OpEdNews » Second Chances: Former Death Row Inmate, Kenneth Foster Jr., Breathes New Life and Hope Through Poetry

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Tag(s): Activism; Civil Rights; Death Penalty; Democracy; Execution; Family; Hope Hopefulness; Human Rights; Poetry; Prisons - Penal System; (more...) Relationships; Spirituality; Texas (less...)
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December 7, 2007 at 15:41:15

Headlined on 12/7/07:
Second Chances: Former Death Row Inmate, Kenneth Foster Jr., Breathes New Life and Hope Through Poetry

by Jan Baumgartner Page 1 of 1 page(s)

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From death row to life in prison, Foster writes with passion and a purpose; about his daughter, life on the edge, spirituality, and the injustices and oppression crippling the legal system today.

On August 30, just six hours before the scheduled execution of Kenneth Foster Jr., the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles ruled 6-1 to commute his death sentence, which was accepted by Governor Rick Perry. Over 17,000 people worldwide urged the Board of Governors to commute Foster’s sentence, including President Jimmy Carter and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Kenneth Foster has served ten years in prison, the majority of that time on death row under the little known statute, Law of Parties. The Law of Parties allows prosecuting attorneys to hold anyone present at the scene of a crime legally responsible for the outcome. Texas is the only state that applies this statute in capital cases, making it the only U.S. locale where an individual can be factually innocent of murder and yet still face the death penalty. Foster, at the scene of the crime, and along with the gunman, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by lethal injection. The individual who pulled the trigger has since been executed.

By definition, the Law of Parties can subject a person to death even though he did not kill, intend to kill, help or encourage anyone to do so.

Today, Kenneth Foster, 30, is serving a new sentence - life with the possibility of parole. However, and according to a spokesperson for Foster, he won’t be eligible for parole for another 30 years. Currently, his prison “level” does not allow for contact visits and he is confined to his cell for 22 hours each day. Foster has the possibility to move up through the system levels, and in a year from now, may be able to have contact visits with his 11 year old daughter, Nydesha, as well as other family members.

A few months ago, I reported on Foster’s case in two articles for OpEdNews, Law of Parties, and From Behind Glass: Kenneth Foster and his Daughter Nydesha. From Behind Glass was based on a powerful interview conducted by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! and featuring Nydesha. This interview took place only days before Foster was due to be executed. Earlier this week, I received a message from Adam Axel, a spokesperson for Kenneth, who wrote that my article, From Behind Glass, had “inspired a new poem by Kenneth,” for and about his beloved Nydesha. The poem, herewith, speaks volumes of the unbreakable bond between father and daughter, undaunted by the glass barrier that has kept them physically apart for the last ten years, but spiritually, forever connected.

"and so the story goes"

by Kenneth Foster Jr.

she won't have to be the
half-hearted princess after all,
coz death missed me
even if just by the
hairs on my chinny-chin chin.
all the fairytales missed at bed time-
it's alright,
coz we just made our own.
baby girl-
in all your glory
you took the world in your hands,
swirled them w/ an African dance,
pranced through its soul w/ your poems
and showed that their hate
can't smother true love.
behind the glass
we elevated above
the social doubts & legal deceptions.
at 11 years old
you learned a valuable lesson
about the realities of america.
you've been an activist
since you was 8 months old.
from the start i owed you-
fought more for you
than myself.
choked up on your squiggly letters at night
made me resilient in my fight-
tears burning w/ purpose
taking flight like Pegasus
for the stars
where we belong.
John Amador dreamed us
to existence like a prophet
before his transition.
my eyes glistened as he spoke of
our victory.
there's a mystery to the Row
like at Golgotha.
believe that!
i've witnessed transfigurations
on earth
like it is in heaven.
suffer ye the little children.
baby girl-
your heart remains whole,
thumping with all the intensity
that the world saw.
and God smiled upon you
when you said-
"if you kill him,
it's like you're killing me"-
coz He's been there/done that,
so He spared us the cross
and blessed us w/
time to give the world a
Holy kiss.
they won't miss us this time
as we take the world by storm.
i adore you,
so proud i be,
just smiling at the fact
you won't have to be the
half-hearted princess after all.
Your wholeness
makes me whole.
Amen.

