Honoring the Dignity of the Imprisoned
Letter from Mary Kate Masterson
In the spirit of The Catholic Woman’s mission of illustrating the diversity of ways in which women are living out the feminine genius today, this letter highlights one way in which women can embrace and live this out: by honoring and fighting for the recognition of imprisoned persons. This particular letter to women displays the great strength that lies in the feminine genius.
Hi sisters,
When I graduated from college, I moved home with no job and no plans. I knew that I wanted to do a year of service but I didn’t know what exactly that meant for me. I applied to a service program and was given the choice between several different service sites working with all different populations. Most of them were areas that I had previous experience in, such as working with kids in education or working to help people experiencing homelessness to find shelter.
I eventually ended up at an anti-death penalty advocacy group that works with men and women who were wrongfully convicted and sent to death row and have now been exonerated. The death penalty was something I was always against but I never really knew much about it. I was both intimidated and excited by the idea of working with people who had been on death row. I felt God calling me to step out of my comfort zone and He has blessed me abundantly because I followed His call.
I didn’t expect to be changed so quickly and I didn’t realize how much I needed to change. I learned a lot about the privilege of not even knowing about so many systemic issues in the criminal justice system. Before beginning this job, I was content to ignore these issues because they didn’t affect me. Working in the death penalty abolition movement has shown me terrible things and taken away a lot of my naivety about the world. Seeing the brokenness of the criminal justice system was the inspiration I needed to wake up and want to make a difference.
I was recently struck by the final words of a man who was executed in Tennessee. He said, “If I could leave one thing with all of you, it is, don’t ever give up on the ability of Jesus Christ to fix someone or a problem. He can fix anything. Don’t ever underestimate His ability. He has made my life meaningful and fruitful through my relationships with family and friends.”
I couldn’t get over how beautiful this man’s faith was and the fact that he could put his trust in God in such a terrifying moment.
I never met this man, but I had read about him for weeks leading up to his execution. I had done everything that a communications volunteer at a small non-profit can do to try and help the effort to stop the execution.
This case struck me more than most I see in my work because of the number of people that had shared personal testimonies about how this man had changed and was working to make himself a better person. He had saved the lives of multiple correctional officers during fights in the prison and had taken care of other men that were on death row with him. He made the prison a better place.
The day that he was executed was one of the more difficult days for me since I started my job because it felt like my work and the work of so many others meant nothing in the end. Everyone in the anti-death penalty movement was talking about him that day and I kept getting requests to call the governor on his behalf. I followed the news up until the time he was scheduled to be executed, 7pm, hoping for news that a stay had been granted, but it never came. It’s hard to feel like you’re making a difference when nothing changes and people are still executed despite so many reasons why they shouldn’t be. How could I continue this work if I don’t actually think that anything is changing? How can I stand up to a huge, oppressive system, if I don’t believe that what I’m doing makes a difference?
I’m learning to take inspiration from people like this man who kept his faith even in death. “...don’t ever give up on the ability of Jesus Christ to fix someone or a problem.” His life was changed when he found Christ and he also gives me courage to trust Christ completely with the change I want to see happen. We will not make anything happen without Him.
The exonerees that I work with every day demonstrate this same faith and strength. They have seen firsthand the brokenness of the criminal justice system. They have seen their friends executed and they have sat on death row fearing that they would be executed for crimes that they had not committed. Despite all of that, they still believe that we can abolish the death penalty. They still believe that they can change things. They never give up. They travel the world sharing their stories of being convicted of crimes that they didn’t commit, surviving on death row, and eventually proving their innocence despite the pain it causes them because they know that it does make a difference and that we will one day abolish the death penalty.
I’m learning that it isn’t always about seeing big changes to the law or stopping an execution. The bigger part of our mission is honoring the human dignity of each person. Prison, especially death row, tries to diminish so much of people’s humanity. It reduces people to what they have done, not who they are. We have a responsibility as sisters in Christ to stand for the dignity of these people, while still trying to fight for a system that honors that dignity.
Handwritten quote from the writer
In small ways, I am honoring men and women who are on death row right now when I read their stories and care about the truth, when I make a phone call to a certain governor or board of pardon and paroles on behalf of someone on death row, and when I share information to educate others about the realities of death row. When someone currently on death row calls my office and I listen patiently and don’t make any assumptions about who they are because of their conviction, I am honoring their dignity. I am one person and I do not have the knowledge and skills to help someone get off of death row or to change any laws, but I do have the ability to treat someone with love and respect and not judge them before I even know them. We can’t change the whole world in a day, but we can make a difference in one person’s life with even the smallest act of love.
I am often reminded in my work of a quote from Catherine McAuley, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy and a woman who has inspired me in many ways. “Mercy is more than Charity - for it not only bestows benefits, but it receives and pardons again and again - even the ungrateful.” This kind of mercy challenges us to accept one another's flaws and to realize that we are not above anyone else. We were all created by God and He loves us all unconditionally.
In my work, Christ calls me to love those who have committed horrible crimes. In my life outside of work, He calls me to love the people around me even when they hurt me. This is His call to each of us: to recognize His presence within each person we meet and to love them unconditionally.
In Mercy,
Mary Kate
About the Writer: Mary Kate Masterson is a 23-year old woman who thinks that life should be a musical that includes breaking out into song when the mood strikes and dancing at all times. She enjoys laughing at her own jokes, planning her dream hike of the Appalachian Trail, and playing board games with friends. She is currently doing a year of service with Mercy Volunteer Corps in Philadelphia and advocating against the death penalty at a non-profit called Witness to Innocence.
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For Your Reflection:
Pray about it: Take a moment to pray for all those who are in our prison system and that those persons may be seen with the dignity bestowed on them by God.
Write about it: How do you seek to recognize His presence within each person? How do you practice unconditional love?
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