Michael Bane: An Innocent Man on Death Row in Tennessee On November 19, 1988, police found the body of Royce D. Frazier, age 60, lying in a bathtub full of water in his home near Memphis, Tennessee. It was assumed that the body had been there for a few days. Frazier had been gagged; a plastic bag had been placed over his head; and an electrical cord was tied around his neck. A plunger had been placed over his... Read more
Paranoid: On Justice and Compassion for Ronson Bush Paranoia can make even the most impossible sets of circumstances real. People do all sorts of wild stuff and don’t realize what they’ve done until it’s over. It’s absolute terrifying for all involved. Such a condition is often brought on by drug use or mental illness. In the case of Ronson Bush, his paranoia was the result of a life filled with any and all of the above and... Read more
Jason Stephens, Robert Sparrow III & a Hot Car Accident Hyperthermia is a deadly condition that occurs when an individual’s body temperature rises to levels beyond normal due to excessive heat. Basically, the body produces more heat than it dissipates. I was a child the first time I ever heard of such a condition. One of the local community organizations was conducting a training to warn kids and their parents about the dangers of hot cars. I... Read more
Shawna Forde: From Minuteman to Convict to Prison Saint Following Jesus is a dangerous business. Often, one is taken to places they could have never imagined. I recently went to such a place. You see, Shawna Forde was the organizer and leader of Minutemen American Defense, which patrolled Arizona’s border with Mexico. Forde and a variety of others participated in such activity with a firm belief that their actions were keeping people safe from the consequences of drug... Read more
Each year, I construct a Lenten journey centered on various manifestations of the last words of people who have been executed. This year, I used the last words of the last 40 people executed in the United States. Each Lenten day centers on one reflecting on the last words of the executed, a brief prompt and a prayer. The version available for sale on Amazon includes pictures of all 40 guys. The version below is a free... Read more
Jesus is Transgender Less than a hundred feet from residences, local authorities discovered the murdered and badly decomposed body of a transgender woman of color. The Dallas Police Department put out a detailed description of the body and asked for help. For weeks, no one had seemed to know who this woman was. Finally, when the woman was identified as 22-year-old Ms. Shade Schuler, I realized she’d been forgotten. Nobody seemed to care that a crime of hate... Read more
On the Nature of a Call or On Eating Sh** Luke 1:1-4 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order,... Read more
Water = Wine / aka Wine Fest, Hermeneutical Musings 1/19/25 John 2:1-11 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.... Read more
The Baptism of the Lord or The Lunacy of Greatness The Baptism of the Lord, Homiletical Musings 01/11/2025 *Based on a homily delivered at St. Oscar Romero Old Catholic Church in Little Rock, Arkansas Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than... Read more
January 11, 2025 Poetry is freedom. Poetry is our freedom. : On Poetry, from Death Row *Steven Nelson is a prisoner on death row in Texas. The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood serves as his spiritual advisor. This piece flows out of a conversation that Dr. Hood had with Nelson on poetry The description of thoughts set free are the undergirding of poetry. If we restrain the mind, we cannot describe the beauty of what we find. ... Read more
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