Frances Newton will be executed in two weeks for a crime she probably did not commit. She's been on death row for 18 years for the murder of her husband and two children--she will be the first black woman to be killed by the state of Texas since the Civil War. The New York Times just reported on new evidence that might help exonerate her. Just six months prior to her incarceration, she became a Christian and that is what has sustained her. Here are excerpts from a recent interview:
Terry: I know from the very beginning that you have always declared your innocence. How have you kept your heart from being bitter? Seventeen years is a long time.
Frances: Yes, but I’ve prayed that I wouldn’t become bitter, that I wouldn’t remain angry, that I would just give all of it to God and let Him handle it. There have been moments where I felt myself going that way, and I have people around me who will help me... The Holy Spirit reminds me too.
Terry: When you’re alone, how do you occupy your thoughts positively?
Frances: I put the Word of God in my heart, and I’ll sing songs. I’ll quote Scripture. I’ll remember stories of the Bible, and I’ll try to think of those things. I just finished reading Joseph, a man of integrity and forgiveness by Chuck Swindoll. I was so moved by his story, because here he was, had been sold in slavery, put in prison, yet he had no bitterness in him. When I can read that, I pray, "Lord, help me not to have bitterness."
...
Terry: I know that there are a lot of people who have prayed and walked through this with you and a lot of people who are still praying for you. You came within a couple of hours of execution. How did you prepare yourself for that? That’s a place of total surrender, Frances.
Frances: It is, and I thought, Lord, if it is today, I’m going to be glad to be with You. As Christians, that’s our goal. We talk about heaven, and we sing about heaven. Now I might be going to heaven right now. It’s like our faith. Is our faith going to stay strong just when things are going okay, but when we have struggles and things are bad… what about our faith then? If our faith is strong and our faith is what we say it is, it’s going to be strong even in the bad times. It may weaken a little, and I have been weak at times, but it’s there and because God is in it, He makes Himself strong. He keeps us strong.
Terry: When asked what His name was, God gave the term, “I Am”… tell them that I Am because He is everything that we need. What attributes of God have meant the most to you while you’ve been in here?
Frances: His constancy. He is so consistent. That has meant the most to me because in the environment, so much changes all the time. If you allow yourself to get bothered by the change, then you’re not stable. But God is so stable, and if you keep yourself in Him, that stability is going to come off on you, too.
Terry: How do you want people to pray for you?
Frances: Pray that I would keep my focus on the Lord, no matter what.
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The Committee to Free Frances Newton has more information about the case and a form letter it will email to government officials if you sign up (it takes less than a minute). Here's a portion of what it says:
"The dubious motive, unrealistic timeline, the police's refusal to follow important leads, and most of all, her incompetent counsel, all point to the compelling evidence that proves Frances Newton is innocent. She has been on death row for 18 years, and you have already granted her a 120- day stay. But on the basis of new evidence, Frances needs to finally have her day in court. We plead to you in good conscience to STOP THE EXECUTION OF FRANCES NEWTON."
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I found this story by accident while on what I thought would be a brief googling adventure with and about God. That's how I know he led me to it. I'd tell you the phrase I typed in but it may be part of a future post, and I don't want to spoil it while I'm still exploring the meaning.
This also ties in with something else I wanted to blog about. A few weeks ago I found The Innocence Project which has stories that will break and bless your heart. They are a non-profit student-operated legal clinic whose mission is to free wrongfully convicted inmates who can be exonerated by DNA testing (which wasn't available when they were originally tried). Many have been incarcerated for over two decades, some are now senior citizens who were young men ripped from their families because they were poor or uneducated (usually both) and unable to get fair representation.
NOTE: Please do not argue whether capital punishment is scriptural here, but you are welcome to do it on this post. Just be sure to read through the comments before adding anything.
