Death Blog

Texas Death Row

November 3rd, 2009  2:27am

Welcome to my nightmare, tales from a dead man.

The night was spent in a magical dreamland, I was able to experience more dreams of freedom, days from my past. Happier times, happier places, full of hope and promise. I could hear laughter, see loved ones who are long since passed away. Dream land, what a beautiful sleep it was. Only to be awoken by the crossover door being slammed shut by the night guard doing their security check. From dream land to a living nightmare. Good morning Texas Death Row! What does the day have in store for us? Death? Sadness? Misery?

YES!

We have 5 executions set for November and yesterday I had been fortunate enough to have a visit and as I’m being escorted back to my cage of death by two officers there’s another man heading to the visit room, just like me he is in handcuffs behind his back with two officers, one on each arm. Standard procedure for “Dead man walking”. As I get near this man I realize he is one of the ones set to be put to death on November 10th and he sees me and smiles from ear to ear and asks me “How I’m doing?” and I reply “How how are you?”  He then says I’m keeping my head up. All is lost and I will die as scheduled.  All I could say was “May God be with you, see ya on the other side”. So as we continue to walk one of the officers who is with me says that was felt by him as well. I look over at him and realized he was sincere. He had just witnessed a dead man walking and another dead man (me) saying a final goodbye.

Now I want to bring up a new topic, and that’s the reason 441 Texas men and women have been put to death since the States death chamber was reopened in 1982. The reason the jury’s of our cases have voted for death is because they are asked a question, to consider prison as a society and prison society and will more than likely kill again then they are to vote for the ultimate punishment, which is death by lethal injection. Now I have a front row seat at the busiest death machine in America and I being a true American, red blooded Texas have always been for the death penalty cause that’s what we do in Texas. I was uneducated then, I thought all who were sent to death row were “the worse of the worst”, sicko’s, pedophiles and rapists and would kill elderly people, women and children. That’s what I call the worst of the worst.

The reason I just said all the above is this” Texas just issued and execution date for a 90% blind man. Gary Johnson, born in 1950, been on death row since 1988. He has to be held as he staggers to the shower each day by the POD officers. This man is NO threat to society, ANY society. There’s not one Texas death row officer, male or female who can honestly say he is. Texas is about to kill out of revenge an old harmless blind man.

All in the name of Justice!

True American Till Death

Mark Anthony Stroman

Living to Die, Dying to Live

 

Death Blog

Texas Death Row

October 27, 2009  3:24am

Welcome to my nightmare,

Tales from a Dead Man

The days blend into nights, the nights turn into days. The ways to battle depression are lost to me it would seem. The isolation cells we are forced to live in are slowly taking a hold of what little humanity I have left. The voices inside my head, they too grow tired. The screams grow louder but no one but me can hear them. Good morning Texas Death Row. What a wonderful day to be alive.

Today Texas will execute another person who claims to be innocent. But who in Texas will listen to a condemned soul saying that there’s been a mistake. Not the good Gov. Rick Perry or the Judges who oversee the high courts. Texas Justice is “Do as we say, not as we do”. We will execute to show the world killing is wrong in Texas , there’s some people in office who should look deep into the system for its definitely broken.  We even have an ex Gov., Mark White, who was at one time the States strongest supporter of the death penalty. He defended it as Attorney General and took personal responsibility as Governor for the execution of nearly two dozen men. But now he is speaking out and has changed his mind about Capital Punishment and if he was running for Governor he told the Dallas Morning News he would not be for it because it’s not secure enough to make certain an innocent person was not put to death. Well how about that folks? Well we have an execution set for today, what’s to un-fold is yet to be seen!

Well let me touch base on another issue at hand. I’m not sure if my blogs are reaching their destination. God only knows if this one will. Ever since Richard Tabler mailed out something that made a threat on a Texas Senator, the rest of us on Texas Death Row are being punished. Retaliation so to say. The mail that I’ve been sending out has been held on this Unit up to 14 days. Policy of Mail Rules states this facility has 48 hours to process my mail and get it to the US Postal Service. That’s not happening and if you’re reading this blog and your loved on is having the same troubles it’s time to voice your complaints to Huntsville Texas .  Ombudsmans Office and OR Jennifer Smith, the Mail Systems Coordinator.

