Questions
and Answers from Death Row
Raleigh Porter is facing the Death
Penalty for the murders of Harry Walrath, 74 and his wife,
Margaret Anne, 67. He beat the old couple savagely before
strangling them. Harry Walrath's breastbone was caved in when
Porter put the cord to his throat. There is a common denominator
on Death Row, Bad Families. Sexual, physical and emotional abuse
which only the strong survive. A jury took 17 minutes to
recommend life in prison for Mr. Porter. The judge wasn't so
sympathetic he decided Mr. porter should die in the electric
chair. Dark Sorrow would like to take time out to say to the
remaining members of the Walrath family how sorry I am for their
terrible loss. Mr. Porter volunteered to be in this web site to
answer questions from the people on the outside. Murder is an
outrage. Anyone asking Mr. Porter a question,
remember there are kids reading this so please watch you
language.
 |
Questions
and Answers from a Death Row Inmate |
I AM a member of the Walrath's
family. What do you have to say to me? Explain to me WHY you took them
away. If you wanted the car, I am sure that they would have let you have it.
You have caused my family unimaginable pain. How is it that you can you
take away the lives of two innocent people in such a brutal way and still think
that you have the right to live? This is not hate mail, although I can't say
that I like you...I just want to know what was and is going on in that head of
yours. I want the truth, please don't be evasive. My family has the right to
know
Webmaster's response To whomever sent
this email Mr. Porter has stopped answering all my correspondence. I was hoping
for a long time now that I would hear from your family. I would love to be able
to tell your side of this horrible tragedy because your family are the ones who
are suffering. I had a hard time with this one when I heard what had happened to
members of your family and I won't pretend to imagine how you feel. Please think
about adding your side to my website. The people should know what happened and
maybe it will stop someone from committing a crime against another. At least it
will give your side and most important how your family has suffered. Maybe you
could help other victims. You left no email, therefore I can't get a hold of
you.
What crime did
you commit? Why did you commit that crime? Have you ever killed
anyone and what is it like?
I hope
that you, or anyone else ever have to experience that. I was
convicted of murder in 1978 and sentenced to death row. The
reasoning for the crime, especially killing someone, can be
varied. Basically it comes down to survival, revenge, greed,
desperation, or just plain stupidity. How would you feel if
someone you loved was murdered? I don't mean to be morbid or
brutal, but this is how you have to look at it. You would go
through hell because of the pain and loss of that person. If you
kill someone, then you cause any number of people to go through
that kind of hell. You have to live with knowing that not only
have you taken a life, but you've also caused alot of other
people that loss, and there is no way to ever make up for that.
Is there anyone
on death row who was not framed by racist white cops or a racist
society? Also, what would you consider to be an appropriate
punishment for brutal, sadistic crimes? Finally, do you really
believe that habitual violent offenders can be rehabilitated?
Rabid dogs are indeed a tragedy, yet, for the good of all, still
need to be put down.
Why is it
that anytime someone doesn't know how the so called justice
system works, they think that every inmate is crying racist cops
or a racist society is responsible? What would you say to those
that were lynched, or their families? Let's face some facts, this
country is not known for its great treatment of black people.
Though race...race of the accused, race of the victim does play a
role, I think the largest factor also has to do with money. If
you've got the bucks then you can hire a lawyer and bring in
experts to help prove you are innocent. If you don't have the
bucks, you are stuck with a public defender that is over worked,
under paid, under funded and doesn't have alot of experience. The
public defender will be up against a prosecutor who has the power
and resources of the entire state behind him. What can money do?
OJ Simpson might be an example, whether he was guilty or not, who
among us has the ability to spend close to the same amount as the
state did in this case? Everyone saw that trial, and may think
that he bought his way out, but from what I heard, the state of
California and the volunteers that assisted the state, outspent
OJ. How important is it that your lawyer knows what he is doing?
