variety assignments from patrol to drug and alcohol enforcement, auto theft Task Force, Joint Terrorism Task Force, supervision, criminal investigations, and command. JR 1:44 During that time what are some of your most prominent or important achievements within the law enforcement profession? AO 1:54 You know, I think that this profession, namely, is typically not about the individual. I would probably point towards successes in the community and successful team building and successful growth of individuals into the business. I think one of my most proud achievements I think, something I'm tremendously, I feel tremendously accomplished for is somehow I failed to convince my son to be a firefighter, and he was just sworn in at another municipality in the same state as a sworn law enforcement officer. So while I have failed him and trying to convince him to do literally anything else, I'm also extremely proud and accomplished that I have raised my son into a similar professional lineage, and he's elected to take the oath to protect his community, as well. JR 2:57 What are your current roles or assignments within your organization? AO 3:04 I'm currently assigned as a patrol supervisor, a watch commander. I supervise a shift of a number of police officers and currently working day shift. So in those roles, I'm essentially the emergency manager for our smaller community, supervise police response to emergencies, meet with the public, interact with command staff, meet with public stakeholders, and then, essentially, a customer service rep who happens to be a sworn law enforcement agent. JR 3:37 When and how did you learn about the SARS-CoV-2 virus in early 2020, and what were some of the first conversations you remember having about it at work? AO 3:51 So COVID became on the tip of everybody's tongue probably in early January. And previously, in the end of 2019, it was somebody else's problem. It was, it was a China problem, it was a Wu Han problem, specifically. It was, it was out of sight out of mind. And, of course, you'll know this about law enforcement, there's only two kinds of problems in law enforcement, those being "my problem," and "not my problem." And during the first part of 2020, it wasn't our problem. There was a limited amount of cases in the US, they trickled in. Most of what we understood about the virus that causes COVID-19 was based on the media, was based on, you know, what you might catch a snippet of on NPR on Fox News, which has no news about foxes, I might add, and essentially, just the snippets we would get on the media and I don't remember having official tangential conversations about the COVID-19 virus in a strategic way, until probably February. A lot of those initial conversations, you know, as, as trained observers and trained investigators, I know many, many law enforcement officers who don't immediately give a lot of trust or credence to things their government tells them. So, for the first little while, it was kind of an attitude of scrutiny, one of a lack of credibility. We weren't really sure whether this was hype and whether there was really any risk, and there was a lot of conversations about the corollary between, you know, the standard flu and other illnesses that killed just as many if not more people, and there was a lot of disagreement about their trajectory, and the volume, and the scope, and really how this thing was going to manifest. JR 6:04 How did your agency first deal with the COVID-9 pandemic in an official way? AO 6:12 The first steps that were taken initially, mostly just surrounded, strategic outward facing changes to how we did business on the street, basic social distancing, wash your hands, don't touch your face, basically just mimicked CDC advice. You know, be careful more to come. Very low level, very basic, no real operational changes, no testing, no recommendations for symptoms that was, you know, under the umbrella of "flatten the curve," keep yourself healthy sort of jargon, that was shared from both the government and from the administration of our, our small community downwards towards the police department and other, other trades in the region. JR 7:13 What did your first pandemic briefing or roll call look and feel like after those changes were made? Where you and your squad entirely in masks for that first time, or was that yet to come? AO 7:29 When the government of our state first mandated masks, there was specific legislation that excluded law enforcement. It was quickly decided that masks were recommended, but were not required initially. So there was this sort of juxtaposition and feeling out period in our community where not a lot of people wore masks. It was recommended. You were supposed to wear them when you were outside, you were supposed to wear them, you know, when you were in contact with others. The science hadn't really been affirmed. There weren't a lot of links to credible research yet. And, of course, a pandemic of this nature has never been experienced or dealt with for generations previous to this. And so, you know, I'm 100% cofident telling you that literally everyone was just winging it, and that was immediately apparent in that first briefing where we discussed what we were going to do. Still scrutiny, still somewhat lack of credibility, lots of, lots of eye rolling with a few critical and strategic thinkers, you know, raising, you know, what would later be the first semblance of some alarm, saying, "Hey, you know, maybe, maybe this is going to be a big deal. Maybe we haven't experienced anything like this before, we ought to be as careful as possible." JR 9:03 How did your agency's policies and procedures change over time after that initial effort? AO 9:13 So the, you know, the, the tide came in, in a big way very quickly. And as you'll remember, as the COVID-19 virus, sort of sieged Italy and New York and the Eastern Seaboard, everybody started paying attention in a big way. And we're, you know, a couple 1000 miles from there, but local and state governments started reacting very, very quickly. Masks were mandated for all persons in contact with the public. A scramble was afoot to obtain PPE [personal protective equipment], which supply chains being, you know, any resemblance of the way they were in 2019, there was no problem. You just got on Uline or Amazon or, you know, you know, whoever your main commercial supplier was, and you ordered them by the skid and PPE was readily available and there was no reason to hoard it. But all of a sudden, there weren't any. There wasn't any, the supply chains were just curb-stomped into this sort of perpetual waiting period where nobody was sure what they were going to need, and everybody thought that N-95 respirators were the new hotness, and everyone had to have some from car dealers to people working the drive thru to baristas to, you know, the guy doing my front end alignment. So all of a sudden, we were trying to balance what was practically happening on the street, what our day-to-day call volume looked like, and what we were really supposed to do with the PPE we had knowing that our resupply was probably distant. And when we wove all that together and put all that minutia in a pot and stirred it up, what we came up with was pretty much this overwhelming sense of nobody knowing anything that was reliable. And it was anybody's best guess how long this was going to last and what we're going to need. That was echoed among our local hazmat [Hazardous Materials responders], our local health departments, our local health organizations. Nobody had any PPE to give us, nobody knew how long it was going to last, and nobody could have any real recommendations except for this sort of parroted, you know, don't touch your face, wash your hands, wear a mask in contact with everybody. Once masks were required, we had some pretty significant changes to the way that we did business in the