Friends of Troy

Troy's first book is published!

2011-08-30T17:14:00.001-07:00

Hello to all the Friends of Troy,

I know it's been quite some time since you've heard from us. While we have not updated this blog since Troy's last commutation application was denied by Michigan's governor almost a year ago, he has been hard at work on a book, advance copies of which are now available for purchase!

It's called "Stepping Up: Wholeness Ethics for Prisoners and Those Who Care About Them" and is published by my imprint, The Whole Way Press. The book will also soon be available at Amazon.com. Whether you know someone in prison or are seeking wholeness yourself, we think you'll find this book valuable.

This has truly been a labor of love. As many of you know, Troy has been teaching an ethics class at his prison, Kinross Correctional Facility, for several years. But he has been doing more than simply teaching about existing ethical systems. The Kinross Ethics Project is based on an ethical system for everyday living that Troy has developed himself from years of self-education and seeking. I'll let the back-of-book blurb speak for itself:

"Men and women in prison are seen by society as problems and burdens. This book begins with a different premise: that you can be a solution, not only in the world but in your own life as well. It's about a way of living called wholeness ethics and it's based on the simple truth that we find our own wholeness only in right relationship with the world.

"From the perspective of his 30 years behind bars, author Troy Chapman offers a roadmap for living this truth and moving toward soundness, well-being and the realization of one's larger purpose. Distilling experience to four essential relationships - with yourself, others, the transcendent and nature - Chapman shows how to consider each in the light of ethical thinking and restore wholeness to each one.

"With down-to-earth examples and language, compassion and good humor, this book will help you 'step up' to your true purpose, transform your life and your relationships, and help create a better world in the process."

We have also created a new blog to accompany the book: The Wholeness Ethics Blog. Bookmark us there for posts about the practice of wholeness ethics!

Troy and I are infinitely grateful to all of you who have been such wonderful friends to us. Without you, this book would not have been possible.

Peace,
Maryann

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Troy Chapman author page
Stepping Up book page

My Last Freedom

2010-09-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

by Troy Chapman

Well, as Maryann has already posted, our bid for commutation has been denied by both the Michigan Parole Board and the governor. As I’ve spent the past few days pondering this decision I keep coming back to a few things.

We don’t know why this decision was made instead of a more positive one. Perhaps we’ll find that out eventually. Whatever we may find out I’m fairly certain that I’ve done all that I can in the matter. There’s some comfort in this because I know I have done my part. On the other hand, there’s some frustration in it as well because I’m not sure what’s required of me at this point. Needless to say, it’s a sad time.

I have, throughout the process, been thinking about Scott Chandler and his family. Whatever the past 26 years have been for me, he hasn’t had them at all, nor has his family had them with him due to my actions. I think also about my own family, who were hurt as well by my actions.

Last night in the ethics group, we talked about the central premise of the group: that we should at all times do only what increases wholeness in ourselves and in the world. We talked about what that means and I spoke of how my crime tore up the wholeness of so many people. During this conversation, another of the central ideas of my life came up — that is what Viktor Frankl, Nazi death camp survivor, called “man’s last freedom.” He said we can’t always determine what happens to us in life or what our circumstances are but we can always choose how we will respond to those circumstances.

This outcome of continued incarceration is certainly not what I would have chosen if I had a choice. But I didn’t. What I do have a choice in is how I respond to it now. And so my question is, with all things being as they are, what response will increase wholeness in myself and in the world?

I don’t know the answer yet, but I think part of it is simply asking the question. If I can do nothing else or know nothing else, I know this: Turning my mind and spirit to this question rather than to the million other places it wants to run like water right now is in itself a wholistic act.

So I have my question. I think it’s not just the question for this situation but the question for all of life: What response will increase wholeness? I will continue asking it as I process and adjust to this.

I’ve said before but not for awhile how much all of you who call yourselves my friends mean to both Maryann and me. Your support and encouragement mean more than we can tell you.

Application Denied by Governor

2010-09-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

I'm extremely sad to announce that Troy's commutation application was denied by the Michigan Parole Board and Governor Jennifer Granholm this week.

This is pretty upsetting because Granholm's last day in office is the end of this year; it's unlikely very many commutations will be signed by whoever is the next governor, if any. Troy seems to be managing the news. He told me "I'm working on being where I am, rather than trying to be somewhere I can't be." I wish I could deal with this with such equanimity.

Of course, it's not all that easy to get over a blow like this and he knows that too. If you want to send Troy an encouraging note, you can email it here or, better yet, mail it to Troy Chapman, 169076, 16770 Water Tower Dr., Kincheloe, MI 49788.