Yesterday morning I saw a shocking event. We had an elderly man on our section named Danny Bible. He is in a wheelchair due to being almost paralyzed. Well he was angry at one of the officers yesterday and was at his cell door with his walker, he can’t walk without it, well he threw water on this guard and instead of leaving the section to notify rank, this officer pulls out his mace can and maces this old elderly man who can’t get away from his door due to the walker. They wheeled this man away to F-Pod with his entire face swollen because of the mace attack. That’s like you mace’n your grandpa! That’s Texas Justice!

SAD HUH??

True American

Till Death

Mark Stroman

Texas Death Row, 2009

**side note**

To contact the Mail Systems Coordinator:

Jennifer Smith
Mail System Coordinators Panel
P. O. Box 99
Huntsville, TX 77342-0099
(936) 437-6336

jennifer.smith@tdcj.state.tx.us

Ombudsman:

Ombudsman Coordinator
General Issues concerning the agency’s operation and policy and procedures.
P.O. Box 99, Huntsville, TX 77342-0099
(936) 437-8035 (936) 437-8067 fax
ombudsman@tdcj.state.tx.us

TDCJ-Correctional Institutions Division
Ombudsman Office
Issues from the public relating to secure facilities (prison units, state jails, and substance abuse felony punishment facilities), and any specific concerns regarding offenders confined in these types of facilities.
P.O. Box 99, Huntsville, TX 77342-0099
(936) 437-6791 (936) 437-6668 fax
ci.div@tdcj.state.tx.us

Death Blog

 

Texas Death Row   October 19, 2009  2:00am

Welcome to my nightmare… Tales from a Dead Man   The day has started off calm for me, I have once again awoken to the sense of amazement, I spent the night dreaming of past experiences of my life, these events took place in the 80’s.  What a wonderful night it was. To be awoke now, in this evil place is indeed depressing and alarming. Reality comes crashing in. My sole purpose is to be executed by the State. Hell just saying it sours the taste in my morning coffee. What a wonderful day to be alive.   The silence of the morning has just been shattered by screams of someone in the next section over. It echoes off these concrete walls I sit here and find myself getting angry, eyes blazing with maniacal conviction. It’s my quiet time and I do take offense to it being disturbed. How crazy is that folks? Then again if I was the one over there screaming in my sleep I could understand, because the one who is actually doing it is being attacked in his dreams. Haunted. For he is here for slicing an 11 year gold girls throat. I can’t even being to think straight. The horrors of this place, the demon’s, the monsters, they are real. Every time this person walks around in the day room I want to puke. How can someone kill a little girl by slicing her throat and then walk around as a tough guy.   I wish I could crawl back into my sleep, into those happy dreams I was having of my Grandpa and Grandma. Riding our horses, riding on the tractor next to Grandpa. My hero! What a mess I’ve made of things, but as they say: Into each life some rain must fall.   True American Mark Stroman

Here is  Mark ’s new blogDeath Blog Texas Death Row   October 19, 2009  2:00am   Welcome to my nightmare… Tales from a Dead Man   The day has started off calm for me, I have once again awoken to the sense of amazement, I spent the night dreaming of past experiences of my life, these events took place in the 80’s.  What a wonderful night it was. To be awoke now, in this evil place is indeed depressing and alarming. Reality comes crashing in. My sole purpose is to be executed by the State. Hell just saying it sours the taste in my morning coffee. What a wonderful day to be alive.   The silence of the morning has just been shattered by screams of someone in the next section over. It echoes off these concrete walls I sit here and find myself getting angry, eyes blazing with maniacal conviction. It’s my quiet time and I do take offense to it being disturbed. How crazy is that folks? Then again if I was the one over there screaming in my sleep I could understand, because the one who is actually doing it is being attacked in his dreams. Haunted. For he is here for slicing an 11 year gold girls throat. I can’t even being to think straight. The horrors of this place, the demon’s, the monsters, they are real. Every time this person walks around in the day room I want to puke. How can someone kill a little girl by slicing her throat and then walk around as a tough guy.   I wish I could crawl back into my sleep, into those happy dreams I was having of my Grandpa and Grandma. Riding our horses, riding on the tractor next to Grandpa. My hero! What a mess I’ve made of things, but as they say: Into each life some rain must fall.