A man in Virginia, Coleman, was executed because his lawyer was
one day late in filing his appeal, so the courts refused to even
look at his claims on his appeal. That is how important a good
lawyer is. Another aspect that the public doesn't want to
consider is politics that are involved. Prosecutors and
politicians use crime and cases to further their own political
careers. One case in particular had a huge effect on the election
of the President of the United States. Look at the election and
you'll hear the rhetoric that is used to inflame the public. True
there are some brutal, sadistic crimes in this world. The
torture, rape and murder of thousands that has been perpetrated
by people by the CIA and this countries government is one
example. What should the punishment be? Apparently that kind of
action has been very helpful to political careers. Color it any
way you want, this country has plenty of blood on its hands from
the highest office to the single voter who keeps that person in
office. That doesn't make crime acceptable, only that none of us
are in a position to throw stones. The idea of rehabilitation was
just that, an idea that was never given the support that it
deserved. What happens, since you want to use the term of the
rabid dog, if you put a dog in a cage, abuse and mistreat that
dog? You end up with just what you have created, a mad dog that
will bite anyone that gets near it. Is that the kind of person
you want released from prison and living in your neighborhood?
The death penalty is a very small portion of the prison
population. There are over one million people in prison in this
country. Only about three thousand of them are on death row. The
vast majority of people in prison will get out someday, about 97%
of them. How they are treated in prison will determine the kind
of person they will be when they get out of that cage. Actually,
areas where prisoners have tried to better themselves have been
taken away from them You see, it is politically advantageous to
be tough on crime, tough on criminals, and prisoners don't vote.
I could make all kinds of sound factual arguments as to why the
death penalty itself is wrong and immoral, from the fact that
there are innocent people convicted everyday, the political
motives, the Bible and the constitution. What it comes down to is
you. What kind of person do you want to be? With sentences the
way they are, there is such a thing as life without parole. That
means that person is never getting out of prison and life without
parole is alot cheaper than execution. The facts speak for
themselves. you kill that rabid dog for its own good, you kill a
person, execution, for the based reason, revenge. Anyone that
thinks 3 meals and a cot is the good life can have mine. There
have been innocent people executed and there will be more. Who is
responsible for those deaths? Their blood is on someone's hands
will it be yours? Listen, if you want to believe in the death
penalty, then that is your choice. All I ask, all I hope, is that
you will base your decision on the facts and not the propaganda
and lies spewed out by politically motivated vultures. Just look
at the facts before you make up your mind.
Follow
up to the answered question:
First
off, I would like to say that I am not trying to rub salt in your
wounds or antagonize you, but I asked you some very straight
forward questions, and your answers, to be frank were evasive.
When one person asked you what you did, your reply is simply,
first degree murder. If you feel this is none of our business,
then you should not even post the question. In doing so however,
it seems you should give a more detailed answer. You don't deny
you killed someone, but what were the circumstances? By not
telling us specifically what you did, you give the impression you
have not confronted your crime within your own mind. They asked
you why you committed the crime, and you go on to list various
reasons why someone might commit a murder. But what motivated
you? I think the main reason people commit murders is self
gratification and just plain old selfishness. You say that when
you kill someone, you have to go through life knowing you have
put countless people through hell. I think there are many
murderers who couldn't care less, they only show remorse at
parole hearings. Lynching? My God, what year are you living in?
I'm not talking about mob justice, I'm talking about some sick
S.O.B. who can only get his rocks off by raping and strangling
little girls. I'm talking about some punk gangbanger who wastes
some stranger in order to join, or the selfish bastard who robs a
liquor store for forty dollars and shoots the clerk in the head.
What does that have to do with being poor or OJ Simpson? Lots of
people come from abusive and poor homes and don't go on to kill.
People on Death Row are not some persecuted minority group
striving for equal rights. They are there because twelve ordinary
people decided that their crimes were so horrible that they
should die. The method of death that they receive is much more
humane than the kind they dished out.
Response:
How about pulling up the web site for Coca-Cola and see if they
have their formula on there for you. Ask them for it.
1. I am here for murder. The details ain't important because
people are dead. Nothing will change that. Where is the rules or
law that says I have to give more details?
2. "I" am not Dark Sorrow. I heard about this site and
offered to answer people's questions so they, you, would be able
to find out the facts about the Death Penalty, appeals, prison,
the court system, not to try and justify myself or my actions.