Thank you to everyone for your support and caring.

Peace,
Maryann

A Glimmer

2010-06-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a very long time since I've posted. The wheels of justice do grind slowly.

But there has been some positive movement in Troy’s case. Troy’s counselor received a request for a Parole Eligibity Report (PER) on Troy from the parole board. Whenever the board wants to consider giving someone an interview or hearing they request this form. The board has requested the info by July 8.  

As a point of reference, no PER was requested the last time we applied, and Troy’s application was sent to the governor without a positive recommendation; this is moving off in quite another direction than last time.

This is a Good Thing. Say your prayers, please.  

Peace, 
Maryann

Second Commutation Application Sent to Lansing

2010-01-03T13:28:00.001-08:00

Hello, and happy new year. Last week, I mailed Troy's second commutation application to the Michigan Parole and Commutation Board. Inmates in Michigan are permitted to apply for commutation every two years, and it has now been two years since Troy's first application was received by the board.

Applicants are not supposed to send the same documentation in support of their bids for commutation as they did in previous applications, and we adhered to this rule. And yet the package I sent was as thick as the first one! New documentation this time included news of Troy's popular NPR essay for the This I Believe program, the fact that his Ethics Project was approved as an official program of the Michigan Department of Corrections, excerpts from the starter kit Troy wrote to help prisoners in other facilities start their own Ethics Projects, and last, but not least, the letters sent by many of Troy's supporters in the spring of last year expressing their sadness at the outcome of his first commutation application.

We have more hope for this application than the last one. The men Troy has known who have received commutations have all applied more than once. And we have learned that the board is more receptive of applications from people who have served 25 or more years for second degree murder. At the time of his last application, Troy had served 23 years. The 25th anniversary of his crime was in late November of last year.

As always, I thank you all for your support for Troy. Please keep this application in your thoughts and prayers, and also please pray for Troy and me and our friends and families as we endure this time of waiting to see how the board and Governor Jennifer Granholm will handle this request for clemency. And don't forget the family of Troy's victim, who have suffered much.

—Maryann

Bearing Witness

2009-05-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

I have been blessed to receive several letters of support on Troy's behalf that have been sent to the Parole Board and governor's office. They have warmed my heart and inspired me profoundly. I thought our supporters might like to share in the inspiration, so I am including some passages below.

If you have yet to write your letter, please don't use any of the following verbatim. But please do take the time to write from your heart.

From an "outside" volunteer who attends the Kinross Ethics Program that Troy developed:
"The most profound and emotionally touching experience is the open sharing and discussion of past failures that Troy promotes in the class. He encourages the analysis of decisions through the lens of integrity, character and fairness that causes the participants to evaluate past actions and come to grips with the consequences of those actions. In that process I sense genuine remorse and acute awareness of the depth and breadth of the hurt caused not only to the victim and the victim’s family, but also their own loved ones and society in general.

"Troy’s leadership in helping men change lives is not restricted to the classroom. Troy is well known and respected by fellow inmates and officers alike in the compound as a guy who “walks the talk”. In all aspects of his life he inspires others prisoners to change thought processes and behaviors by applying the principles of ethics. He challenges himself and others to not let past failures limit their ability to be a beneficial presence in all relationships and interactions, whether it is with an officer, a fellow inmate or a family member.

"I would estimate that in the four years the KCF ethics program has been in place nearly 100 men have positively impacted. The success of the program is due to Troy’s passion to help others, leadership ability and keen interpersonal skills. He has developed a succession plan with a core group of likeminded men trained to continue on with the program."

From a former fellow inmate:
"I arrived at the Kinross Correctional Facility in Michigan's upper peninsula in the spring of 2007. ...

"I heard about the Ethics program that was being offered by one of the inmates on the compound and I soon learned that that inmate was Troy Chapman. Initially I was skeptical, what could a convicted felon know about ethics? I kept hearing more and more about this “Troy” guy and his band of ethical thinkers and, intrigued, I signed up. That action opened up doors that up until that point I did not even know existed.

"In Troys class, actually discussion group is a more apt description, I started on a whole new way of thinking about myself and the world around me. Under Troys tutelage I came to realize that I was part of something much bigger than myself. Up until then I had been acting in a very self serving manor, even in my pursuit of self improvement. He introduced me to the concept of being what he called a “Beneficial Presence”. In a nut shell this means to consider every action and every situation and calculate the most loving response to that situation and then act upon it. It is not always the easiest thing to do but it is always the right thing to do.