True American Mark Stroman

 

Death Blog

Texas Death Camp

USA

October 12, 2009  2:38am

Welcome to my nightmare… tales from a dead man

The day starts earlier and earlier for me. I’ve noticed I’ve pulled back from this little society I live in. I don’t know why but it suits me fine since I’m a morning person. A cup of coffee, a few good memories and absolute quietness. The only sounds I can hear at the moment is the hum of the air vents and that’s almost too loud.  Good morning from Texas Death Row. A place that will execute the innocent as well as the guilty, and let’s not forget Texas executes “Law of Parties” as well. So your qualified to die even if you have killed no one.

Yesterday morning as I sat here trying to write a few lines for executionchronicles.org the night shift riot team had to suit up again on “Lizard”. The wild Texas Seven dude on the other side of the Pod. I do know they don’t like to do this, it’s always a battle and you can ask the guys who are on the team if they would ever go in on Lizard one on one and they say “HELL NO”.  That’s why they send 9 men on him at night time, after they gas him. What a crazy society this is back behind closed doors.

The issue of me, my ending is getting closer. I’m now on my final leg of the appeal process after another denial, but that is to be expected. At times I’m ready to die but I have a lot of that stuff called “Self preservation” flowing in my veins. Yes the ending is near. Is that a light at the end of the tunnel or perhaps it’s fire.

True American

Mark Anthony Stroman

Death Blog

Texas Death Row October 2, 2009 2:50am

Welcome to my nightmare Tales from a dead man The lockdown has ended. 15 days of pure hell. The actual shake down went somewhat better than before and the ones who hit our section treated us with professionalism. It was the feeding process or lack of. I normally would of reported the menu on these entries of mine but I did not believe it myself. Hell ever some of the “seasoned” vets of the prison staff who have been employed by Texas 15 or 20 years mentioned they have never seen Johnny Sacks such as these. Noodle sandwich and raw potato. SERIOUS! So when yesterday morning rolled up on us we had our regular meals which have always been cold (since we are fed in our death cages) but that cold tray of eggs and biscuits and grits were mighty fine. I ventured out of my cage for recreation first round too. I had to get out for my two hours due to the walls in my cage starting to close in on me. The voices inside my head screaming loudly. At times I just wish they would go away but then I realize Id miss them. The sadness, the anger, the voices of my death cage are real. What a day to be alive. As I was saying I ventured out for those two hours and after 15 days of not moving around using the muscles in your legs sure does take effect on ones’ body. I came back, showered and felt as if I ran to New York and back. Just from walking in a small inside monkey cage. We had 4 people set to die in Texas for September, the executioner managed to murder two. Two out of four. The others escaped with last minutes stays. Only to be sent back for that death countdown again. That is alarming as I’ve said before. To countdown ones final days on earth and to do all the things one can expect to do, only to have to redo that when the Courts lift the temporary stay WHEW Only in Texas can things be this messed up.

True American Mark Stroman Living to Die Dying to Live

Death Blog

Texas Death Camp

September 22^nd, 2009 4am (Day 6 of Lockdown)

Welcome to my “Locked Down” Nightmare

Tales from a Dead man

Greetings to you all. The day is new, the promise of death is real and I’m reminded of this as I scratch off another day on the calendar and glance at the execution list which is directly in front of me on the wall. Yes Texas will kill another person in the name of Justice at 6pm tonight. It’s a sad state of affairs when you have so many executions that they don’t even get the local news anymore.  It’s like a morning traffic report or weather update. In Texas you can be sure of one thing, there’s a sign on all of our Highways and if you have ever had a chance to visit this beautiful State you will recall seeing it.

“Don’t mess with Texas ”

That was made to remind people not to throw trash on our Highways but I believe if the Texas Officials could, they would paint that above the execution gurney in Huntsville Texas . Hell I’m surprised they don’t try and sell postcards’ with that image. Texas is proud to kill you in the name of Justice and you don’t even need to be guilty. Look what happened to Todd Willingham in 2004. An innocent man was strapped to that death gurney and murdered. Now all of you haters out there who jump up and down like cheerleaders holding fuzzy pom poms when you hear of an execution should try to envision being that innocent person, being strapped on that gurney. Envision the whole procedure, the IV being inserted into your arms, knowing you are innocent. What a hell of a way to die, In the name of Justice. Blind justice.

