Death Row - Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers from Death Row (continued)
Melvin Troy! - Graterford

Hello Mr. Melvin Troy! I have a few questions regarding various units within a prison. Specifically, I would like to know what the differences are, if there are any, between administrative segregation, protective custody, solitary confinement the "hole") and death row? I'm asking because I've heard that each of these four forms of lock-up are basically identical, and each require the inmate to sit by himself in a small one person cell with no TV. or radio for 23 hours a day, with one hour per day allowed out of their cell. Is this really what each of these forms of lock-up consist of? Is there really no difference at all between the living conditions from one to another? Are they all equally restrictive, controlling and miserable for an inmate? Do all prohibit TV's and radios? And lastly, which of these forms of lock-up are you being held in?
What's up Jerry? Yes there is a difference between being in "protective custody", "death row" and "administrative segregation". I will explain to you what each is.

Death Row; Blocks that house prisoners sentenced to death. Death Row prisoners can only be around death sentenced prisoners. Most of the time is spent in the cell unless we are in the yard (1 hour) or law library (2 hours) or are on a visit (1 hour). We are allowed TV's and radios if one can afford to by it. We are also allowed one phone call a week. We are not allowed to have a cellmate. We are housed in single cells.

Protective Custody; Inmates who have asked to be locked in the hole because of fear of being hurt or killed, or raped. Alot of times it is because the inmate has done something such as borrowed money or something and can't pay back. Sometimes it's just out of fear of being around so many people. But whatever the reason it is usually due to the inmate asking to be put in protective custody. The only other reason that an inmate will end up in protective custody is if the administration gets word from somewhere that there is some kind of serious danger that is going to befall someone. Then in order to protect that individual, the administration would put the inmate in protective custody.

Solitary Confinement; This is generally used for guys that "snap out", so to speak. Or if a guy gets some very bad news and feels that he cannot be around other people for awhile while he is handling the personal matter. These cells are not in the hole as with "death row" and "protective custody" cells. These cells are located in the hospital area and are referred to as, "hard cells".

Administrative Segregation; This kind of segregation is generally placed on a person by the D.O.C. (department of corrections) in Harrisburg. Generally this has to do with a persons record while they are in jail. For example; If a person has numerous escape attempts, and/or a person may have killed someone while they are in prison, or if the person has a strong history of assaults against guards or other inmates, then he would eventually end up in Administrative Segregation. Which is Harrisburg approved.
So there you have the differences in the various forms of being confined in a hole. I hope that I have helped you understand that which you wanted to know. I am still housed on Death Row. People who are in the hole for disciplinary reasons are not allowed to have TV's or radio's. Neither are protective custody.