"Thank God for Troy and his altruistic ways. He was able to lead me down his chosen path, selflessness and concern for others before himself. Troy is an exceptional human being and has come a long way from the person that committed the ultimate selfish act, homicide, some 26 years ago. I was fortunate never to have known that individual and therefore my opinion and judgment are not clouded by his past. I only know the Troy of today and I am grateful for the friendship that was fostered inside the fence and continues today. ...

"His continuing community support, preparedness for transition, and deportment while incarcerated should all, in my humble opinion, make him an exceptional candidate for parole."

From a Friend of Troy in Michigan who has personally corresponded with Troy:
"Punishment is a concept with diminishing returns, and prisons spit out brittle, angry men. But Troy Chapman stands as proof that change is possible, even in the harsh environment of the cellblock. For a willing few, incarceration is a wake-up call – a chance to start life over from scratch. When I asked Troy how he became what he is now, he wrote back that he came to a place where he could no longer live as he was, and he had to find, or create, some kind of meaning in his life. “Grace” took it from there. I saw then, a man willing to take the risk of seeing himself for what he truly is – imperfect - and then set out to learn from his mistakes and evolve into who he was meant to be. Part of this journey involved sharing the special gifts he discovered. He has since, struggled heroically in his unique community, creating a small island of calm in the center of the insanity that is prison life.

"Daily, Troy leaves his mark on the world, but it is a small world, limited by razor wire and locked doors. And daily his life says by example: 'This is what I’ve accomplished. You can do it too. I’ll help.'"

From Friends of Troy in Pennsylvania who have also corresponded with Troy:
"During the past 24 years Troy Chapman has had a lot of time to think, to pray, to study, to learn, and to create. He has written music, created art, taught classes, and become a writer. Some of his articles were published, which is how we became acquainted with him. His philosophical questions about life, about our relationships with one another, and about God have resulted in more writings that have enriched the lives of those of us who have become aware of his story. His goal in life now is to be a good citizen in the world today, making positive contributions as opportunities which use his strengths present themselves. To that end he is currently teaching Ethics to other Kinross prisoners. If released from prison we have every reason to believe that he would continue his quest to make a positive difference in a world that surely can benefit from his example of personal transformation.

"Today Troy Chapman has made friends with men and women outside the prison who will continue to be his friends whether or not he is released. He now has positive role models, as well as people willing to be mentors and people willing to support him through the transition from prisoner to good citizen and working member in society.

"Troy Chapman has become an introspective, mature, and wise man, committed to nonviolence, who now has the education and skills to teach and to be a role model for others. We hope you will look more deeply at his record in prison and his potential for being a good citizen out of prison. We feel that he has, increasingly over the past 24 years, demonstrated that he has been rehabilitated and is prepared to assume a positive and productive role in society should he be given the opportunity to enter it again. Should his case again come across your desk for reconsideration, we ask you to look with favor upon him."

From Friends and correspondents in The Netherlands:
"In his remarkable process he imagined himself in the place of that other young man he killed, cut off from life. He felt guilt and deep remorse. Then he tried to reflect and to feel what it meant for the parents and relatives. To lose in such way your son, brother, your friend.

"That is not an easy and common thing to do for a criminal. But Troy Chapman realized that if he did not feel in the most deep way possible what his deed signified for the victim and other people, then there would be no way to live his life in the years to come.” He understood the laws of life, taking responsibility and having the courage to feel what he had done, asking himself: 'What does my decision, my acts in life mean to that other human being?'

"From that moment on we are deeply involved in Mr. Chapman’s beautiful writings about his inner experiences. He has developed himself as a great teacher, doing lovely work for the people within the prison and for many people outside.

"As teachers to adult people, searching for the meaning of life, establishing qualities like peace, friendship and spiritual awareness in the life of our students, we are using quotations of Troy regularly. They are of great wisdom and at the same time so adaptable. That’s how Troy helps us all to transform ourselves as he did."

From Friends in France:
"We visited Troy Chapman in 2003 and in 2006 and can only express, that we met a very well educated person, sensitive, intelligent and very alive. His interest in others makes us think that he probably would be very useful in helping others such as socially disturbed youngsters. All his experiences in life, especially the difficult ones, may be particularly helpful on one hand to understand these youngsters and on the other to show them how one can transform oneself.

