Ask me
I am
in prison but i refuse to be driven
away from the good to be done;
i have risen and now my soul listens
to hope's drums — change has come
I am
Today I had a talk with one of the staff members. He informed me that someone had called the prison administration and asked after my health. A month ago this staff member had received a similar call about me from another seemingly concerned soul. He told me that the answer to such an inquiry is always, "He's doing just fine". That is the response required by prison rules. Regardless of whether my health is good or bad, the caller is going to hear the same thing: "He's doing just fine."
I appreciate that you are interested enough to call the prison to inquire about me. However, staff members are not going to tell you about the status of my health, any more than they will tell you about my efforts to do some good from this death row prison cell. You see, that is not their job.
Surely, writing a letter or email to me, personally, will produce more information than the administration can give you.
As for how my health is, at this time I am suffering from a broken distal phalanx in the first digit of my right thumb. Because of this injury I am limiting my writing — the length of this essay is an example.
I have been writing this column for more than 10 years. It has never appeared without my full address listed clearly at the end.
I appreciate any genuine, well-meaning interest and concern. I respectfully request that when you really want to know how I am doing, ask me.
BY BRANDON ASTOR JONES
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He welcomes letters commenting on his columns (include your name and full return address on the envelope, or prison authorities may refuse to deliver it). He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G3-77, Georgia Diagnostic & Classification Prison, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA, or email <brandonastorjones@hotmail.com>. Jones is seeking a publisher for his collected prison writings. Please notify him of any possible leads. Visit Jones' web page at .]