community. You know, as a forward facing law enforcement agency, we contact, you know, one officer might contact 10s of people every day, sometimes might make 15 or 20 contacts before, you know, the afternoon's said, and by doing so, what we know now to weave a fabric of a contact trace that is essentially impossible. I mean, we remove Degrees of Separation all day long just by talking to people. And none of that technology and contact tracing and science had really entered the social jargon. But we were out there just trying to be as careful as possible, and it wasn't until probably...probably late March is when you know rivers turned to blood and the sky fell as far as the government was concerned. And it was then that definitive, codified changes were made to procedure where there was a moratorium put on traffic enforcement and all proactive street contacts, except for egregious emergency violations. We didn't make traffic stops for weeks. There was a moratorium immediately placed on warrant arrests and on booking people at the jail because, having a potential infectious patient in your vehicle, nobody knew what the consequences of that were or how to decon [decontaminate] it. So we didn't arrest anybody. If it was a crime of violence, or a crime against a person with a victim, we would screen it at the jail first. Everybody warned N-95 mask, and we would transport them as quickly and safely as possible. If it was a warrant for anything nonviolent, warrant for bench warrants, and courts and anything, we just let them go. Even if somebody told us that they had COVID symptoms, or were COVID positive, there was still no viable testing in the system, and no way to confirm or deny that those statements were true so we didn't book them. So many suspects in cases either went uncontacted, cases were dismissed, or the warrants were skipped just because the precautions weren't in place yet, and the agency and all the businesses and other agencies we worked in the region were trying to just to stay healthy. Proactivity probably took a, I think, I would call a permanent shift. I have not seen a resurgence of practice enforcement and the likes of which I might like. Cops just stopped doing business the way that they used to, and some of the badges we'd wear and some of the honor that we took in protecting the community came from making contacts: suspicious vehicle, suspicious people, you know, local transients, patrolling, you know, bike racks and stealing cars and stealing bikes and harassing people and it, it turned into kind of this proactive wasteland where law enforcement was worried about exposing themselves. They were worried about exposing each other. They were worried about exposing their families. And they were worried that if they happen to make a contact, they might expose the next people, the next 10 or 15 people that they talked to that day. So the only way to eliminate that was just to stop doing it. So by eliminating, you know, the patient zero style traffic stops, we hoped to have an impact on that, and flatten our own curves by just not talking to anybody unless it was an emergency. JR 15:38 Do you remember the first call or the first contact that you went on where you and the public were both wearing masks? AO 15:51 I don't remember it specifically. But I remember a handful of contacts that were made in right around March when, you know, when I said that when the king tide came in with news and with panic and fear. And I remember a handful where nobody really was sure what to do. Everybody was, had this sort of weaponized social distance, and people would walk the other direction when you tried to talk to him, and we hadn't mastered the, you know, the little elbow bump or the little nod, and so nobody could figure out how to talk to one another, and there was quite a few instances of the COVID card being played where people just simply didn't want to talk to the police. So they, they feigned fear and panic for exposure and wouldn't come out of their homes and open their car doors or their windows. And then shortly thereafter, it became socially stigmatic to participate in the fear and panic. And if law enforcement didn't wear masks, we sort of became this pariah immediately. So it was, it was optional for a very short period of time, but then very, very quickly, virtually every single contact we made had to have a mask on, of course, which, you know, brings with it all the problems associated with not being able to see somebody's face. It's hard to hear, it's hard to talk on the radio. It's hard to smell intoxicants, you know, it just added sort of this, it was basically like dimming the focus one click on your whole world by having to cover your face. But, you know, at that point, some of the science was starting to become more consistent and more published, and every, most everybody at that point was pretty convinced that at least when in contact with the public and the unknown, that some sort of mask was viable and necessary. JR 17:50 In Western society, handshaking has long been a very important social event. And that's obviously gone by the wayside with the general public since the pandemic began. In lieu of having that physical contact to make direct human connections, how have you tried to establish rapport with the public when you do have to contact them? AO 18:21 It's been weird. You know, handshakes have been sort of the status quo of a show of respect and humility for so many years. I mean, you know, you hold your hand out, it's almost instinctual. It's almost primordial. You know, in this culture in Western culture, someone holds your hand out, and you don't take it, like, them's are fighting actions, right? So it's, it was weird. We had to figure out ways to break the ice, we had to figure out ways to do that acknowledgement, and I'll answer it two ways. The first way was we had to figure out how to communicate with people even though they couldn't really see our faces, and there could be no sort of context to breaking sign of respect, like the handshake. So you know, you come up with this weird elbow bump, or you give the little, you know, the little nod that one bro gives to another across the urinal, and you find out ways to just break the ice with people. And the second challenge that we experienced was that we could no longer show those signs of respect to one another in view of the public. So if one cop was touching another, or, you know, giving a little handshake or playing grab ass, or high five, or even just a fist bump, all of a sudden, we were cast out, right? All of a sudden, those little, that that lack of social distancing became this socially virtuous thing to exploit and to ridicule, and so we had to be exceptionally careful in public even though within shifts, we considered our shifts to be close contact circles. I mean, any sworn law enforcement officer working during the COVID shutdown very likely saw their shift mates more than they saw their blood families. And so there was just no way to socially distance internally at work, because of the, just close knit manner in which the job is done and the proximity we had to one another throughout the day. Yet in public, you know, we're in our own cars we're socially distanced, we got to have masks on, you better boil yourself between each contact, and you got to wear booties and a Tyvek suit and touch everybody with a little wand. And in the mix, I feel like our isolationism increased, and I feel like our bonds of society from a law enforcement perspective became even more tenuous. So, you know, one of the things I adopted was I started using my first name with everybody. I stopped using rank, I stopped using identifiers. I just told him who I was. I asked them for their first name, I use my first name, I tried to break it down. And I would always, you know, have these little catch conversations I do and I introduced