Kenneth Foster has published two books of poetry since his incarceration, Tribulations Eyes, which has been published in four languages, and his new book, Texas Tears. Texas Tears is a book of spoken word poetry – and though in keeping with his spiritual foundation, it reveals Kenneth’s radical side and challenges the status quo of injustices and oppression that he and many of those around him have faced. For more on Kenneth Foster, his daughter Nydesha, and how to purchase his poetry, you can visit his website at www.freekenneth.com

A native Californian, Jan Baumgartner is a freelance writer currently living in Maine. Her background includes scriptwriting, comedy writing for the Northern California Emmy Awards, and travel writing for The New York Times. She has worked as a grant writer for the non-profit sector in the fields of academia, AIDS, and wildlife conservation and anti-poaching for NGO's in the U.S. and Africa. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous online and print publications in the U.S. and internationally, including the NYT, Bangor Daily News, SCOOP New Zealand, Wolf Moon Journal, Media for Freedom Nepal, and Banderas News in Mexico. She's finishing a memoir about her husband's death from ALS and how travels in Africa became one of her greatest sources of inspiration and hope. She is a Managing Editor for OpEdNews.

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15 comments

I am just trying to get an authors email address so I can contact her nothing more nothing less.
Adam AxelI am just trying to get an authors email address so I can contact her nothing more nothing less.

The Fight Continues

The Fight Continues for Kenneth's Freedom. To learn more visit www.freekenneth.com

by Adam Axel (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 5:19:14 PM

Capital Punishment Historian
khayes1943Capital Punishment Historian

once again!

Your statement: "Kenneth Foster has served ten years in prison, the majority of that time on death row under the little known statute, Law of Parties. The Law of Parties allows prosecuting attorneys to hold anyone present at the scene of a crime legally responsible for the outcome. Texas is the only state that applies this statute in capital cases, making it the only U.S. locale where an individual can be factually innocent of murder and yet still face the death penalty."

The Law of Parties or better known as The Felony Accomplice Rule" is neither "little known" nor is it only in Texas.

The statement was not correct when you posted it before and it is not correct now.

by khayes1943 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 12 comments) on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 5:55:13 PM

law of parties

The law of parties is applied in other States BUT Texas is the ONLY state that applies the law to capital cases and in doing so is the ONLY state where you can end up on death row under this law. Texas currently has between 80-100 people on death row who were convicted under the law of parties.

by Adam Axel (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 6:32:32 PM

A native Californian, Jan Baumgartner is a freelance writer currently living in Maine. Her background includes scriptwriting, comedy writing for the Northern California Emmy Awards, and travel writing for The New York Times. She has worked as a grant writer for the non-profit sector in the fields of academia, AIDS, and wildlife conservation and anti-poaching for NGO's in the U.S. and Africa. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous online and print publications in the U.S. and internat...

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Jan BaumgartnerA native Californian, Jan Baumgartner is a freelance writer currently living in Maine. Her background includes scriptwriting, comedy writing for the Northern California Emmy Awards, and travel writing for The New York Times. She has worked as a grant writer for the non-profit sector in the fields of academia, AIDS, and wildlife conservation and anti-poaching for NGO's in the U.S. and Africa. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous online and print publications in the U.S. and internat...

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Mr./Ms. Hayes,

Please list the the states that apply this statute, the Law of Parties, to capital cases. From my research and sources, Texas is the ONLY state. And, this is exactly what I have said above.

Additionally, I don't know anyone who had ever heard of the Law of Parties before the Kenneth Foster case came to light. You, being an historian of capital punishment, surely knows of this statute, but to presume that most Americans know of the Law of Parties, is truly misguided.

Yet again, your "spin" from personal experience or otherwise, has attacked fact, and juggled words to better fit your agenda. More than once, I state that Texas is the ONLY state that applies Law of Parties to CAPITAL cases. If you can provide the readers of OpEdNews information about other states that do the same, here is your forum. I cannot find such information.

For some reason, you continue to believe that individuals who do not believe in capital punishment, can be swayed into your way of thinking. It doesn't work for most of us. For those who do not believe in an eye for an eye, you're going to have a tough time here persuading readers to believe that executing a man who was present during a murder, yet didn't participate in that killing, should be legally put to death.

