What’s in the Brown Paper Bag?

“He told me that everyone had pitched in. That they knew that I didn’t have anything and that it may be a while before I could get them. I asked him to find out who had contributed. I wanted to pay them back. He said, ‘It’s not like that. Just remember the next time you see someone come here like you. You pitch in something.’

“I sat there on my bunk with my brown paper bag of goodies, and thought about what had just happened to me. The last things I expected to find on death row was kindness and generosity. They knew what I needed and they took it upon themselves to meet those needs. They did this without any expectation of reimbursement or compensation. They did this for a stranger, not a known friend.

“I don’t know what they felt when they committed this act of incredible kindness. I only know that like them, twelve ‘good people’ had deemed me beyond redemption. The only remedy that these ‘good people’ could offer us is death. Somehow what these ‘good people’ saw and what I was seeing didn’t add up. How could these men, who just showed me so much humanity, be considered the ‘worst of the worst’?

“Ever since Napolean was executed for a crime he committed as a teen, I’ve wanted to share this story with his family. I would like for them to know that their son was a good man. One who I will never forget. I want them to know how sorry I am that we as a society failed them and him. I still find it ridiculous that we as a people feel that we cannot reach or love our young properly. I’m appalled at the idea that a teen is beyond redemption, that the only solution that we can offer is death. It’s tragic that this is being pointed out to the ‘good people’ by one of the ‘worst of the worst.’ God help us all.

“What’s in the brown paper bag? I found caring, kindness, love, humanity, and compassion of a scale that I’ve never seen the ‘good people’ in the free world show towards one another.”