everybody, and just try to acknowledge that this is a new time and, you know, you hear in the media and you see it a lot. And in every, every, you know, corporation, commercial for six months, it was, "in these trying times." So, that sort of became the catchphrase like, "Hey, in these challenging times, things are different. Here's the business I'm here to do. My name is so-and-so. We're trying to keep the peace, how can we be helpful?" And we interacted with all kinds of people. Some people thought it was a hoax. Plenty of, plenty of sovereign citizen scam-demick, plan-demick jargon being thrown our way. And then on the other side of that spectrum, were extremely scared, extremely isolated...people wouldn't come out of their houses, people were afraid to take a Grubhub delivery. People were, you know, boiling their utensils. And somewhere in the middle, law enforcement just kind of figured out a way to break the ice, and I think it's, I think it's going to be permanently different. And I can tell you that because the day before yesterday, I was on a burglary call where I talked to the informant. Without even thinking, I reached my hand out to shake his hand because he told me his name. He said, "Hey, thanks for coming. I'm so and so." And without even thinking about it, my mammal brain shot my hand out in a greeting. And it took him about five seconds of staring at me before I figured out that we just don't do that anymore. And it's super weird, but we, we're working around it. JR 22:51 What do you miss most about your job or your daily work duties from 2019? AO 23:02 You know, I don't know if this is going to be directly related to the pandemic. I think that in 2019, we were dealing with a community that understood what the rules were. Everything was, you know, we call it "pre-COVID," we call it "olden days," I don't know if we're ever going to return to those times, but cops are out there doing business in the community, and we were fighting crime and protecting people. And we were making this self sacrifice and serving our community and being forward facing and just eatin' meat and just leaning in just to get business done. And we did it no way that served our customer and served our client base. And I don't know any law enforcement officer who's been on the job for more than 10 minutes who doesn't do this because they love the community they work, or they love the service that they provide, or the people they protect. And I think we've permanently changed the way that law enforcement officers are viewed by their communities. I think we've done, and I say "we," I mean we as a culture, good, bad, or indifferent, have done irrevocable damage to the reputation of law enforcers in our community and the public trust that they must hold in order to be successful. And then all of a sudden, the communities "why nots" became really, really strong. And cops had to start making excuses really quickly about why we weren't the bad cops. And why we weren't doing this to violate your civil rights. And why we're just, we're just out there trying to do the job and just trying to, you know, serve policy and serve the constitution and it might not be about you and your mask. And I feel like this stigma, the social stigma became leveraged against law enforcement in a really big way without any real underlying facts. No one, you know, it just became this sort of socially virtuous stigmatic status to hate the cops, whether it was for their efforts to preserve the public peace in the pandemic, or whether it was your interpretation of their worth based on events taking place in the national landscape. It became cliche to hate the cops. And I think I miss, I missed the real relationships we had in 2019 that were based on sort of a shared respect, and a common understanding and actual virtues of character and integrity. And now, you know, it's, it's an uphill climb. We're sort of this Sisyphussian rock-pushing force, just always trying to push this public opinion and public trust rock up the hill only to, you know, take two steps back, and I miss that quite a bit. JR 26:15 What do you wish that the public understood about law enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic? AO 26:27 I think if I could choose one thing, I wish that the public understood that nothing changed in the way that law enforcement supports and loves and wants to collaborate with the community. During the pandemic, law enforcement was shined in three or four different colored lenses varying from, you know, rosy to catastrophic, and most police officers on the street during the pandemic, were humans just trying to figure out how to navigate their space and provide for their families, and to continue to protect the public and somehow navigate shark infested waters of this, the sudden unknown COVID-19 enemy. And it was a huge struggle, you know, policy was changing on the daily. Science and procedure was being released several times a day at, you know, at its busiest, and most law enforcement were just caught in the wake of this rapidly changing information, hugely volatile work environment, and trying to keep themselves and their families healthy while still being effective. I wish the public knew how much most law enforcement officers hate racism and prejudice and corruption. I wish they knew that nobody hates dirty cops more than we do. And that virtually all the law enforcement officers they contact on the daily are still doing the job because they've considered the risks to their lives and their risks to their health and the risk to their family's health, and are still willing to suit up every morning or every night, and put body armor on, and put 30 pounds of gear on, and go out there and risk their health and safety to protect our community, and mostly people they don't even know and have never met. And I think that's what's really at stake when the rhetoric gets really loud and the disinformation gets really deep. And the panic and the fear really starts to grab older people is they start to lash out against the government as a whole and what they don't understand in, you know, in some way is that that uniform represents just another member of their same community who is trying to stand between the two entities and make good decisions, and protect the constitution and uphold the peace and protect the, you know, the victims and protect, you know, the weak from the oppression and you know, all the things we stand for. But all those cops out there are just the same community members. Some of them don't have any toilet paper at home. Some of them couldn't buy peanut butter. Some of them didn't have fresh food for weeks because they couldn't go to the grocery store because of their shifts. So it wasn't that there was this divide. It wasn't that there's this this pantheon of law enforcement officers who were out there trying to screw everyone, it was members of the very same community who just happened to put that uniform on by choice to save it and protect the community despite the fact that there was this, you know, this crazy pandemic and all the fear and panic going on at the same time. JR 29:56 Knowing that I intended to speak with you about law enforcement and your experience in that profession during this pandemic, what, perhaps, was one of the questions that you hoped to answer or that I didn't ask? AO 30:18 One of the things I was thinking about talking about was that, for the first several weeks, I would say maybe even two months, there was no viable testing for any first responders in our region. So if one of my guys or gals was symptomatic, they simply had to be quarantined, and there was no way to test. We begged and borrowed and pled, and, you know, by hook or by crook, tried to figure out how to make a relationship with a clinical entity so that we could protect our people and keep them in place and keep them effective and keep them