My nephew is on fast track to prison. he is only 16. I was wondering if you could tell him what a typical day in prison is like. He thinks he is "bad" and no one would mess with him. I and his family can't seem to make him understand that it isn't only the fact that there are bigger and badder dudes there than he is, but life in prison sucks! He thinks it is one big party the whole day. Do rapes and beatings actually go on there? What about murders? Anything you could say to maybe get him to calm down would be appreciated very much. Deana
Dear Deana, Please forgive me for the delay in getting back to you. I had legal engagements. I would be more than happy to enlighten your nephew about the reality of prison life. I have seen many of the young guys come through here that think that they are some sort of tough guys end up in self lock up, stabbed up, beat up and killed because of their own ignorance to the perils of jail life. Tell your nephew not to become a victim of peer pressure. It is to be a youngster to fall victim to peer pressure these days. Don't be fooled young man, jail is not the place that you want to be. Yes! Rapes and beatings are very common here. Murders are not as common as the beatings are but they do occur. The state troopers are investigating what is either a murder or suicide right now that occurred a few days ago. It's not big and bad to be in jail, nor is it big and bad to follow after the crowd. It takes a big man, a bad man to make his own decisions to do what is right regardless of what others say or try to get you to do. We are losing our youth these days at a alarming rate to murder, prisons and drugs. Enjoy your life my young friend while you can, because you never know what your future holds. The world offers no guarantees. Allow me to indulge you in what you are surrounded with on a daily basis. Each block holds 700 people. The block is about the length of one long city block so you can't really see what is going on at one end of the block from the other. Also you can imagine the noise that takes place on such a very large populated block. It would (and has been) a tragedy if a guy got ambushed in the back of the block. He'd better have serious track star potential to reach the front of the block and get away. You are surrounded daily with people who are looking for any sign of weakness in you. The guys that want to rob your cell when you are gone. The guys that want to extort you for your belongings. The guys that want to have sex with you. The guys that will watch you in the shower lustfully and fantasize about having sex with you. And yes, the showers are not private. It's exactly like you may have seen in the movies. Big and crowded with no guards inside. The mentality is either one or the other. Your weak which you cannot hide because these guys have been doing this a long time, and are the best at what they do) or your strong. A young buck will get eaten alive in here. Coming in here at the age of nineteen, twenty, twenty one. You can tell your nephew that he'd never make it. At the least, he'd be ruined emotionally and mentally. And of course they have no problem giving you some medication that will make you forget your troubles. Including who you are, how you got here, your name and everything else. Don't be afraid to be yourself buddy. Crowd pleasers are controlled by the crowd, not their own will. You are young, don't give up to the drugs, streets, prison or anything that will ruin your future. Your family loves you and you know this. That is why you foolishly ignore their attempts to help you understand the error of your ways. When you find yourself in trouble they will be the first ones that you run to, and you know that they will be there for you, because you know that they love you. FAMILY IS EVERYTHING! These so called friends of yours will leave you in the lurch when the time comes to save themselves. YOUR FAMILY IS EVERYTHING! Listen to your family. That's where the real love and concern is. Remember this, a guy that is big and bad doesn't run around trying to show it. He knows what he is capable of. He knows that he can handle himself. He is not insecure whereas he feels he has to prove himself all the time to everybody. Don't do it to yourself junior! Get an education and get good friends who care about you and your future. Enjoy your youth and the fun and excitement that it brings. Don't be a thug. Don't be a coward and be scared to listen to those who love you. Don't lose your youth, don't lose your freedom and please don't lose your life. It's much easier then you think to lose all these things. Make the very best out of your life while you can. Love your family, family is everything.

Seasons greetings dude! Since you've obviously got some "TIME" on your hands, I'd like to ask you what it's like to be caged up during this time of year, while the rest of us are partying our brains out, spending quality time with our friends and families, celebrating the turn of the century and giving thanks for all the things that we've got? Honestly dude, I can't imagine how you're able to survive living in such a dreadfully sad and lonely world, where nobody gives a damn about who you are or what you have to say. Aren't you sick and tired of being completely powerless and forced to live on your knees? Don't you have any pride or self-respect? Personally dude, I'd rather die on my feet with dignity than submit to a lifetime of living on my knees at the mercy of the state. But then again, like most folks I never would've committed a crime in the first place! Ah well, later dude. Talk to ya in the year 2000! Daniel McArthur - Monterey, CA.
You can't be serious dude. You just can't be. The combination of your kind of simple mindedness, ignorance, and cowardice is straight off the Richter scale, and well deserving a minimum reply.

What are your feelings about Philadelphia's hippie guru Ira Einhorn, who's been convicted of killing his girlfriend but is still happily living in France with his wealthy Swedish wife and has still not faced any measure of justice?
My feelings in regards to Ira Einhorn are pretty simple. The man was convicted in abstentia (without his being there) so whatever evidence was used to convict him. and whatever type of case the prosecution used against him, he was not there to dispute or defend himself. Now of course this doesn't mean that he is innocent. However I know how hard it can be to get a fair and impartial trial and jury when the defendant is actually present to defend himself (in Philadelphia) in the court room. So anything could have happened or been done to get him convicted since he was not there. So whether he is actually innocent or guilty (FOR REAL) of the crime of killing his girlfriend, I HAVE NO OPINION ON. I believe that it is possible that he actually did commit the crime that he was convicted in abstentia of, but I also believe that he may be innocent. But I tell you this Jerome, "I don't blame Ira Einhorn one bit for not wanting to face the Philadelphia court system". That so called RULE that the Pennsylvania legislators drew up that supposedly gave Ira Einhorn a new trial is BULL! They DO NOT have the authority to give that man a new trial like that. If Ira decided to come back to face the court system because of this supposedly new trial, what would probably happen is that some politician would bring up the fact that was the Legislators did was inappropriate and wrong and that the issue should be addressed by the higher courts and so forth. After all is said and done the ruling would be that the politicians were right, and that Ira Einhorn should not have been given a new trial through the Legislators. Thus send him to jail and let him do the life sentence that was given to him in abstentia. And that's what Ira would really be coming back to the states for,..."to do the life sentence that he was given in abstentia". The laws in this country flip flop so much when politics and/or high profile cases are involved that it is really a shame. A good current example is the Gonzales kid that is over here who's mother died while bringing him over here from Cuba. Just look at all the politics that are surrounding that case. It happens all the time when it comes to high profile cases and issues. The rules (laws) always seem to change.