I'm sure you'll continue venting your anger and bitterness and attacks right here, on this site, on this very article, and if this brings you any sense of peace, so be it. But, make sure you get your facts straight. And again, if you can provide us with states that apply the Law of Parties to capital punishment, then I/we eagerly await your response and I will make such a correction in the above text if Texas in NOT the ONLY state that applies the Law of Parties to capital punishment.

by Jan Baumgartner (52 articles, 136 quicklinks, 10 diaries, 249 comments) on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 6:33:37 PM

Georgianne Nienaber is a writer, author, and investigative journalist. She lives in the world. Her articles have appeared in The Huffington Post, SCOOP New Zealand, Glide Magazine, Rwanda's New Times, India's TerraGreen, COA News, ZNET, OpEdNews, The Journal of the International Primate Protection League, Friends of the Congo, Africa Front, The United Nations Publication, A Civil Society Observer, and Zimbabwe's The Daily Mirror. Her fiction exposé of insurance fraud in the horse industry, Horse...

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Georgianne NienaberGeorgianne Nienaber is a writer, author, and investigative journalist. She lives in the world. Her articles have appeared in The Huffington Post, SCOOP New Zealand, Glide Magazine, Rwanda's New Times, India's TerraGreen, COA News, ZNET, OpEdNews, The Journal of the International Primate Protection League, Friends of the Congo, Africa Front, The United Nations Publication, A Civil Society Observer, and Zimbabwe's The Daily Mirror. Her fiction exposé of insurance fraud in the horse industry, Horse...

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Agenda? HMMMM...

I know Ms. Baumgartner to be impeccable in her fact-checking. It certainly seems as if you might have an "agenda" in your constant criticism?

This article is beautiful...let's not keep breaking everything beautiful.

by Georgianne Nienaber (145 articles, 46 quicklinks, 13 diaries, 337 comments) on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 6:35:06 PM

Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as o...

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Rob KallRob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as o...

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An extraordinary article

THe idea that our writing, our work here reaches to death's doors, so to speak, and touches this poet is simply amazing.

It is sad, but not unsurprising that trolls will try to darken something beautiful. Then again, we don't fertilize flowers with beautiful things, we fertilize them with rotting manure that has been thoroughly chewed up by maggots and the like.

I'm no expert on laws, but the commenter who attacks you, Jan, fails to document his claims at the most basic level, leaving him (or her) far from credible.

This is great writing and work you're doing, don't let trolls daunt you.

American justice has many flaws and innocent victims. And even murderers can transform from caterpillars to butterflies, learning, reforming and becoming good people-- still carrying responsibility for the crimes they've committed, but having metamorphosized to become a different person.

And there will be troglodytes who fail to see the change, fail to acknowledge it and never forgive. Their punishment is self inflicted.

by Rob Kall (808 articles, 3922 quicklinks, 332 diaries, 1703 comments) on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 7:19:11 PM

Law of Parties

Please see the quote below which I believe settles this dispute. It is taken from the editorial section of the Dallas Morning News from August 31st 2007 - the link to the full article is below it. There are other articles that state the same thing including ABC News and I have personally spoken to several attorneys who verify this and I have not come across any evidence that indicates other states executing people under the law of parties. If there are any other states that execute accomplices under law of party type statutes they must be doing so in secret cia prisons.

"But lawmakers should go further. Texas is the only state that broadly applies the "law of parties" to capital cases, allowing accomplices to be executed for murders they did not commit."

click here this is a BEAUTIFUL article and we all appreciate what you do!

The Texas Law of Parties is still ALIVE and well and there are between 80-100 people who await execution because of it. We must pressure the Texas legislature to address this when they reconvene.

by Adam Axel (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 7:42:32 PM

Capital Punishment Historian
khayes1943Capital Punishment Historian

The Facts, just the facts

I would like for your readers to consider the following.

It really does not matter what you want to call it. The Law of Parties (LOP) is just the Texas name for conspiracy or felony accomplice or XYZ. A similar example would be that in some states you cannot rape a person because the law is sexual battery or XYZ.

Yes, Texas may have 80 people on death row under the provisions of the LOP. I will conceed that fact. However, based on a very quick check there are at least 25 states which have people on death row under the provisions of "felony accomplice", or "conspiracy", or "murder for hire', or "accessory before the fact', or XYZ.