"It must not be an easy task to evaluate the transformation of a person. How does one evaluate the transformation of a person like Troy Chapman who worked hard on himself in jail for 24 years after having entered as a very young man of only 21?
Do you think it is still possible after 40 years in jail to integrate into the wider society? Perhaps it is better not to wait for too long, especially for the ones who have worked in a remarkable way on themselves, because everybody should have an interest that the transformed prisoners find their way back into society."

From a Friend and correspondent in New York:
"Troy has accepted full responsibility for his crime, made no excuses and rejected the errors of his youth. He has become a mature individual through his strong effort toward atonement. There is strong evidence that he has succeeded in becoming a valuable, caring, wise and productive person.

"In view of all this I feel that he has served enough time to deserve being released as soon as possible and hope the board will see fit to show him clemency. He would not be a danger to society but a great gift to have among us.

"I would be delighted to have Troy live in my neighborhood or in my apartment as a kind of half-way house. He is an honest and inspiring person who I would feel privileged to socialize with. I would be very happy to testify futher in his behalf if asked."

From a Friend who is a corrections employee in Minnesota:
"I have been deeply touched by Troy’s inspirational communications from prison, his blogs and his artwork which show incredible insight and depth. This is especially astonishing in light of the conditions in which he lives his life. I have worked in the corrections field since 1985 and have been inspired by many of my clients. However I have never seen this kind of commitment to the development of the human spirit. I have been an avid reader of books on spirituality from many traditions for year and you rarely see this kind of insight in people outside of prison. Given the extraordinary commitment Troy has given to creating a positive presence to people both inside and outside prison I hope someone soon sees fit to commute his sentence."

I am so grateful to everyone who has taken the time to write and those who have promised to do so. You are lights in the world.

—Maryann Gorman

A Letter-Writing Campaign!

2009-05-04T17:39:00.000-07:00

Now that I’ve had time to recover somewhat from the sad news that the Michigan Parole Board and Governor Jennifer Granholm have denied Troy’s application for commutation of his sentence, I’ve decided it’s time for a letter-writing campaign.

A group of supporters of our size should not take this decision lying down. It would be an absolute pity if we were not heard from, en masse. The Parole Board and Governor Granholm should know there are many people, within the prison population, in Michigan, around the United States, and around the world, who know — by having been touched by his wonderful writings and beneficial presence — that Troy is not a threat to the public and should be freed.

Will a letter-writing campaign result in a changed decision? I'd like to hope so but I just don't know. But it will definitely have a practical impact by creating a sizable file, at the Parole Board and in the governor’s office, of correspondence about Troy and drawing attention to this particular decision. It was in December 2007 that we applied for commutation. Prisoners have the right to request review of their sentence through this method every two years. That means our next filing will be in just seven months. So writing letters now is well timed. My point is that this is not just an exercise in venting our frustration.

So this campaign can have great impact, but we need you. Please be part of this.

Here are some tips:

1. If possible, write your letter in the next month (this is my attempt to create some coherence; if you can’t write in that time-frame don’t let that stop you when you finally can write).

Address it to the Parole Board:

Michigan Parole and Commutations Board
Michigan Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 30003
Lansing, MI 48909

And cc and mail to the governor’s counsel:

Steven C. Liedel
Executive Office
111 S. Capitol Ave.
Lansing, MI 48933

Please send me a copy by email for my records.

If you don’t want to include your full address, please at least sign with your city/state.

2. When you first refer to Troy, mention his inmate number, 169076, so they can be certain what case you’re talking about.

3. Expressing anger won’t help. :-) Express your disappointment, puzzlement, sadness, etc. at the decision, but don’t go venting anger.

4. I suggest you discuss variations on the following, as long as they’re your personal convictions: that Troy is not a danger to the public, his service to fellow prisoners, the fact he’s served over 24 years for second-degree murder, his remorse and life of atonement and transformation since then, and his impact on your life or thinking.

For background on what Troy has accomplished, you can go here. Scroll down to “Kinross Ethics Project” and “Accomplishments,” which is about 2/3 of the way down the page. The rest of the info on that page may also be helpful; it’s most of the text of his commutation application and includes his statement about his crime.

Please feel free to contact me if you want me to look at your letter before you send. If you wrote a letter to support Troy’s commutation application and would like to see your wording in that, I have it and can send it to you as a PDF scan.

If you know anyone else who reads Troy’s work and cares about his case, please send this post to them.

I know so many of you have given so much to Troy for years. I humbly ask you to please give just a little bit more. With thanks from the bottom of my heart (and Troy’s),

—Maryann Gorman

Message from Troy

2009-04-22T04:46:00.000-07:00

I received a letter from the governor’s office reading:

The parole board has completed its review of your self-initiated application for pardon or commutation of sentence and forwarded its determination to the governor. Based on the parole board’s recommendation the governor has denied your application.