Yes hello Mr. Troy! Despite what many people seem to believe, I think you sound very intelligent and credible in what you are saying. And if it's not too personal of a question to ask, I'd like to know what you believe is the worst thing crime) you've ever done or committed in your lifetime and how you feel about yourself today as a person in regards to whatever bad things you've done in the past?
Well Derges I got to tell you this, you've asked one heck of a question. Yet it is a good one. I've often thought of various things that I have done that I wish I hadn't done. And even though I could think of I wish I hadn't done and that I regret doing, I'm not really sure that I can pinpoint any one particular thing that I feel is the worst thing I ever did. Some things that we do in life that we regret are of a moral nature and not necessarily of a criminal nature. And sometimes it is harder to live with things that we may have done that we feel are wrong morally then it is to deal with things that we may have done that are criminally wrong. When I think of something I did (that I wished I had never did) I always remind myself of the importance of trying to prevent someone else from doing the same thing or making the same mistake. I've come to the conclusion that by doing this I can use something that was bad to produce something positive. People tend to adhere more to the advice of someone who has already walked the same road that they are walking. People who speak from experience have more of an impact on people today (especially the youth) then someone who's not speaking from experience. It's easy to judge, ridicule and tell somebody else what they should or shouldn't do when you have never experienced the things that they have experienced or walked in the shoes that they have. People who speak from experience tend to speak more out of concern then from a judgmental view point. And when a person feels that they are being judged, censured or condemned they are less responsive then they would be when being spoken to by someone who they feel really understands their plight because of experiencing the same things themselves. When we really learn from our bad experiences is when we not only commit to not doing the same thing again ourselves, but when we also feel compelled to try to keep another person from going down the same road. So the things that I have done that I regret,...I feel bad about. But I realize that I can't wish them away whether they are criminal or moral wrongs. Therefore I believe that the best way that I can deal with my past is to keep it from becoming someone else's future.