There are only few states that specifically bar the execution of a "non-triggerman".

Once again I invite your readers to be come familiar with the law itself and not just rely on OpEd pieces (whatever the source) for so-called facts (my statements included). LOP has become a "buzz phrase" to many who have no idea what it involves.

This book is a good place to start: (I have 2 copies)

The Death Penalty: An American Citizen's Guide to Understanding ...

by Louis J. Palmer, Jr., Louis J. Palmer - 1998

by khayes1943 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 12 comments) on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 11:03:47 PM

A Bad French Writer
frangelisA Bad French Writer

Sympathy with Mr. or Ms. Hayes

Dear Mister or Misses Hayes, I’m sorry, but you know, up to Christmas I’m busy, so I won’t study your book or your xyz’s here and your xyz’s there. But I had a great flash! Listen, and dig it! Why not change a little the procedure. It’s not that much an exiting story, to kill your men, one each week or one each couple of weeks, while nobody cares a lot. Make it more attractive! Chose Christmas Eve and kill them all at once! Given that it takes about 5 to 10 minutes to kill one, you don’t even need to build a second death chamber. Go from 6 pm to 6am, 6 in one hour, it makes 72 that you could do during the whole night. Sure those bastards of criminals would definitely understand what Christmas is all about and your fellow Texan citizens appreciate well-done work. Holy night, silent night…

by frangelis (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 4:49:46 PM

Standing against injustice the world over!
M DukeStanding against injustice the world over!

Looking at the bigger picture....

Well I have to say that… be it the Law of Parties or the "felony accomplice", or "conspiracy", or "murder for hire', or "accessory before the fact', it strikes me as utterly amazing and sadly shocking that a country such as the United States of America endorses, supports and wholeheartedly perpetrates the legal murder of its own citizens. A country that supposedly leads the world in so many areas is so backward in their social justices issues is shocking and sickening!!

I will also say that largely thanx to the Kenneth Foster case being publicized as it was globally…the world is watching and judging the barbarism of not only Texas, but of the entire US of A! And I for one, being an outsider (not an American) and seeing the injustices happening in so far as this issue is concerned ..that being the death penalty, stirs me to take what small steps of activism I can…that being, actively educating folks about the situation and boldly encouraging people to boycott Texas in any way shape of form.

I write to one of those many on Texas Death Row who finds himself there via the "LOP" , and until you put a human face to this issue...how the heck can you make a true judgment!!

America...the world is watching!!!

by M Duke (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 5:49:56 PM

Undergraduate degree in political science and philosophy: summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa; with postgraduate work in political economics. Postgraduate degree is a juris doctorate. I am a voracious reader and, although I make no claim to expertise, have self studied in logic, linguistics, theology, theoretical physics, macroeconomics, technical and fundamental market analysis, world history, and many other subjects, which I believed at the time helped explain the world around me.

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W.M.L.Undergraduate degree in political science and philosophy: summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa; with postgraduate work in political economics. Postgraduate degree is a juris doctorate. I am a voracious reader and, although I make no claim to expertise, have self studied in logic, linguistics, theology, theoretical physics, macroeconomics, technical and fundamental market analysis, world history, and many other subjects, which I believed at the time helped explain the world around me.

...

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FELONY MURDER RULE

As a former criminal defense attorney who practiced almost exclusively in capital criminal defense, and who has testified as an expert to the constitutional competency of other defense attorneys in collateral attacks on capital murder convictions, I know a thing or two about capital cases. In almost all states that have the death penalty, any person who forms the intent to commit a felony can be held to account for capital murder if, during the course of the commission of that felony, a death occurs. This rule means in effect that the lookout for a simple robbery, who doesn't even know one of his cohorts is armed, can be charged with first degree murder if the intended victim pulls a gun to thwart the robbery and the armed assailant in turn shoots the victim to death.

The felony murder rule rests upon the twin legal presumptions that the intent to commit the felony is transferred to the killing and that such intent is so inherently dangerous to life as to encompass willful premeditation of possible murder. The rule's premise is, of course, ridiculous, and the rule actually leads to more death sentences than truly premeditated murder. The latter result obtains because in Phase II of a capital murder trial, where the jury must weigh mitigating circumstances against aggravating circumstances in order to determine whether to vote for or against the death penalty, the fact that the murder occurred during the commission of a felony is universally a statutory aggravating factor. Hence, once charged with and found guilty of the first degree murder of which he took no part in Phase I, the hypothetical lookout for the robbery has one statutory aggravating factor against him before Phase II even begins.