3. Can "I" say how you feel about anything? So how can
you say anything about how "I" or anyone else feels?
4. No matter what year, I live in reality and the Death Penalty
is nothing more than a political tool and mob justice and as far
as so called sick S.O.B.'s, you said it, they are sick, so they
ain't supposed to be executed, at least in most states the
mentally ill are not supposed to executed. Some people come from
very good homes and make millions of dollars by putting thousands
of people lives in jeopardy and might have to pay a fine. So
don't tell me that money doesn't matter.
5. People on Death Row are the persecuted minority striving for
equal rights! We are the only group of people that the
politicians make new laws to take away our rights and courts have
restricted us from the courts. Prisoners in general. Twelve
ordinary people have been wrong on the past. I believe that
something like 50 or 60 people have been released from Death Row
in the past few years because they were proven to have been
innocent. I have no idea how many other people have been released
from prison because DNA has proven them to have been innocent
too.
Another
response to the answered question:
I
read your response to the second question posted and to tell you
the truth I was really disappointed. I was trying to view this
page with an open mind but it seems like you are trying to side
step the responsibility people have for their actions. When
someone asked you about what the punishment should be for
sadistic crimes, your response was that the CIA and other
government agencies commit torturous crimes. What the heck is
that? You are in total denial and in order to shift the attention
from inmates who are on Death Row for good reasons to government
issues you attempted to juggle apples and oranges here. If you
want to develop a web site for CIA agents who are guilty of
committing crimes that have gone unpunished go ahead but don't
try to use that issue as a smoke screen it only insults the
intelligence of people who are victims of violent crimes. I have
compassion for people who can accept responsibility for their
acts and accept the punishment that comes along with infringing
on the rights of others but you are acting like a child saying
"Well yeah it happens but what about this person and what
about that person." Wrong is wrong and right is right. If
you are in prison and you are wrongly accused my heart bleeds for
you, however keep in mind that inmates who try to side step the
judicial system unjustly contribute to the distrust people have
for inmates and their unwillingness to take action in revamping
the system. By the way I am a victim of sexual abuse and it makes
my skin crawl to read the postings of offenders on pedophile
recovery pages. They don't sound remorseful nor do they sound as
if they have any intentions of seriously rehabilitating
themselves. They post information on using loopholes in the
judicial system so they may continue committing these crimes.
They try to side step direct questions on their responsibility
for crimes committed just as you did which seems very disturbing
to me.
Response: First, I am very sorry for what
happened to you. I despised being lumped together with anyone
that would molest a child. So please, whatever you think of me,
don't put that category on me any way whatsoever. I wasn't able
to protect my own daughter. You are right in a way, I did side
step this question, but my purpose for this Question & Answer
section is not to justify or garnish sympathy for myself. My goal
is to get people to see the issue of the Death Penalty and
punishment as a whole. Is it right for two people to do the very
same type of crime, but one gets the Death Penalty while another
may not get punished at all because they act under the protective
umbrella of the government? That was my point, which apparently I
didn't make completely clear. Wrong is wrong... true, but when
the punishment is controlled by politics, this is also wrong. The
law is either applied to everyone or it is arbitrary. I have not
said that I am innocent. I am on Death Row and whether the state
fries me or I end up spending the rest of my life in prison, I'll
accept that. I thought and accepted that I was dead in '95',
until a court clerk came forward to say that the judge decided
that I was to get the Death Penalty before the jury had voted
whether I should get the Death Penalty or life in prison. By the
way, the jury voted for life, but the judge had already wrote out
and signed my sentence of death. The fact that the Death Penalty
is a political tool and arbitrarily applied makes it wrong. That
is the point. Whether myself I myself or anyone else...confesses
their soul on line....won't change the undeniable fact that the
Death Penalty is wrong, anyway you look at it. I won't argue the
judicial system, because naturally I'm a bit biased since I've
read the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling where they said that it's
not against the U.S. Constitution to execute an innocent person
and it's not their job or purpose to correct such a mistake.
What did you do?
I find it
informative to be able to give people answers to their questions
so that they'll know the facts instead of being dependent on the
lies and propaganda spewed by politicians who want to be seen as
tough on crime. I was convicted of first degree murder.
