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Show Death Row causeof crime. “Crimes I have committed, I was in need of money,” said Eugene Alvin Broxton, an orphan and veteran thief on Texas’ death row for a 1991 robbery-murder. “I lived on thestreets,” he said, “so I stole to eat and have some Inmates Surveyed placeto live.” In a few cases, the inmates ac- @ From Previous Page cused murdering 23-year-old Jimmy Don Ham on Sept. 10, 1983, at Lake Lewisville, Texas. “When a good lawyer would cost $100,000 to $1 million, a court-appointed lawyer gets only $15,000 or so. So just how hard doyouthink a lawyer will work?” Death row historically has been a predominantly male domain. At of committing society’s homemaker Darlie Routier of Rowlett, Texas, convicted in February of killing her 5-year-old son, Damon — traditionally make their way to death row bykilling family members, other women dramatically defy the stereotype. In Nevada, Priscilla Ford, a 67- year-old widow, turned her car into a crowd of people on a packed Reno gambling row in 1980, killing seven and injuring 2i others. In Kentucky, LaFonda Fay Foster, 33, was sentenced to death after she and a female accomplice stabbed, shot, burned and ran overfive people in Lexington one afternoon in 1986. Excerpts from a nationwide survey of inmates convicted of capital murder reveal early trouble with the law, broken homes, abuse and addictifn > FAMILY PROFILES And the inmates speak from expe- rience. Virtually half of the surveyed > CHILDHOOD PROBLEMS 1 What wasthe worst thing that happened to you as a chil Id? Raised by: tant causes of crime in America. Birth mother and birth father | Physical abusebyfamily member Siam Natural mother/ather only inmates condemned to die in Birth father only Birth mother and a serrate oe of violence. Freddie Lee Wright, 45, convicted of the 1979 murders of Warren and Lois Green during a robbery of a Western Auto Store in Mount Vernon, Ala., learnedfirsthand whatit is like to lose a family memberto violence. While awaiting execution at Hol- parent or other relative. And almost three of 10 said they were sexually assaulted or abused as a child, most frequently by a family member. The abuse, in many cases, was man Prison, Wright was informed horrific. A Texas death-row inmatesaid his father punished him “T understand how it really by forcing him to strike a book of matches, match by match, and feels to lose someone wereally as mates, are amongthe mostimpor- Lives, crimes and times of death row Americasaid they were j to physical abuse as children, most frequently at the hands of a that his daughter hadbeenslain. — such “visit the grave touched, too, by the samespecter the time of the survey, only 41 of women visit Mecca, then of the victim and pay my homage and shed my tears for my ignoTrance.” Drugsand alcohol, according to more than half the death-row in- A7 most serious crime have been the approximate 2,850 people on death row were women. Though Florida’s death row, who would Birth mother only love to violence,” said Wright, then rub them out in his own flesh. Greens in execution-style mur- Almostsix of 10 prisoners said they believe that most of their fellow inmateseventually will be executed. But when that same question is applied to their own circumstances, only a third said who was convicted of shooting the ders, “I sometimes feel thatit's my fault my daughter was raped and murdered because if I was out there, my family and myself would have still been together and most likely we would have beenliving in a better area, where girls were not forced from the streets and raped. “This is my way of handling my loss, but then I tell myself evenif I wasoutthere,this could still have happened no matter what area my family wasliving in, because our kids today have so little respect for each other andlife in gener- newtrial or be cleared of wrongdoing. Nearly three-quarters of the prisoners said religion plays an importantrolein their daily lives. Second only to family photographs, holy books are the most al.” Underscoring the importance of family ties, almost two-thirds prized possessions on death row — more so than the ever-present school equivalency degrees, only of the inmates said they would For many, death row is a place one in seven graduated from a rather spend single day of free- traditional high school, and a dom with family and friends than third got no farther than ninth grade. One in five attended some eollege, but only one in 26 conviets said they graduated from have sex, get high or flee the country, as a few mentioned. Other responses ran the gamut, college. Nationally, one in five wrote he would “nuke Washing- Americans earns a college degree. Onein four death-row inmates said that a lack of isan James P. Bonifay, a Muslim on from a Midwestern inmate who ton D.C., Israel, and Rome” to Birth father and a Deathof family memberor fiend aaa12°, Accidentalinjury aaa 19°, Sexual abuse ERE 10°. | Abandoned, separatedfrom parent ia 8% mething bad (MMB 6% 2 Anotherrelative An adoptive parentor parent ray Lackof love, rejected, neglected (IIE 5% Beater, stabbed, shot J} 3% Verbal, mental abuse; humiliation iii 3% In an orphanage Number ofsiblings Pagition in the wor None % Inlychild 1to2 26° } The pidest ore 3104 33%!Theyoungest 18% | 506 16% | In bftween 46% Sevenormore No answer Average =4 17% i No inswer 1B Famil plied Middle : Pet-related (ij 2% 1% 2% | % Growing up poor 1% Nothing —amM 6% @ Were you ever w Were bs ccgi as as a child? sexually assaulted x class televisions and radios. ever phy- sicalty sbused f they believe they will be put to death. Morethanhalfbelieve that their convictions will be overturned and that they will win a Death-row inmates in the suryey are poorly educated. Although some have earned high creas No’ answer 3% No 69% No- answer Ko 50% 3% at B> DRUGS/ALCOHOL 8 Have any membersof four immediate family ever been convictyd of a Sony? Yes y Father Bi 10% Sister(s) fi] 4% ee of introspection. Deprived of drugs and alcohol and forcibly removed from thestreets, some sober up to disturbing realizations and scathing self-evaluations. “T havefailedlife,” said a robber, convicted thief and drug user in a Northwestern state. “I am proudof nothing.” @ Did you ever become a roger . evarin drug user? so, what drug did you use most? achild or teen- anes vas Maps nil NP ggNo . aT Cocaine WMH 20% Amphela: mis | ned:parhelbaoaleenl how oid were you whenyoufirst tried each? Under9 Drugs / Aicoho! [91012 isto15 Heroin 12% __6% 17% 22%2 28% 15 or older 20% Never tried rugs 13% Neve tied alcohol Nc eran 2% Knight-Ridder Tribune important cause of crime. But fewer — one in seven — expressed regret for not having stayed in school or goneto college. Even fewer still — one in 11 — believe that additional education would have made a differencein their lives. Illiteracy was apparent in the questionnaires that inmates re- turned. More than half the inmates in the survey werereared in broken, A bouquet of anather kind... Spring Color Basket from Estée Lauder. impoverished homes, and two of A filigree basketfilled with 19 mana makeup colors. . .worth $130. Yours for $25 with any Estée L der fragrance purchase. 10 were reared bysingle mothers. Statistically, death-row inmates are far morelikely to be a middle child than the youngestorthe old- est. Six percent were only children. Morethan half said their families were poor. And as adults, (ped) WMijy, they were likely to continue the eycle of poverty, with half report- ing that their last legitimate job paid less than $250 a week. They worked primarily in manual-la- bor jobs, such as construction, maintenance andagriculture. But a few also owned businesses or came from professional ranks. In recent years, for example, a lawyerandfourpolice officers have been condemned to death row About half believe that the breakdown ofthe family is an important cause of crime. More than onein three inmatesare divorced or separated. About a third be- “SAREE Windhil For a limited time Glass Act will Waive up to $100 of your Insurance Deductible, Insurance approvedpricing. 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