Dear Troy, my name is Angela and I'm 26yrs old, I'm from London, England. I just wanted to ask do you feel bitter? my father was arrested for a murder about 10 years ago, he was framed and was in prison for 18 months, I was 14yrs old at the time, the police planted evidence and lied, you name it they did it, thankfully the truth finally came out and he was acquitted when the case collapsed. I just thank God that we don't leave in America! Please, stay strong. God bless.
I am glad that you took the time to tell me about the bitter experience that your father had to go through 10 years ago. I hope that you and your family have gotten over the shock and experience of having to deal with what your father went through for those eighteen months that he was falsely imprisoned. Do I feel bitter??? HMMMM.....you know Angela I'm not really sure. Sometimes when I read about someone else who was framed for something they didn't do and how the system continues to fight to keep them in jail even after the evidence surfaces to prove their innocence, I get bitter because it is a constant reminder of how the system's number one priority is to get a conviction and keep it, no matter what. I was watching a program a couple of months ago that was dealing with how DNA testing could prove some peoples innocence in prison if it was provided to them and there was this guy who had been convicted of raping this female 19 years ago on basically no evidence. The female at first said she wasn't sure who had raped her. But when the police brought the guy to the hospital to ask the female if he was the guy she immediately said "yes". This guy had just gotten a ride halfway home from his cousin and was waving down a police officer to see if he could get the officer to drop him off the rest of the way. The officer picked the guy up and put him in handcuffs and took him to the hospital to see if the female would I.D. this young man as the rapist. Although the female had initially said that she couldn't positively I.D. her attacker, she told police that the guy he brought in was the guy who raped her. The guy was taken to trial and found guilty and given a life sentence. This guy has always claimed his innocence and had been asking for a DNA test for the past 5 years. The courts wouldn't provide one for him and his family was of little means. After a couple of years his family finally got enough money for DNA testing and so they wanted to have the DNA evidence to test. The district attorneys office continually opposed the guy's request. Why? If the guy is really guilty as the district attorney has continually claimed, then the DNA test would only prove that. And it wasn't going to cost the courts one dollar. But the fact is that the district attorneys office knew (just like it does so many times in so many different around this country) that the conviction wasn't really solid and that more than likely this guy was innocent. As a matter of fact in this particular case the district attorney's office probably had already tested the DNA evidence because after the family got the attention of the media, the district attorney's office sent the guy a message that they would turn over the DNA to be tested only if the guy would sign papers saying that he wouldn't sue the city or state etc. Now what would make the district attorneys office worried about being sued unless they already knew that the DNA evidence would exonerate the guy? And if they knew the DNA evidence would exonerate the guy, why wouldn't the district attorney's office be more than willing to turn it over since the DNA evidence proves that they had an innocent man in jail? Wouldn't that be justice? The guy agreed not to sue anybody, and sure enough the DNA evidence proved that the guy wasn't the rapist and was freed, after doing 19 years for a crime he didn't commit. And what did the female have to say about this, that was raped? "I agree with the decision, but I don't support it". WHAT???!! Anyway it's situations like this that do make me bitter. Because we have a system that is set up that will allow the districts attorney's office to withhold evidence, plant evidence, lie and so forth. And yet when it is discovered that the system did this to convict someone that is innocent, it goes unpunished. Therefore that is why it continues to happen over and over again. Because the system knows that it can break the law to frame people in order to get a conviction. And if it is ever found out about, the guilty parties don't have to worry about being held responsible for their actions. See this is the 'Just-us' system that is allowed to exist within the justice system. For example, I heard former New York City Mayor Ed Koch say, "if an innocent person has to be executed every now and then in order to keep the Death Penalty, I have no problem with it. We need the Death Penalty in order to protect innocent people". Now I ask you Angela, how can you be willing to execute somebody innocent in order to protect the innocent? The same people that you are vowing to protect, you are victimizing with that in which you are claiming to use to protect them. Further, if it was his son or daughter he wouldn't feel that way about them being executed innocently. But see Ed Koch and politicians who think like him have already reasoned to themselves and their family would never end up in that kind of situation anyway. Take care and be safe. I appreciate hearing from you.

Melvin I would like to encourage you to fight the fight. And keep believing in God. For the bible says that he is greater within me than he that is in the world. Jesus has forgiven you of all your sins. So, you hold to what is true because He does not give us a spirit of fear. I believe you are innocent and one day soon justice will prevail.
I really appreciate your comments and concern. I also respect your faith and your sincerity, and your desire to speak about it. Take care.

I may get a little slack for this, but I would like to direct my comments to all those people who wrote hate mail to Melvin and the other inmates. Your hate comments are serving no one. The site is designed to help children stay away from crime and ending up on the row! The inmates volunteered to answer questions, not receive hate mail!yeah,maybe some of them are guilty, but your hate comments could be directed at an innocent person to, we do have innocent people in our prisons across the country! Thank you--KC
Thank you for your comments. It's just the ignorance and lack of understanding of people that makes them say the stupid things that they do. Such people make themselves look ignorant and uneducated. They don't think before they speak and they don't think when they are speaking. Thank you for your insight.