assigned on the street. What happened was any flu-like symptoms were just viewed as COVID quarantine, and so there was a couple of days there where I almost didn't have an emergency dispatch center because I didn't have anybody to work. There was a couple of days where we were hemorrhaging overtime money paying the cops that were healthy to cover the cops that were not because we couldn't get them tested. It took quite a while until we had a viable, and until the turnaround was fast enough that it was sustainable to test people. Because if the turnaround was 10 days, and the quarantine was 14 days, and almost was you know, half a dozen, six of another, you were gonna stay home anyway. So until the testing was fast enough and efficient enough, we burned a lot of time, and a lot of cops sat at home for 14 days under quarantine who maybe didn't mean to, and there was no way to test them. Once testing was viable, and available, I feel like we did a better job of that. But at the beginning, there were several of us who were pretty sure we had contracted the virus and suffered its effects as early as January or February, a ton of us were sick in January and February and early March before, way before viable testing was available in our communities. And that was, that was a challenging and an alarming period of time where even my first responders we just didn't know. And if you weren't admitted to the ER, if you weren't seen clinically, and if you didn't have co-morbidities or other risk categories, you just didn't get tested because the resources didn't exist. And why would we waste a test on a first responder who can just quarantine for two weeks and be otherwise healthy when we need to use it on, you know, the septuagenarian co-morbid patient who's, you know, got 15 different ailments, and I understand that math. But it was pretty frustrating to just have to hemorrhage overtime money and just suffer and figure out how to cover shifts and work 16, 18 hours in a row because there just wasn't anybody else. JR 33:23 I am incredibly grateful for your time and for sharing your expertise and your thoughts with us. Thank you so much. AO 33:31 You're very welcome, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. Transcribed by https://otter.ai
• 
  2021-03-20

  Oral History: Interview with Anonymous Peace Officer #1

  James Rayroux 0:00 My name is James Rayroux. I'm a graduate student in global history at Arizona State University, and I'm working as a curation intern with the "Journal of the Plague Year" COVID-19 archive. Today is March 21, 2021, and it's just after 5pm or 1700 hours here in Arizona. I'm speaking with a narrator who wishes to contribute to the COVID-19 archive anonymously. Sir, I first want to thank you for speaking with me and contributing to this COVID-19 archive. Do you consent to having this interview recorded, transcribed, and immediately posted to the "Journal of the Plague Year" COVID-19 archive, where it will be made accessible to the public? Anonymous Officer 0:39 I do. JR 0:40 Thank you, I greatly appreciate you making time to share your experience with us. In lieu of your name and city, can you provide me with a summary of your background and professional experience in law enforcement? AO 0:57 Yeah, I've been a sworn police officer for a little over 10 years in northern Colorado. I've worked for a couple different departments during that time. I started off at a small municipality, and at one point worked for a state law enforcement agency and then working for a municipality that has approximately 150,000-160,000 citizens within the jurisdictional limits of our department. JR 1:25 Can you give me a summary of your life before law enforcement and what led you to police work? AO 1:33 Yeah, so I grew up with a family of cops, a grandfather and two uncles who were police officers, so I'd always kind of had that in the back of my mind. When I was a teenager, I started working out with an alcohol and tobacco compliance team. So I would go in and attempt to buy tobacco and alcohol products underage to ensure that corporations were properly ID'ing the people who came in to buy those products. I studied criminal justice a little bit in college, although that's not what my degree's in. I went to a police academy and then worked at the departments that I previously mentioned. And then within the realm of police work, my emphasis has mainly been of a traffic safety, impaired driving nature, so that's where my expertise kind of lies within the realm of police work. JR 2:38 What are some of your professional goals over the next few years, and where would you like to, what would you like to accomplish before the end of your career? AO 2:50 My sights in the next couple of years, I'm currently working on a master's degree in organizational leadership. With that degree, I would like to promote within my department to at least the rank of sergeant. And like I said earlier, I work for a larger department. Previously, I came from smaller departments, and I kind of missed that small town feel, so eventually, I'd like to parlay that supervisor experience in my larger department into being a supervisor at a smaller municipality or a smaller county agency where I think I could bring both sides of working for a small agency as well as looking at working for a large agency to help a smaller agency, because they don't usually get a lot of super qualified candidates for the higher positions. It's kind of what is already at the department, which sometimes is great, and sometimes it's not so great, and I think that having somebody that just hasn't came up through that agency to bring some new kind of fresh ideas is really good for us. That's ultimately the goal. JR 3:58 And when and how did you first learn about the SARS-CoV-2 virus in early 2020? AO 4:08 Initially, I heard about it on the news, broadcast news, and then I visited enough websites, mainly Reddit, which is often called "the front page of the internet" that kind of started talking about it and how it was kind of on the West Coast. Obviously, Northern Colorado is more westerly in the US, than, you know, the middle of the country, and Denver, our biggest city in Colorado, obviously has an international airport, and there's lots of things that come through, so I kind of kept an eye on it. Also with the nature of my work, I come into contact with people of all different kinds of races, religions, sexes, creeds, orientations, all of that both, willingly and unwillingly, so I kind of kept my eye out and knowing that there could be a good chance that if it came to Colorado that I would be involved with it just because, traffic stops, disturbances, sometimes we have to take people into custody against their will if they have a warrant, or they're fighting us, so that's a really close contact, like hands-on situation. So I knew if it did get worse, I didn't expect to be this bad, but if it did get worse, that it'd probably end up affecting us in one way or another. JR 5:22 Do you remember what some of the early conversations were like that you had about the SARS-CoV-2 virus or COVID-19, what those conversations at work were like or were about? AO 5:36 Yeah, a lot of them were just kind of like, you know, this is just a really bad flu. As long as you, you know, sanitize your hands after you deal with people, which is a pretty common thing that cops do. I know, the majority of cops that I work with carry around a little bottle of sanitizer, either on their person or in their what we call a "war bag," a little bag that sits in the front seat that holds all our tickets and everything else we need for the shift. So it was initially just, you know, be smart. If somebody's sick, keep your distance if you can, wash your hands, sanitize. And then once summer comes in, because early it was spring, where it's still pretty cold here, that once summer comes, the heat will