Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Damien Echols: How death row prepared me for my new life...

After spending 18 years in prison for murders I didn’t commit, I walked off of death row one year and 10 months ago. I know it’s this amount of time because at least once a week someone will stop me and ask, “So, how long have you been out now?” In some ways that year and 10 months seems like it’s been a very, very long time. In other ways it has passed in the blink of an eye.

I’ve barely had time to rest for more than a handful of days since I’ve been out. While on death row I wrote a book called “Life After Death,” that was published by Blue Rider Press soon after my release. Almost immediately I was on the road doing book signings and talks. And then the documentary that my wife, Lorri, and I produced — most of which was also done while I was still on death row — came out. We traveled from state to state, theater to theater, screening the film and answering the audience’s questions. We’ve also undertaken a speaking tour, going from school to school to discuss the case with law students, criminal justice majors and future journalists. Rarely has there been a moment when I wasn’t moving.

I’ve carried a great deal of what I learned on death row with me out into the world. When I was sitting in that cell I never realized the extent to which the things I had to learn would play a part in my future. I didn’t realize I was practicing, training and getting ready for the next chapter of my life. In fact, sometimes I thought I was just getting ready to die. Full story...

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