why do people kill. my little brother has now been dead for over 21 yrs and still no answers on who killed him. it isn't fair at all.
I am sorry to hear about your brothers death and that in all these years there has been no answers as to who killed him. As far as your question in regards to why people kill. Well that is a tough one Marita. People have been killing since the beginning of mankind, starting with Cain killing Abel and that was out of jealousy. People today kill for every reason Marita. Money, power, politics, greed, racism, love, lust, envy, religion and even for fun or no reason at all. Society has become desensitized to killing. It's everywhere. Even people who think that they are not blood guilty or capable of killing have killing written in their hearts. Look at the people who rant and rave about the death penalty and how they would like to throw the switch themselves. Or how about the people who would like executions televised. How about the district attorneys that hide evidence that can prove a persons innocence, or fight to have a person executed when evidence such as DNA tests come into the picture that can exonerate a person all because they don't want to admit that they wrongfully convicted someone. They would rather kill an innocent person before they put a blotch on their record such as letting it become known that they convicted an innocent person. It's murder, and it's premeditated. Or how about the cops that kill people unjustly and then lie and say that the victim pulled a gun. You can't say "we are going to put an end to this killing by killing." It doesn't work that way. That amounts to a never ending cycle of killing. Everybody is so busy judging everybody else and pointing the finger at the obvious in order to keep the focus off themselves. It's easy to make an excuse for killing or for hating in the world today. What's hard to do is love, and to save lives. We as people have become alienated from God. For the most part we only have a form of worship that proves false to it's power. Our Godly devotion is conditional and wrought with hypocrisy. We will kill a person or desire the death of a person yet go on claiming that we love God. It's impossible to hate our fellow humans that we can see and yet claim we love God, whom we can't see. Man cannot accurately direct his own steps without God. He was not created to do so. The world is a very wicked place Marita, very wicked. As long as man goes on trying to rule mankind by killing and wickedness the world will never get better. I'm really sorry to hear about the loss of your brother. I can only imagine how you live with the loss each day knowing that his murder has gone unsolved all this time. The good thing is that you sound as if you haven't let what happened to your brother darken your heart with bitterness and hatred. Continue to seek peace and pursue goodness.

Have you ever been abuse as a kid or been assaulted/raped in prison and/or at a juvenile institution when you were younger? Have you ever been the one doing the assaulting/raping in such facilities? And if not, have you ever felt pressured to participate in a gang-rape out of fear that you might be the next victim if you didn't?

Dear Mel, Hi, Michelle M Australia here, I just want to re-iterate what Samantha said, WE LOVE YOU MEL!!!! If these ignorant SOB's cared to or were able to READ and have a basic knowledge of the English language with any basic comprehension skills and the insight not to believe every damn thing they read in relation to the US Government, then they would know that the reason the Death Penalty stills exists in the US is because of these RACIST, IGNORANT, REDNECKS who are running the country. The US Government is in breach of MANY UN laws, they are the
cowards, they sign treaty's and documents stating that they will abide by these UN laws yet they are the ones who continually breach them, they are the criminals, they are the liars, they are the bully's, they are the thugs who beat and intimidate people, they the murderers, they are the thieves, they are the butchers of society and anyone who thinks otherwise is truly ignorant of how it really is. WAKE UP AMERICA, IT'S NOT ALL APPLE PIE AND CREAM, OPEN YOUR EYES, YOU MAY BE SHOCKED AT IT'S REALITY AND AT WHAT YOU WITNESS YOUR COUNTRY DOING, Land of the Free??? I don't think so. If Bill Clinton could keep his genitals out of female, (and perhaps male) mouths and the Bush covenant could curtail there drug habits, more care might be taken and more money spent on locating Justice rather than the current propaganda that the mindless citizens seem to thrive on. WAKE UP AMERICA BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE, YOU ARE FAST BECOMING A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY. LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE RUNNING YOUR COUNTRY, ASK CLINTON (YOUR MORAL AND VALIANT LEADER) about the blood trail leading from US prisons to unsuspecting country's overseas, ask him how many people have died with his full knowledge is his lust for more money, his sneaky little deals. Perhaps DAVE "I know everything could give you the answer" and his pathetic little wife, living their anemic little lives in some perverted little world of there own, maybe Bill and Georgey boy are their closest friends, (Birds of a Feather, flock together). Anyway, I'm sure there are those of you who have taken the time to get to know some of these men on death row, for if you have, you will know there are some decent, intelligent and loving people there, from whom you can learn a great deal. Love you Mel, letter's are in the mail, take it easy, I really don't know where you find the patience to deal with some of these ------, sorry but I'm at a loss to know what to refer to them as. Your friend always Michelle