naturally kill it off, and it's not going to be anything worse than the normal flu was initially the talk around town. JR 6:24 How did your agency first deal with the COVID-19 pandemic? AO 6:30 So initially, we got multiple emails, kind of just updating it from what they've heard from the Surgeon General in Colorado that was disseminated to people higher up in the city side of our agency, with just tips, kind of like what I just talked about, wash your hands, you know, don't touch your face or mouth, sanitize your hands, sanitize your cars. And it was just kind of a more official version of what we all kind of thought, which was that it was just a worse flu as long as you, you know, stay at home with your sick, don't voluntarily interact with sick people, etc, etc, that it would be good and we'd be done by summer. JR 7:13 At what point did your agency start encouraging or mandating mask use by employees? AO 7:23 So I want to say early March is when the governor of Colorado put us on a statewide lockdown. So I want to say maybe mid February to late February, is when we got a order to make sure that we're wearing masks, if we're around each other, if we're going to be in somebody's house. They were saying they prefer it on traffic stops, but they know because of the nature of us standing in traffic and it's kind of already hard to hear that, that was kind of our discretion. But I want to say mid to late February was the big one. It's also when we stopped doing in-person briefings. We have a specific briefing room where our sergeants, commanders will talk to us about what happened earlier in the shift, what they expect of us tonight, just conversations about our shift in general that's usually done in a room. It was about that time that we move that outside. So we all just kind of stood outside our police department and ended it to be a little bit safer than being in the booking room. But even when we did that we still wore masks were outside doing our briefing. JR 8:28 What do you remember or what did that first pandemic briefing or roll call look like when everyone showed up in, in masks? AO 8:37 It was definitely interesting. You know, it's just something that you usually don't see unless you're in a hospital setting, which we obviously go to sometimes if we have bad car accidents or bad assaults. But again, even that's usually if the person is thought to have been sick or something else, where you're obviously not standing in the emergency or the surgery department. So it was a little bit different seeing everybody with these, at the time, surgical masks. We ended up getting given cloth masks and everybody eventually started you know, finding a mask they liked better, but initially, it was just paper surgical mask like you see at the hospital, so it was definitely a strange sight to see twenty cops standing around with their mask on. JR 9:23 How have your agency's policies and procedures changed since that initial response in February 2020? AO 9:31 Um, so as COVID kept going up and more and more cases and especially in Colorado, and especially Northern Colorado where there was a higher outbreak than the rest of the state, we got, I don't know the name of the product but it's essentially a super medical grade cleaning product that is so strong that you have to wear gloves and a mask anyway when you're using it because it can burn your hands and you don't want to inhale it. So we are given directives to wipe down everything we touch on our car. So steering wheel, driver-side door handles, radio mics, computers, shifter, etc, with that cleaning product both before and after our shift. And then our department also bought a bunch of small hand sanitizer bottles for everybody to carry with them. And then we had two big jugs in our, what we call patrol room where we type our reports, that we could refill those smaller bottles with. And then we were given a mandate to wear masks anytime we were in contact with somebody. And if we could, any calls that we were, we can, we would normally take in person, such as like a cold theft or something just for customer service reasons, if we're not super busy, we'll usually go to that person's house and just get their statements so they can have a face-to-face contact. We were given a directive, though, to do all that over the phone as much as we can. So there would be nights that just wasn't a busy in-progress night, and I would take fifteen calls, all from my car parked in a parking lot somewhere. So after a decade of doing this, that was a big difference in what I was used to. JR 11:12 For the benefit of the audience, can you explain what a cold theft report is? AO 11:17 Yeah, so a cold theft report is if somebody came home from dinner, and let's say their son, their twelve-year-old son left their bicycle just outside in the front yard leaned up against the house, they get home and that bike was gone. And they don't have any kind of surveillance systems, you know, they weren't home when it happened, so they know that something was stolen, but they have no idea of exactly when, no real description of who might have taken it, and we call that a cold theft. It just means that it's not something that's in-progress. Like if somebody were to call and say, "Hey, you know, there's actively a fight going on right now at the mall." Um, that would be an in-progress call, or a hot call is what some people call it. Anything cold, so a cold theft, a cold burglary, a cold auto theft just means that it's something that's not actively happening, and they don't really have much information to go on. JR 12:05 Thank you. Do you remember what your first inperson call was after you began wearing masks, and maybe your first call after the public started wearing them as well? AO 12:19 I don't recall the specifics of either. I know that there was a couple calls I went to when you know, we were mandated to wear the masks. And you know, police officers still have freedom of speech just like everybody else does. But, you know, working for any organization, whether public, like the government or private, you still follow the rules and policies, procedures of your police department or your, your company. In this case, my police department or my company said that, you know, there's a new policy that we'll wear these masks. So it was weird, because there are some houses we go to where we would talk to people in-person and, you know, they'd be like, "Well, this is dumb. I don't know why you're wearing this mask. This is essentially the flu, why would you wear it?" You know, I'd have to be like, "Well, you know, my opinion on it is irrelevant. At this point, I'm here for a reason, but my boss told me to wear this, and my department told me to wear this, and that's why I'm doing it." And then we get the opposite where we go somewhere, and we would have the mask on and so would they and they're like, "You know what, I'm really glad that you guys are taking this seriously, and, you know, there's a lot of people that aren't." At that point, they're happy so I'm not going to say anything to change it. But you know, we would give people a mask that would ask us. "I'm glad you guys are doing this. Do you think this is as bad as it is?" And I would say, "You know, well, my again, my opinion on it's irrelevant. My boss told me to wear this mask, my department told me to wear this mask, so that's why I'm wearing it. Anyway, how can I help you with the reason that you called today?" JR 13:53 Has the pandemic changed your sense of security around fellow cops or fire crews or EMS personal? AO 14:02 I don't know if it's so much has changed my sense of security. I know it's changed things that we've, we've done things a lot different. It's not uncommon for police officers and my agency or anywhere across the United States to also be dispatched to fire medical calls. And we provide what's called scene security. So