The felony murder rule leads to many absurd results. There are men on death row because the police fired and killed their co-perpetrators during the commission of a felony; men whose victims had heart attacks during the felony; men whose victims accidentally shot innocent bystanders in defense of property; and even men whose involvement in the felony was so minor they demanded a trial, and the actual shooter was given immunity for testimony and not even imprisoned!

Because of the felony murder rule it is better to shoot someone to death for the sheer hell of it than to drive the get-away-car in what you thought would be a peaceful burglary. The purpose of the death penalty, which is merely the spearhead of America's vast and bloated crime control establishment, is to instill fear of arbitrary governmental power in the hearts of her citizens. The death penalty has always and will always eventually be used for explicitly political purposes, and no government of free human beings should ever be granted the power to kill its own.

by Stryker05 on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 6:16:47 PM

by W.M.L. (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 329 comments) on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 6:50:27 PM

A native Californian, Jan Baumgartner is a freelance writer currently living in Maine. Her background includes scriptwriting, comedy writing for the Northern California Emmy Awards, and travel writing for The New York Times. She has worked as a grant writer for the non-profit sector in the fields of academia, AIDS, and wildlife conservation and anti-poaching for NGO's in the U.S. and Africa. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous online and print publications in the U.S. and internat...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Jan BaumgartnerA native Californian, Jan Baumgartner is a freelance writer currently living in Maine. Her background includes scriptwriting, comedy writing for the Northern California Emmy Awards, and travel writing for The New York Times. She has worked as a grant writer for the non-profit sector in the fields of academia, AIDS, and wildlife conservation and anti-poaching for NGO's in the U.S. and Africa. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous online and print publications in the U.S. and internat...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Thank you.

Your input and expertise certainly makes clear the legal ramifications, absurd or otherwise, in many capital cases. I appreciate your time in providing facts, whereas some prefer to attack anyone who questions certain statutes, the death penalty, seeing only black or white as opposed to each case - individually and humanely.

by Jan Baumgartner (52 articles, 136 quicklinks, 10 diaries, 249 comments) on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 7:57:17 PM

THANK YOU

for your support of anyone imprisoned by or in the United States. We have perfected imprisonment into a perfect hell.

by W.M.L. (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 329 comments) on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 8:19:42 PM

Muhammad Khurshid, a resident of Bajaur Agency, tribal areas situated on Pak-Afghan border is journalist by profession. He contributes articles and news stories to various online and print newspapers. His subject matter is terrorism. He is also heading Voice For Peace working against terrorism in tribal areas. The aim of the Voice For Peace is restoration of peace in Bajaur Agency, tribal areas and whole world.
Muhammad KhurshidMuhammad Khurshid, a resident of Bajaur Agency, tribal areas situated on Pak-Afghan border is journalist by profession. He contributes articles and news stories to various online and print newspapers. His subject matter is terrorism. He is also heading Voice For Peace working against terrorism in tribal areas. The aim of the Voice For Peace is restoration of peace in Bajaur Agency, tribal areas and whole world.

Great Article, I full support you point of view

Dear Jan Baumgartner
I fully support your point of view.Just presence at the scene of crime is not a crime. I think there should be change in the law. Though I am not living in the United States, but as human being I have also the same feeling as you have. You have love for the humanity. Your style of writing is excellent. I appeal to all the OpEdnews readers to extend support to Jan Baumgartner. I know her she has heart like mirror. She loving and kind lady. Thank you very much for writing such a fine piece.

by Muhammad Khurshid (292 articles, 31 quicklinks, 184 diaries, 145 comments) on Sunday, December 16, 2007 at 8:49:56 AM

I am sorry for the mistakes in the headlines

Dear Jan Baumgartner
I do not why, but whenever I write comment on you articles I make mistakes. The headline should be read as: Great article, I fully support your point of view.

by Muhammad Khurshid (292 articles, 31 quicklinks, 184 diaries, 145 comments) on Sunday, December 16, 2007 at 8:54:10 AM