What is it like
to be in prison on a day to day basis as far as surviving the
challenging of other inmates?
It depends on what kind of prison you're in and also what the
other prisoners are like. If you have a problem, large or small,
you either handle it yourself, or you go to the guards. If you
handle it yourself, that means dealing with it, you can talk
(which some might take as a weakness on your part), fight, or it
could be kill or be killed. If you go to the guards you're more
than likely to be put in isolation, for your own protection.
That's is a 6 x 9' cell, where you stay for 24 hours a day, for
years, or till you might be transferred to another prison. Also
if you go to the guards, you'll be labeled a snitch, and that is
not a label you want in prison. I've seen a man get his head
busted and his brains spilt (spilt, not split) in the shower,
only because he didn't give his food tray to another prisoner.
You wouldn't think that he had any idea that he'd put his life in
danger just because he refused to give up his tray when another
prisoner asked for it who would? That is the nature of prison. A
person can go to prison with a sentence of a couple years, and
end up being killed for a piece of chicken.
Did the prisoner
have any insight to what his punishment might be if he or she
were caught, and if they did, why did they commit the crime?
The only people
that I know of who expect to get caught are the ones you hear
about now and then. They go into a bank, rob it, then sit down
and wait for the cops to come and arrest them. Nobody thinks they
will get caught, and if anything, the thought of getting caught
only causes fear to drive them further, especially the three
strikes laws. Reasons for crimes can range the scale, but nobody
expects to get caught. I think very few murders are as
premeditated as the public is led to believe. Most are acts of
fear and desperation.
My environmental
issues class at Hocking College is planning an in class debate on
the voluntary testing of experimental chemicals on Death Row
inmates. I am strongly opposed to this and would love to hear
from the people it affects. The names and views will all be
noted.
Of course,
testing experimental drugs on convicts is nothing new. It's been
done and I'm not talking about Nazi concentration camps either.
The sad fact is that if it did happen, we wouldn't have the
benefit of animal rights people that would protest such actions
done to cats and dogs. I wonder what these supporters of such
testing would feel like if it was them that went to prison to
visit their father, brother, son and seen them destroyed by such
drugs. Plus, the numbers don't add up. There's about 3,000 people
on Death Row in this country, that's not enough to people. So
after Death Row inmates, who's the next to become guinea pigs? I
believe that Florida now has an AIDS prison where experimental
drugs will be used.
Before this
crime was committed, did you fore-see any mental problems that
you could have received help? If not, now in prison, do you see
treatment helping inmates or not? If given the chance to get
treatment in prison would you and do you honestly think
treatment: counseling or other programs would help you or other
inmates?
No, I don't
think I have any mental problems. As far as whether any such
counseling or other programs would help anyone, well I've always
thought it odd as hell that when you consider that a good 90% of
people in prison will get out at some point, nothing is done to
help them so that when they do get out they can have the mental
stability, education and training so they can get a job and stay
out of prison. That is, if they can find someone that'll hire an
ex-convict.
I am writing a
paper on medical rights of inmates on Death Row. Do you have any
info for me? I need to know how you are treated. What happens
when you get sick? Do they treat you with compassion? Do you
think you should have the right to a transplant?
I have been
lucky in that I haven't had any serious medical problems, but the
rule is generally, "if it's not going to kill you,
then..." Any medical procedure has to be approved by the
D.O.C. (Dept. of Corrections), it's not the doctor's choice. A
while back, a guy had to have a heart operation, not a
transplant. I doubt if anyone will have such an operation again,
even though it was a life saving operation. Because of screwed up
operations in the past, the D.O.C. had to contract out any
serious problems to doctors and hospitals. I've seen guys who
have broken bones on the yard, have to wait a couple of days just
to get it x-rayed. Because of the cost, nobody on Death Row will
ever be eligible for a transplant even if we could pay for it
ourselves.
Could you please
post the circumstances which led up to the murder you committed
and the reason if there is one that you felt impelled to commit
murder. How do you feel about taking someone's life? How do you
feel about yourself as a person?
