The reason for this blog began years ago when I began working as a crime reporter for a small town newspaper. I had an interest in female crime and the job gave me access to information I had not previously been able to access.
One of the first things I began to realize is how many more women commit murder than we, the public, were assuming at that point. This was before Snapped, and the ID Channel were making waves.
The next thing I noticed was how many of these condemned women were actually innocent. Sometimes not so much innocent of their crimes, but innocent of the situation. When women kill it is most often because of a REASON. By this I mean that men will kill on a whim, because they are angry or hurt. Women rarely commit murder without a very clear and defined reason.
As I started to write to these women on death row and in orison for life, I learned that they are simply women. Hurt, broken, lost women. Some admit their crimes and try to explain their frame of mind at the time. Some are sorry, some are not. Some are wrongfully accused. Most are not.
The one radiant, glowing fact that I have taken away after some 20 odd years of writing these women is that it could easily be me sitting there behind those bars. One wrong move. One twist of fate. We are all just one Butterfly Effect away from landing face down on a bunk in cell block D.
I often have to remind people that my compassion for condemned women does not mean I have none for the victims or their families. Quite the contrary. There is enough love and compassion for everyone. I donate portions of my book profits to victims funds and girls homes in my state. I support other charities such as Aid to Inmate Mothers as well.
So, I do what I can to raise a bit of money for them. To raise awareness about their cases. To bring some light to the darkness that descends on the world when a life is taken away. Once in a while, I get a letter from a woman who has received something from me and she will tell me how a small thing can make big changes. She will go on to touch other women she comes in contact with and although she will never be free, she is changing the world.
One of the first things I began to realize is how many more women commit murder than we, the public, were assuming at that point. This was before Snapped, and the ID Channel were making waves.
The next thing I noticed was how many of these condemned women were actually innocent. Sometimes not so much innocent of their crimes, but innocent of the situation. When women kill it is most often because of a REASON. By this I mean that men will kill on a whim, because they are angry or hurt. Women rarely commit murder without a very clear and defined reason.
As I started to write to these women on death row and in orison for life, I learned that they are simply women. Hurt, broken, lost women. Some admit their crimes and try to explain their frame of mind at the time. Some are sorry, some are not. Some are wrongfully accused. Most are not.
The one radiant, glowing fact that I have taken away after some 20 odd years of writing these women is that it could easily be me sitting there behind those bars. One wrong move. One twist of fate. We are all just one Butterfly Effect away from landing face down on a bunk in cell block D.
I often have to remind people that my compassion for condemned women does not mean I have none for the victims or their families. Quite the contrary. There is enough love and compassion for everyone. I donate portions of my book profits to victims funds and girls homes in my state. I support other charities such as Aid to Inmate Mothers as well.
So, I do what I can to raise a bit of money for them. To raise awareness about their cases. To bring some light to the darkness that descends on the world when a life is taken away. Once in a while, I get a letter from a woman who has received something from me and she will tell me how a small thing can make big changes. She will go on to touch other women she comes in contact with and although she will never be free, she is changing the world.
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