firefighters, a lot of them also double as paramedics and EMTs. And obviously EMTs and paramedics are those things. They have a job to do, and that's you know, rescuing people or providing life saving medical intervention on people. And sometimes especially if it's drug or alcohol fueled, there can be other people on scene that are concerned or upset and they want to get involved with it. And so law enforcement will get dispatched to assist with that and make sure that the scene is safe or secure, so that the firefighters and EMTs can do what they need to do. And usually we'd always go to those. It changed a lot where if somebody was COVID-19 positive or had symptoms of it, and it didn't seem like we needed to be there, we would go to a lot less of those just to keep our officers safe and not put them in unnecessary danger. JR 15:11 Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your process or procedures for detaining, arresting, or booking suspects or arrestees? AO 15:23 Not so much for detaining or arresting, those thresholds are met at certain times, and for various reasons. You know, so I've detain people before that, I don't think are alleged to have committed crime at that point. But because of their general behavior, or things they've said or things they've done it, they're detained from an officer safety perspective, so they can't hurt us, and they don't hurt anybody else. Obviously, I've detained people because I feel like they may flee from us, and, you know, I have a reasonable suspicion that they've committed a crime, and so they're going to get detained until we can figure everything out. So our department is really great about stressing as far as keeping yourself and your partner safe, nothing changes. So whatever you need to do to make that happen is fine. I work for a municipality, so our "booking standards" is what we call them, so what we can and cannot book people for is set by the sheriff of our county, who runs the the jail. Because of the COVID things, and obviously, you get inmates that are together in tight spaces, and there's a lot of them, he relaxed them, and essentially lowered the threshold of crime that it would take. So in Colorado, we have three different classes of misdemeanor with M-1 or misdemeanor-one being the highest and M-3, or misdemeanor-three being the lowest. Same with felonies, there's one through six, one is the highest sixth lowest, he essentially made it where we can't book on any misdemeanor charges for a while, which are the majority of what we deal with, I'd say. And two, we just cite them into court and give them a summons to court to appear in front of a judge to address the charges that they're alleged to have committed. That was different. So I think that was the sheriff's way of trying to control the inmate population so it just doesn't have as many people packed together. JR 17:18 In the past few months, do you suspect or have you thought that, during your interactions, a member of the public or a suspect or even another officer has attempted to use the pandemic or a possible COVID-19 infection to, to alter your interactions with them? AO 17:42 I don't think I've seen that from officers. We have definitely seen it from people that we've contacted on the street, and especially people that still meet those arrestable jail booking standards. We were told by the jail to ask a series of questions before we brought them in. You know, "Have you been in contact with anybody with COVID recently? Have you tested positive for COVID? Have you been out of the country?" There's a bunch more other ones, and it's pretty easy to kind of tell what we're getting at by the directions, the questions go. And we've had people that have been like, yep, I have COVID, my mom has COVID I've been in contact with them. And they think that that's going to make it where they don't go to jail. In all actuality, all it really did was delay that slightly because we had to go to the hospital. At which point the, the medical staff would give them a quick COVID test if they were running a fever show any outward symptoms. If they didn't show any outward symptoms, they would clear them for jail, which just means a doctor says this person is healthy enough to be incarcerated right now. And then I believe that jail would quarantine them in a separate wing. If they said they had COVID or if they did have a positive COVID test. Jail, for people that don't know, is a little bit different than prison. It's either filled with people that are doing shorter sentences, so like weeks, months sentences, not ever years, or people that have just been arrested on crimes. And a lot of times especially in Colorado, they will quickly get them out of what's called a PR or "personal recognizance" bond, essentially a piece of paper they sign that just says "I promised to come to my court hearings," and if they sign that piece of paper, the jail will release them without paying any money. So the jail would usually try to turn them out pretty quick, so give them that PR bond and get them out of the jail just as a further way to lower the risk to the jail staff and the other inmates that were in there. JR 19:39 Have you had to personally enforce any aspect of COVID-19 pandemic compliance with any member of the public? AO 19:48 No. Luckily, again, our department's been pretty great about things. We got a directive from our chief of police that said you know, "We're not enforcing governor orders," essentially. The businesses have every right to refuse service people that aren't gonna wear masks, and that's fine. If those people you know, then try to assault somebody or, or do something like that, then that's a police issue at that point. But if it's just one of those things where the people won't leave, and they've told them multiple times, he said, we can show up and you know, tell them, "Hey, this is probably business, the owner doesn't want to here. Please leave." But we are given pretty strict orders not to forcefully remove anybody for violating a civil policy from the store, essentially, the police deal with criminal matters. So if you know Guy A punches Guy B in the face that's assault, can't do that, it's criminally protected. If Guy A said he's going to pay Guy B $20, and he does not pay him $20, that is a civil matter. There's nothing criminal they agreed into, or entered into an agreement, so the masks generally fall into the civil matter. So we haven't had too many people, too many issues with it. Stores have refused service, and we've gotten a couple of calls from customers who said that it's a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and all the things that people have seen on any "Karen" videos. But generally, when the people say, "Hey, we, we don't want to get you in trouble, please leave or we're going to call the cops," the people left. So we don't have too many issues with it up here. Luckily. JR 21:23 Part of some of the changes that have taken place during this pandemic are the way that people interact with each other, and in Western society, shaking hands has long been a critical foundation of trust in humanity. And I suspect that's probably also true between many cops and the people that they serve. How have you worked to build rapport without having direct human contact? AO 21:51 Yeah, that's actually one of the things that you can tell a cop besides their ages, you know, there's there's officers that get into this career, late life, I got into it pretty early. I was in my very early 20s. And that's a common thing, as you know, me, somebody looked me in the eye and shake their hands. It's pretty easy to tell cops that have been doing this for any amount of time. Because if somebody does that, they usually have the canned response of like, "Oh, no, no offense, I don't shake hands. It's just, you know, a hygiene thing." Most cops are borderline germaphobes, after some of the