The
circumstances were just plain stupidity and not wanting to go to
prison. My past is not something that I'm proud or happy about. I
feel alot better about myself today than I did 20 years ago.
I am giving a
persuasive speech on why the Death Penalty is wrong. I would like
to know if you think that the threat of the Death Penalty
actually stops many people from murdering or committing other
violent crimes?
No. It's that
simple. Nobody thinks they will get caught, or they ain't
thinking at all. Sen. Bob Graham used to be governor of Florida.
While governor, he signed over a hundred death warrants and
always said that the Death Penalty is a deterrent. Once he became
a senator, he admitted that it is not a deterrent.
I am interested
in writing a book concerning your last meal if it ever came to
that. I would like to know what it would be with recipes if
possible and an idea on how to make it. Along with that, why you
choose that meal and with a fond memory of a similar meal. I am
also interested in knowing three people you would like to invite
to the meal. This can be anyone in history or present.
With last meals
we are not involved with it except to let the food service
director know what we want. If you contact the directors at the
prisons that have executions they should be able to help you.
Three people....well, if it can't be my two kids and my grandson,
then one of the framers of the Constitution to discuss how the
"intent" is used and show him how the world has
changed. The late Justice Blackman, who supported the Death
Penalty till he was retiring, then he comes out and says that the
"experiment" has failed and the Death Penalty is wrong.
The governor that signs my death warrant, so he'll see a face,
the face of the man he is about to kill.
No, I won't ever
do any of the things these animals are convicted of, so I'll
never worry about being in prison. I just want to reiterate my
offer to pull the switch, insert the needle or kick the stool out
from under someone else who is going to hang.
Yeah well, some
of those people you are so ready to pull the switch on didn't do
what they are convicted of either, but they're still on Death
Row, or in prison. So maybe you should worry a little.
In my sociology
class we are studying prisons and punishment. We are also
studying on what goes on inside such as rape and harsh cruelty.
Any insight to your situation would be helpful. Thank you for
your time and good luck.
Thank you for
your good wishes and same to you. When you ask about rape and
harsh treatment, who are you talking about? From other prisoners
or guards? Rape is all too common an occurrence in prison. Men,
or should I say boys and young men being raped by stronger
prisoners and women prisoners being raped by male guards and
other female prisoners. Plenty of people would say that we are
not treated bad enough, but they'll get all upset over a dog that
received the same treatment. Harsh treatment from the prison and
guards can come in all types of forms. The temperature is
supposed to be down in the 20's in a couple of days, but there is
not heat in these cells. In the summer, the temperature gets up
in the 90's, with the heat index well in the hundreds, but there
is no air conditioner or fan, or desire to cool things off in
here. Guys and women too are parents. I myself had to wait till
my kids reached 18 and were able to visit on their own. Their
step-father wouldn't dare step in here after what he had done to
my kids. The prison wants to cut us off from the rest of the
world and our families and when things happen, like it did up in
Georgia, where the guards went in with goon squads to destroy
personal property and beat the prisoners, the outside won't find
out about it. Since there's no more iron curtain, or cold war,
the politicians need a new target for their rhetoric, and
prisoners have become the perfect target. There are many ways to
demoralize a human being than by using a stick to beat them. The
mental anguish is often times harder to deal with than any sort
of physical beating. Now in Florida, they want to restrict us,
all prisoners to having only 50 photos of family and friends.
Think about it, a guy who's parents have died since he has been
here and all he has is the photos of them, along with photos of
his kids. All I have is these photos to show how they have grown
over the years. I would go on and on about some of the stupidity
of some of the rules, but that would take too long. Chain gangs
for instance, it's politically advantageous to be for them, never
mind that they cost more, accomplish less work, but elections are
won on the backs of chain gangs.
"When a mans heart is full of deceit it burns up, dies, then a dark shadow falls over his soul. From the ashes of a once great man has risen a curse, a wrong that must be righted. He looked to the skies for a vindicator. Someone to strike fear into the black hearts of the same that created him. The battle between good and evil has begun. Against an army of shadows comes a dark warrior. The prevailer of good, with a voice of silence, and a mission of justice."
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