Seven years ago, on April 27, 2017, Rev. Kenneth Williams was the last of four men executed on Arkansas’ death row. The Prison Story Project team came to know and love Kenneth when we worked with him and ten other men in a storytelling/creative writing program for six months. We brought their words back to them in the form of a staged reading with 6 actors and a musician there in the cramped quarters of the row’s visitation cells.
Here’s what Kenneth witnessed that he wanted to share with other incarcerated folks before he was put to death:
To my fellow brothers and sisters behind prison walls. The Prison Story Project is led by a dedicated team of amazing people. You can’t afford not to participate! When they first reached out to me through the mail, I wasn’t sure what to make of their offer. The prison administration has never before approved anything like this with death row. A few guys were even suspicious. You know it don’t take much for one of us to get suspicious. I was one of the guys that stepped out in faith. I slung my line out into the deep. You never know what you can reel in until you sling out your line.
One thing is for certain…if we want blessings, if we want opportunities, if we want our voices to be heard, we must look outside of these prison walls and beyond our borders to where real help can come from.
From the first class to our final class, I enjoyed the journey of writing and being creative. I appreciated seeing new faces of people coming into the prison to help me find my voice and sharpen it. I got the chance to interact with fellow prisoners whom I’d been around for 15 years on a level we had ever ventured onto before. We got to see each other in a different light. Through one another’s writing, we could see the “real person” and the “true human being.” When, previously, hand you asked me about this or that person, I would have told you he was a pure monster. But now? Not anymore!
Through our individual and collective writings, the potential was visible. It felt so wonderful doing something worthy, something bigger than any one of us.
From the beginning of the project we were told that upon completion of the writing stage of the program, there would be professional actors who would come in and act out our character/writing. I thought I was prepared for the live performance. I had no clue what I was in for!
The performance blew me away! I tell you the truth! Hearing someone else read aloud my writings in a performance…it was an out of body experience for me! My thoughts were “WOW! Did I write that piece? Was that really me?!” The performance was surreal. It was touching and deep. It was eye opening. Liberating. I found myself crying on the inside, careful not to show it on the outside. I wasn’t alone.
During the performance I remember not wanting it to end. Something special was taking place. Dreams were being realized once again. Hope was in the eyes of condemned men. We were being shown our humanity, our worth…that we have something to offer, too. We, too, matter no matter what horrible things we did, or didn’t do, in the past to land us on death row.
The actors themselves were transformed having met us and studying our writings. There’s not a doubt in my heart that even more people will be blessed and transformed through the work of the Prison Story Project.
What a catch on the end of this fisherman’s line! I am sure to be filled for the rest of my life, although not much time remains. I call the day of the performance on October 8, 2016, my greatest day on the row that I got to share with friends. Thank you. And God bless the Prison Story Project.
If this resonates with you, and you would like to provide a similar experience to incarcerated folks in your community, the Prison Story Project can help with that. We have teaching guides available, free of charge, for anyone interested in replicating our program. Just email us your name and address and put one in the mail for you.