stuff that we see and deal with, so people understand that even more now because of COVID, which is nice. The, the one that I think every cop has gotten pre and during and post COVID is the drunk guy who was just trying to be cool with everybody, and he wants to shake your hand or give you like a, you know, knuckles, pound it out. You know, we just tell him, "Oh, yeah, no, man, because of COVID we're just not trying to touch anybody." And it's cyclical, like, "Oh, no, man, I get it." Sometimes it turns into like being angry because he thinks we're being rude to him, or he just forgets and then goes back. So usually, for the 99.9%, we just explained that, "you know, because of the COVID and our policies, we're not allowed to touch anybody unless we absolutely have to," and most people are like, "Nope, I totally understand." So they've, our citizens have been really great at understanding that. JR 23:11 What do you miss most about your job and your daily tasks from 2019? AO 23:17 Um...I'm really over sanitizing my car twice a day. It's a process that isn't too long. It's, you know, five, ten minutes, but um, it just adds another checklist thing that we have to do before we start our shift. Cops by personality traits are usually Type A people, so they are very, "This is the way we do things." But that involves getting my gear in the same way it is on my belt and my vest every day, setting my car up the way that I want to set it up, getting logged into our computer, our MDT system. It's just another thing that we have to do. And I work for a pretty busy municipality, so there's times that we'll we'll be called "hit the street" or we come on-duty, and there's already a bunch of calls holding. That means there's no officers at them, and they're just sitting there waiting for somebody to take them and a whole shift is delayed by fifteen or twenty minutes because we're cleaning out our cars and sanitizing them, which is for our and for everybody else's safety, but just another thing that we have to do on top of everything else. JR 24:22 What alterations to your work life, to your daily tasking, do you expect you'll keep from this pandemic, and what do you wish to change immediately? AO 24:35 Uh, I think personally, I like handling a lot of things by phone that don't require an officer in-person. It allows us to be a little more centrally located and if something else big comes up, we can tell the person "Hey, I'll give you a call right back," and we can take off and do that. I also think that there's a lot of people that actually prefer just having an officer call them back because they're at home. They don't, you know, want the officer coming to their home, or sometimes they're not at home, they report something that happened at home when they get to work. So I like that portion of it. I was already kind of a germaphobe before this happened. I think that's probably going to, at a minimum stay the same and if not amplify a little bit more. But just doing a better job personally of, after I've been in somebody's house, even if I don't shake hands with them, just making sure I throw on hand sanitizer, wash my hands, just as a force of habit. No matter how clean and dirty the house is, we just don't know the people generally, so just kind of keeping that cleanliness I think is going to be a big help going forward. JR 25:39 Through this pandemic, and your experience working as a police officer during this time, what do you most wish the public knew about the COVID-19 pandemic, as it relates to your profession and to cops and police work in general? AO 25:58 I think, for us, it's real easy to see every police officer as one entity, just the person with the uniform and the badge. They forget that we also have families that are out, you know, in the same public places, that we have children that go to the same schools as the people that we deal with daily, that all of the stressors that everybody else has from this, this pandemic of not being able to, it's loosening now, but especially last summer and this fall, the same stressors of not being able to go out to eat with friends and blow off steam, or just go to the bar and have a beer with a buddy. We have all those same stressors because, you know, we're cops 40 plus hours a week, but the rest of the time, we're citizens that live in the same community as everybody else. So it's, it's understandable when, when the people that we deal with, you know, think that we're just the the strong arm of the government enforcing these rules that you know, they don't think are constitutional, or whatever it is, but we have to follow the same rules and get the same stress from that on top of having the stress of having to enforce those rules, which whether or not we do or don't agree with them, we have a job do and we signed up to do that. So just wishing that people would understand that we have, we go through all the same stuff they have on both sides of it, on our work side and also on our personal side, and just being a citizen of the same community that they live in. JR 27:21 Now, knowing that I was going to ask you about your experience as a police officer during this pandemic, what question did you most want to answer during this or that you wish I would have asked you during this interview? AO 27:40 I think my biggest one we actually touched on, which was how did the officers feel about the mask mandates and the, you know, various states closing down in-person dining and all that. And my answer, which I touched on, if it was asked directly, was at the end of the day doesn't matter. You know, there's officers are just a small segment of the whole population. You know, we have men, women, gay men, gay women, trans men, trans women, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, those are all actual officers that I work with in every single one of those categories, so they're just a small sample size of the entire agency. So you're gonna have people that are far left Democrat, that are far right Republican, and at the end of the day, our personal beliefs should not and in my case, don't matter. As far as if I believe this is a real virus, if I, you know, think that everybody should wear masks, they don't, you know, we're sworn to uphold the Constitution of our state and our country, and rules and regulations set forth by our municipalities or counties. So just knowing that kind of, you know, you should never know after talking to a cop for any length of time, what their stance is on is on any polarizing subject. So you should never really know what religion they are, if they're religious, what Republic or what political party they lead with. That's one of the, the what I think makes a good cop is they can help anybody, no matter where they're at in life, rich, poor, whatever color religion they are. So realizing that, you know, we have our own thoughts on it, but we still have a job to do. It's just something I wish that people would realize that wherever we stand on it doesn't matter because we're given our policies, our procedures, and we're going to follow those and hopefully that, in the end, will help this get over a little bit sooner and help everybody get back to a normal life. JR 29:44 I greatly appreciate your time and willingness to share your expertise. Thank you so much. AO 29:49 Thank you Transcribed by https://otter.ai
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  2021-03-19

  Stop AAPI Hate

  Nearly 3,800 anti-Asian racist incidents occurred in America last year, mostly against women, based on data by Stop AAPI Hate. Yesterday, Asian Americans and allies called for solidarity and condemned discrimination and racist violence in Minnesota. They also honored the lives of Delaina Ashley Yaun, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Julie Park, and Hyeon Jeong Park -- employees of an Atlanta-area spa who were killed on Tuesday by a gunman.