Well Melvin, I can't say I was shocked when I read your reply to the person who asked your opinion on the Ira Einhorn case. It wasn't surprising to me that you have sympathy for Ira's plight, and understand his cowardly desire to flee instead of face the same American Justice System that put you away for good! And I'll bet you feel that because you're a poor black man you got a bad deal from the system. Oh SHUT UP ALREADY!!! I'm sick of hearing convicts like you bitch and whine about the pathetic lives you stupidly chose for yourselves. I am a middle-class white woman married to a black man who grew up in absolute poverty. For several years, much like you, he blamed everything and everyone besides himself for the bad hand he'd been dealt in life. When he was 15 my husband and his buddies got arrested for burglarizing a house in their neighborhood. Although the owners would later refuse to press charges, my husband was still arrested at the time and brought to the police station. When his mother came to pick him up, she was heartbroken when she saw him in handcuffs and immediately broke down in tears. This was the first time my husband had ever seen his mama cry, and the ordeal had a profound effect on him from that day onwards. After the incident he got a job, quit hanging out with that awful crowd and stopped doing drugs altogether. He's told me over and over how difficult it was to make all these changes and to watch many of his old friends foolishly destroy themselves like you did. But fortunately in spite of his troubles, my husband had something special within himself that is foreign to cowards like you... and it's called COURAGE! While still acknowledging that his life had indeed been unfair since his dad left at age 3, my husband finally stopped blaming others for his problems and TOOK FULL RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS ACTIVELY CHANGING THE COURSE OF HIS LIFE!!! In other words, my husband got a life instead of a life sentence! Oh sure Melvin, it's a hell of alot easier to just sit in a cell and cry

Hi Melvin. Is it true that you've constantly been held on death row since October 1990 until now? How are you able to survive under such tight and unbearable restrictions? Isolation is perhaps the most severe and dehumanizing form of punishment for human beings, and I couldn't even imagine spending 22 hours a day in a single person cell on death row. Even if I had Kathy Ireland for a cellmate I still think that sooner or later I'd freak out from the incredible boredom and restriction of movement. On a scale of 1 to 10, one being least miserable and ten being most miserable, just how harsh a life is it for you on death row? Dwight.

I read where some guy asked how you felt about the pain you'd caused to "your wife Wanda and your two children." Instead of facing the question you went on to vehemently deny ever being married to anyone by the name of Wanda, or to anyone at all for that matter. Well sorry to bust you slick, but I checked the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper archives and read the Wednesday October 31 1990 article titled "DRUG FIGURE TO GET DEATH IN SLAYING." The article describes how your not so savvy public defender George H. Newman, in his attempt to save your life, mentioned to the jury that you were a young man with a family, and then pointed to, and I quote, "Williams' wife Wanda and two young children in the courtroom." So dude, this obviously proves that you DID have a wife and that she WAS named Wanda! Now tell me, WHY would you lie so ferociously about something as simple as that? Just who were you trying to fool, and why??? Carlos.

Did you actually commit ANY of the numerous violent crimes you've been convicted of? You say you didn't kill McKnight, and that you pleaded guilty to three murders and an unrelated shooting in order to save your mother from going to prison. Maybe you're telling the truth and are in fact innocent of all this stuff, which would be somewhat tragic. But are you also saying that you were NEVER involved in ANY WAY with the 50-60 drug dealing thugs who hung around 25th Street and Allegheny Avenue in North Philly? I'd certainly find that hard to believe!

From reading the questions and answers on these pages it's clear to see that you, Melvin Troy, are one hell of a cunning little coward at heart! While you attempt to come across as a very humble and sincere individual, you also manage you skillfully dance around direct and difficult questions for which you have no reasonable answer. For example, when Tammy told you about how her boyfriend grew up in similar conditions as you but DID NOT get involved in committing crimes, you had no answer for why you made the poor decision to BE involved in such activities! When someone said they were curious to know who raised you and where they were while you were on the streets getting into drugs gangs and stealing, you simply replied by saying, "Try not to let your curiosity get the better of you." And when asked directly about the worst thing you'd done in your life and how you feel about yourself today as a person, you tap-danced around the question like Bill Clinton and instead babbled about how you wanna make the future better for the children. YEAH RIGHT!!! That's the most pathetic line of B.S. every politician uses when trying to promote their self-serving propaganda. Yet you still managed to slip it in as you babbled. I would like to give you one more chance Melvin to PROVE that you're not the little coward you appear to be and to DIRECTLY ANSWER THESE THREE QUESTIONS! After all, if you're not a coward and don't have anything to hide, then WHY won't you answer these peoples questions??? Christopher McGalberson

