Simply visiting Ron is an experience in itself. After a complicated procedure in order to gain access to the prison involving being carefully searched, scanned by a metal detector, placing my personal possessions in a locker and having my hand stamped by the guard, identifying me as a visitor to the prison, I am then guided through two steel doors that are promptly locked behind me.
After being ushered into the visiting section, Ron eventually shuffles in, escorted from his cell by an officer who has cuffed his hands behind his back and fastened shackles around his ankles. Ron has admitted to murder and his case is going through its first official appeal. If the court decides his trial was fair, he has the choice of continuing his appeals or awaiting his punishment, which is death by lethal injection.
We communicate using telephone receivers, as bulletproof glass and several feet of space separate us. For the next two hours our conversation can cover anything and everything. I try to inspire Ron to seek God daily, including maintaining his relationship with Him through regular prayer. Ron can’t explain why he committed murder. At the time of the crime he hadn’t eaten properly for 20 hours, and he had been drinking and taking drugs. The temptation to rob and kill presented itself and, egged on by an acquaintance, he drew a gun and shot several innocent people.
The murder and its related events have tortured the lives of the victims’ families and loved ones, and Ron’s own family is distraught, as he faces the probability of execution within a few months. What a waste of human life wrought by 10 minutes of madness. I asked Ron to write a letter to help young people avoid such a life, and a condensed version of Ron’s written thoughts follow:
“I’ve always believed in God, but I never really took my beliefs too seriously. I started smoking pot at age 12 and started drinking at about the same time. During this time, from age 12 to 18, I got in with the wrong crowd-stealing, lying, cheating and hurting people. I got caught for breaking into a drug dealer’s apartment and spent five weeks in a detention home.
From age 18 until age 24 I had a couple of run-ins with the law— drinking in public, driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of marijuana. Then I committed burglary and got three years of suspended time and three year’s probation, which I violated with another charge of receiving stolen property and grand larceny auto. I got a total of eight years and did three and one half years and made parole.
During my time in prison I began to do Bible courses and really study the Bible and apply its teachings to my life. I paroled to a Christian halfway house, but it wasn’t long before I was back to the drugs and drinking. I was told to leave the house. I had forgotten God, and had turned away from His Word.
On the night of this crime, at around 10:30 my friend mentioned we could rob the bar by the house. When the evening was over, several people were dead, and I would not realize what I had done until around 9 the next morning. At that point I was shocked. I never dreamed in a million years that I could have killed anyone.
After the trial I was sentenced to death and sent to prison. With a lot of encouragement I soon confessed my sins and admitted that I was powerless to change my life. Now that I have truly repented and turned my life over to God, I am no longer scared of death. I know God has forgiven me. What I am trying to say is that, no matter what you have done, no matter how bad you think you are, you can be saved with belief and true repentance. If you are willing to let God control your life, you will have the promise of eternal life, the Kingdom of God and total peace.
As far as a role model, look to Jesus Christ. He is the perfect role model. As a matter of fact, if you would ask yourself what would Jesus do in every situation that you find yourself in, no matter what the cost, you would notice a giant change in the way you do things. The bottom line is: Put God first in your life.”
That is Ron’s conclusion. I don’t doubt that this prisoner on death row is a changed and different man, but no matter how deep his regret and sorrow he cannot change the past and bring innocent people back to life. Had Ron listened as a youngster to good advice, or refused that first illegal drink or marijuana cigarette, perhaps this story would never have been told. Several people would be alive and with their families now rather than lying in their graves. The wrong way of life begins with small decisions. That’s the way Ron’s began, but his led him along the wrong road until he committed an act he never would have thought possible.
The book of Proverbs is full of priceless instructions for young people. I once asked a group of some 300 youths to select what they thought was the most helpful Proverb. The consensus was Proverbs 12:1: “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” Another Proverb tells us that “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother” (Proverbs 10:1). No mother wants her son on death row.
We can all save ourselves and our families much heartache if we decide to follow the guidance of the great God when He inspired these words: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, New International Version).
One of the wisest men who ever lived, King Solomon, penned some wonderful words for youths when he wrote: “Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment” (Ecclesiastes 11:9, New International Version). The same man added: “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:1, New American Standard Bible).
Neither you nor I alone have the power to change the social conditions around us very much. The real changes will come only when Jesus Christ returns and establishes God’s Kingdom. However, in the meantime we can decide to make a difference by living our lives the way God shows us in His Word.