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  2021-03-10

  Justice for Angelo Quinto

  Tonight AAPIWL joined Angelo Quinto's family + community, the incredible organizers of @justiceforangeloquinto, Civil Rights Attorney @johnburrislawfirm , the mother of Oscar Grant- Rev. Wanda Johnson, @justice4steventaylor grandmother, @robbonta, Cat Brooks @antipoliceterrorproject, Antioch's elected officials, and hundreds of community members from all over the Bay Area to celebrate Angelo's 31st birthday. Tonight we all learned that Angelo was well loved by his family in Antioch and in the Philippines. His family talked about how amazing and special he was, and they were proud that he wanted to pursue his passions in art. We learned more about the powerful community that will continue to support the Quinto family in their fight for Angelo. Thank you again to the organizers for this beautiful celebration and vigil, for uplifting Angelo and his family, the call for solidarity, the need for mental health resources, demanding the end of police violence and the need for accountability for Angelo and the countless men who were also murdered by the Antioch Police Department while having a mental health crisis. We will continue to fight with you all. #JusticeForAngeloQuinto #JusticeForAngeloJusticeForAll #AAPIWomenLead #InSolidarity #StopAAPIHate
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  2021-03-13

  Love Our Communities

  There are different events happening today - thanks to the organizers across the US for your work. We’ve been learning alongside LA in particular - THANK YOU to all of the organizations + individuals who’ve been working SO hard to make today happen. We love our communities + we are building collecting power. Hope you join this movement. #InSolidarity @ccedla NAME CHANGE: In an effort to amplify our message of solidarity, we are no longer using “Stop Asian Hate” in the title for this event. CCED recognizes that the emphasis on hate crimes limits the scope of the conversation, implying these attacks are merely isolated racist attacks + that policing is the solution. Hate crime legislation funds surveillance but does not actually change the material realities that working class Asian Americans live in. Anti-Asian violence is tied to the collective struggle of BIPOC under white supremacy. We’ve provided some reading materials in our link in bio for folks to learn further! . . Join our communities THIS SATURDAY 3/13 @3:30PM @jamuseum in Little Tokyo (in person or via livestream!) for “LOVE OUR COMMUNITIES: BUILD COLLECTIVE POWER”--a grounding, healing space in the wake of anti-Asian Violence. Meet, collaborate, and build with grassroots organizations doing direct work in Los Angeles Asian American communities. Artwork by Cynthia Yuan Cheng @cynthiaycheng Organized by: Chinatown Community for Equitable Development @ccedla Ktown4BlackLives @ktown4blacklives Tuesday Night Project @tnproject Nikkei Progressives @NikkeiProgressives Sunday Jump @thesundayjump API Equality LA @apiequalityla Kabataang maka-Bayan / Pro-People Youth @kmb_la Progressive Asian Network for Action (PANA) Palms Up Academy @palmsupacademy J-Town Action and Solidarity @jtown.action.and.solidarity Hosted by: The Japanese American National Museum @jamuseum **Masks required. Double masking encouraged. Social Distancing required per CDC Guidelines** ADA accessibility + streaming details to be announced. Check out the FB Event Page @ccedla link in bio. [image description - more info on @ccedla page at comments]
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  2021-03-16

  Surge in Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans

  As the U.S. continues its battle against COVID-19, it is also battling a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans. A recent report found that hate crimes against Asian Americans in major U.S. cities surged by nearly 150 percent in 2020 —even as the number of overall hate crimes fell. Stephanie Sy looks at how the violence has marred one community, and how they are coming together in its wake.
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  2021-03-14

  Brenda Cohen Oral History, 2021/03/14

  In this oral history, I interview my mom, Brenda Lee Cohen on her pandemic experience with a particular focus on her work with the Calgary police service as a crime and intelligence analyst supervisor. In this interview, Brenda talks about her initial experience with the COVID-19 pandemic, she recalls the first day of the pandemic as she and her husband were stuck in America. This particular interview touched upon what her work environment was like during the pandemic and topics such as systemic racism, the police ‘culture’ and the revocation of a popular program for city employees known as the ‘golden handshake’ in the midst of the pandemic. Brenda also spoke briefly about her experience with misogyny within the workplace and how these ideas are so prevent within a space which mixes the civilian and police worlds. Finally, Brenda also spoke about what she is most thankful for in this pandemic, and ultimately reflects on her own inability to express her thoughts and emotions – and how one day when she is out of the police environment, things will be different. Interviewee Name: Brenda Cohen Interviewer Name: Padraic Cohen Date of Interview: 03/14/2021 Location: Cochrane, Alberta Canada. Transcribed by https://otter.ai Partially transcribed by Padraic Cohen