How can you say that Ira Einhorn's trial in abstentia was a violation of his rights because he wasn't there??? For God sakes Melvin HE'S RUNNING FROM THE LAW!!! He has ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT to complain about his absence being unfair when he is the one who CHOSE to run like a coward rather than face the American Justice System. It's like the kid who murders his parents and then cries about being an orphan! He can't have it both ways. Don't you feel any compassion for Holly Maddux and her family, who have spent the last 23 years trying to bring that obviously guilty scumbag home to face justice? You say you don't blame Ira one bit for not wanting to face trial like a real man. I guess jailbirds of the same pathetic feather flock together, eh Melvy????? Oh well, at least you and plenty others like you are exactly where they belong! Have a nice life! Julie.

Hello Mr. Troy! I wanted to ask you about the status of the John Mims case, you know, the Pennsylvania inmate who repeatedly raped a 9yr.old girl in the prison's visiting room. Tell me, has he been convicted of those awful crimes yet and been sent to a higher security institution? After the disgusting things he did to that innocent little child, what would you guess are his chances of survival in the prison system?

I would like to know what your life was like BEFORE you were sent to death row. What was your childhood like? Did you gradute high school? Were you employed? Did you have a girlfriend/wife or children of your own? When did you have your first run in with the law? And basically, what was going on in your life that caused you to make the poor choices that got you put away? Mary Ann

Wasup Melvin I was looking on the internet checking out stuff about prisons and death row and I seen your page it really broke my heart to see what some of these stupid people wrote about you I think no matter what choices we make in life good or bad no one should ever be put to death no matter what we do I think being locked up is bad enough and people can learn there lesson that way! I'm only 16 and I have been in trouble before for theft and possession of bud I was locked up in Johnson county juvenile for 6 months and believe me I learned my lesson well Melvin my question is do you have faith in "GOD" cause if you do man I promise that God will lead you the right way in life God is one person you can always count on "god bless you Melvin and good luck in the future" P.S if you can promise me that you can keep faith in god "it will do you good I swear"

All I want to say is that although these people may have been convicted of these crimes....did you think for a moment that they may actually be innocent. I get sick of reading all this hate mail. people are still people with feelings no matter what they are alleged....I stress that word alleged to have done. The stories such as the one about Darcie Router. The united states is nothing but a murderer itself really. The person who presses the button on the syringe, is actually killing someone, so does this not make him a murderer? No because the state pays him to do so....He is bringing up his children on death money. This is WRONG!!!! To all the women and men on death row at the moment, my thoughts are with you. I am not a religious person, but I believe that if you did do what you were convicted of doing, and you are truly sorry for your actions, then god will have mercy upon your soul...and to those who are innocent, hang in there. Take care

I am a 22 year old African American female, I have a boyfriend here in a Texas prison and my question to you is , Why is it when men go to jail they feel as if they don't need anyone? I mean you being a black male maybe you can answer me why is it he won't write back. I send money, write , and visit very frequently, I don't understand. He gives me this lame excuse about when you are in prison keeping in touch with a women that is free will drive a nigga crazy, is this true. I love him with all my heart and I've tried to assure him that no mater what, I will always be here for him, financially, and emotionally, regardless of his sentence. How can I make him understand this, I've even abstained from sex, I don't talk to any other guys. recently my father was brutally shot to death so I have not been to see him in a while, so now he says I'm with some one else, and I'm not. Could this be that he's feeling insecure? please contact me with the answers to my questions, this stuff got me not sleeping or eating, and it's constantly on my mind, my concentration is totally gone.

Why on earth did you choose to commit crimes and get sent to prison? Even before you were charged in these murders, you were already in jail for something else. Why would you keep going back to a vicious and hostile environment in which homosexuality thrives out of sight of the general public? Do you enjoy being around men and are you gay? Why else would anyone be so stupid to get themselves arrested more than once and sent off to the slammer, hmmm???

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