That’s one to many in my eyes. And I’m in that gray area when it comes to the death penalty. I despise child molesters and cowardly rapists with all of my being, child killers etc. but to have a system in place that allows an innocent person to be put to death is all the proof we need. The system is broke and should be fixed. The next innocent person could be your loved one or even yourself. Envision that.

Yes, that’s just one person the State might actually admit that was innocent and murdered. But how many others. How many do you actually think Texas has murdered that were innocent. How many do you think Texas would actually come out and say “Oops” we made a huge mistake and killed your loved one. “Sorry”. I sit here on the front row of this battle field and am still amazed at how dysfunctional this place is. Hell if I was to wake up and all of this had been a dream I’d jump up and take off running to the nearest church and get on my hands and knees and thank Jesus for wake’n me up!

For all of this is a real nightmare.

True American

Mark Stroman

Death Blog

Texas Death Row

September 16th, 2009   3:27am

Welcome to my nightmare

Tales from a dead man

The day begins, I hear the chow cart being pulled onto the pod, the smell of death is in the air, and it’s not all due to the food about to be fed to us, it’s Execution Day in Texas again, another friend is about to be taken from this place. I know he is awoke in his death watch cell, what’s going thru his mind? How is he spending his last day? His last morning alive? Is he writing a few final letters? Is he praying? Or perhaps he’s waiting to watch his final sunrise? Texas has some beautiful sunrises, but to be on Texas Death Row on your last day, what really goes thru ones’ mind?

Whew Wee!

We have four Texecutions set for September and the one who is set to go today is the only one who I can honestly says is ready.  He wrote the Judge a while back while he was on this pod I’m on and asked why are you just sitting on my case, set me a date! He has grown tired of this madness too! I saw this friend two days ago at visit. Steve Moody is his name and he saluted me and smiled and gave the thumbs up, a man who face reality extremely well. I admire that. Watching his loved ones come and go from his visit stall was touching. They all had huge smiles on their faces as they left. At peace because Steve’s happy go lucky attitude.

Steve Moody you’ll be missed and never forgotten.

True American

Mark Anthony Stroman 2009

Death Blog

Texas Death Row

September 9th, 2009  2:50am

Welcome to my nightmare ~ tales from a dead man!

The day has once again started out with the normal madness and confusion, yelling, screaming, slamming of steel doors that vibrate sounds deep within. We also have the added riot team, on the next section over, gassing “Lizard”. One of the Texas Seven members, the prison escapees of long ago. The riot team is standing at his cell, ready while the power hungry sergeant in full gas mask and gear continues to blast the gas into the small cell which Lizard lives in I’ve counted five ten second bursts of this gas, at any moment this 9 man riot team (young kids) will enter this man’s cell, which is pitch black and full of gas and an angry condemned man, what a way to start out the day.

The reason this is being done again, (yes this is twice this week), is because Lizard sleeps extremely hard plus he is extremely hard of hearing. Practically deaf so to say.   So at night these guards who are either young kids or elderly people come through doing their security check every hour like you see in those old prison movies and if they can’t see you or determine that you are alive they will knock on your door until you move or make a sound. If that does not happen the ones doing this security check panic and notify the sleeping sergeant  who is somewhere on the building. Once he arrives or she, if the prisoner is still not wishing to speak or wake up then the riot team is called and it’s time to gas this man.

Lizard enjoys being gassed and loves to recreate with the riot team so when this act of retaliation or sleep deprivation continues to happen as it is he makes the team suit up. They just ran in on him, the fight lasts about 5 seconds. 9 against 1 so the odds are not in Lizards favor. Now that they have gassed him, ran into his cell, put him on the ground, they now exit his cell and leave him just as he was, minding his own bizness! That use of force was un-called for people!

This month of September is my dark month. Just as it is for all the others affected by the terrorists attacks that took place September 11th, 2001. We will never forget. I have so many things I want to say but don’t know where to start. As I said, this is a dark month for me. Always remember those who never got a chance to say goodbye or say their final “I love yous” and live every day like it’s your last one. I myself struggle daily knowing my actions have caused pain just like the attacks on our country have caused pain. This vicious cycle of hate has to stop somewhere.

Till the end of time

True American

Mark Anthony Stroman, 2009

Living to Die ~ Dying to live

Death Blog

Texas Death Row August 30th, 2009 5:00am

Welcome to my nightmare, tales from a dead man! The month of August is near it’s end and the dreaded month of September, my black month, is to take its place. Morale is low and it will have a disastrous effect on me I’m sure, but I know I’m not the only one to have these types of emotions so I will try to stand tall and push all the voices from inside my head, ignore the screams and crying of the past, NOT POSSIBLE. What I have inside is forever etches into my very soul, mind and spirit. I’m reminded of September 11th, 2001 with each new day. The horrors that others had caused as well as my OWN that followed the atrocity, as I said, welcome to my nightmare. Death is in the air, in more ways than one. Yesterday here on Texas Death Row we had a “condemned soul” die in his cell. The cause of death is “rumored” to be a heart attack. The person who was of Indian heritage had two legal names, his Christian name given to him at birth was Danny Thomas. The name he was known by and called by Inmates and guards alike was Shozdijiji Shisinday. Born August 20th 1955, Died August 29th 2009. It’s unknown if this was self inflicted, but I do know he had been waiting for an execution date and he was really aggravated with the injustice system. So he has been sent to the Spirit in the sky. He has been set free of the tortures of Polunsky Unit and cheated the executioner the satisfaction of adding another notch in his death toll. R.I.P Shisinday. I do envy you. Your free at last. Good luck on the journey ahead.

We have four texecutions set for the month of September, here’s the names and dates:

Stephen Moody, September 16th

Christopher Coleman, September 22nd

Kenneth Mosley, September 24th

John Balentine, September 30th.

Now if these are actually carried out is yet to be known. There some bad stuff being uncovered that might halt all of these and quite possibly the ones for October and November, per the media hype. Now what is going on folks is this, Texas executed an innocent man in 2004, Todd Willingham. The proof is there and its making some waves in Texas as well as all the Judge Keller scandals. So time will tell. We really have some devastatingly stupid people in office.

Till the end, Proud and True American

Death Blog

Texas Death Row

August 19th, 2009  3:15am

Welcome to my nightmare, tales from a dead man

The day is new and I have no comfort zone yet. Need some AND a few happy memories. Must dig deep for those. The peace of the morning has been shattered today by a few loud mouths who act as if they’re the only ones on the section they live on. The echo of their talks vibrates off the walls as if one was deep within a tunnel or cave. The concrete jungle of death row. How did I end up so far away from home I’ll never know. Fate? Destiny? Karma? or could this really be a bad dream and I’m about to awaken late for work? Wouldn’t that be nice!

We have another execution set for tomorrow and I’m not sure what to say about this. The person is someone who I had been somewhat friendly to a few times since I’ve been here on the row and I’ve waved to his father and step mother dozens upon dozens of times from the visitation room. They always wore these huge smiles on their faces, never have I witnessed them walking with a sad look on their face. I’m sure all of that will change tomorrow, the day Texas puts this person to death.

The mixed feelings I have on this issue are of anger, betrayal, disgust and sadness for all effected by this case. I’ll be honest, I actually had long conversations with David Wood over the years and I never dreamed he had one of these types of cases. The media has tossed him in with the notorious killer called the Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez. David Woods is now what I’ve learned called “The Desert Killer”. 9 victims, all raped and buried in the desert of El Paso. Ages from 14 years to 23 years of age. The ages of all my daughters. As I said, I’m angered by what I’ve read and feel for all the many family members who are affected by this.

Now moving on to another subject before I start to rant and rave on the person to be put to death in Huntsville tomorrow, and that subject is one of kindness. Yes if you have a friend or loved one on the death row building of Polunsky Unit then the other day they had a rare thing happen to them that surely added a big smile to their face. I know it did add one to mine!

The guards a few days ago came through our Pod pushing one of those 55 gallon trash cans on wheels and inside there was huge slabs of ice cold watermelon. They handed these out and by the time they left our section you could of heard a pin drop to the floor. The slab of cold watermelon I had in my hands was a half a watermelon and it took several minutes to eat this. I sat down on the concrete floor, not caring if I made a mess. That was not on my mind. The most important thing at that moment was what I held in my hands.

People, don’t take life for granted, enjoy the simple things in life.

True American Till The End