I’m not sure what they’d want me to do to increase my chances. I thought about writing the governor’s office with this question, but will run it by our lawyer John first.

As to how I feel? Well, certainly disappointed. Dispirited is probably a more accurate description. Determined also, though, to keep living to what I hold true.

We will file again with them once the legal time limit has passed. Meanwhile, I will try to rubberize myself so I can bounce. We’ll discuss where to go next. I need to do the same with my personal work as I’ve been sort of floating on that as I’ve been awaiting the decision.

I want to thank you all for your prayers and support. Never underestimate what that means to me and Maryann and know that it makes a world of difference.

Other than that, it’s rainy and cold here today and for the next few days. Weather to match this mood, I guess. Of course, to continue this metaphor it is spring, and after the rain, sun and warmer days and renewal will come. Are coming, even now. More later.

—Troy Chapman

Governor Rejects Troy Chapman's Request for Clemency

2009-04-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

It is with great regret that I report that Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has rejected Troy's application for commutation.

We will move on from here by requesting a resentencing hearing in the jurisdiction where Troy committed his crime. So his journey toward freedom is not over. If that should fail, prisoners are permitted to file for commutation every two years; the two years since Troy's last filing will be up this December. (It took over 16 months for this one to play out.)

I have few words at the moment, but we couldn't have gotten as far as we did without the dozens of you who sent spiritual, financial and letter-writing support. My gratitude to you all is as profound as my grief at the outcome. Troy feels the same way. You'll be hearing from him soon.

Peace,
Maryann Gorman

An Honor at University of Michigan

2009-04-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

First of all, for anyone who's curious, to the best of our knowledge Troy's commutation application is still in the governor's office.

In other news, I visited Troy last week and on the way up to see him, I stopped in Ann Arbor, at the University of Michigan. The university has a prison creative arts program which last year solicited prisoner creative writing. Troy submitted three poems that made it into the first “On Words: Michigan Review of Prisoner Creative Writing.”

I went to the university on March 26 because they were hosting an event featuring the editors and formerly incarcerated writers reading selections from the book. The guest editor, Joseph Bathanti, named Troy’s poem “The Knitting Birds” as a first honorable mention. Two of Troy’s poems were read, “The Knitting Birds” and “The Prodigal.” (The third that was published, “Awakening,” was published here.)

There were about 1,000 entries and only 30+ writers made it into the book. As Bathanti said in naming his choices for winning entries and honorable mentions, when you get to the level of the writing published in the book, they are all winners, and that is so true, but I have to admit I was proud as a mama bear to be there and see the little extra attention Troy’s poetry got.

—Maryann Gorman

Video Inspired by Troy's "This I Believe" Essay

2008-10-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

From Brasscheck TV. Thank you!

Troy Chapman on National Public Radio

2008-09-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

We have some very exciting news... On Sunday, Sept. 28 somewhere around 9:30-10:00 a.m. ET, Troy Chapman can be heard reading his essay for the "This I Believe" radio series during Weekend Edition Sunday on National Public Radio.

"This I Believe is an international project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values that guide their daily lives. These short statements of belief, written by people from all walks of life, are archived here and featured on public radio in the United States and Canada, as well as in regular broadcasts on NPR. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow." (—from the series Web site)

Troy joins others whose essays have been produced for radio, including authors, artists, musicians, statesmen and -women, academics, entertainers, and many more who are unknown outside their circle of family, friends and associates.

Click here for a list of local affiliates if you don't know where NPR is on your dial. If you miss Troy's piece or want to hear it again, after the broadcast date you'll find a page containing the essay and a link to listen here. You might want to take some time reading and listening to other essays — such meaningful and thoughtful statements from people in all walks of life are good for the soul.

Our sincerest thanks to series staff, especially senior editor Viki Merrick and curator Jay Allison, for choosing Troy's essay for broadcast and the extra work they did with the prison to record him. Also many thanks to administrators at Kinross Correctional Facility, who not only gave permission for Troy to participate in the series, but facilitated the timely recording of his essay.

—Maryann Gorman

Update on Troy's Commutation Application

2008-08-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

It's been quite some time since I've updated the blog, so I thought I'd post the latest. There's not a lot of news as of today except to say that we know Troy's application is being reviewed by the governor's office. There has been a tremendous number of people applying for commutation and pardon, so they are dealing with a lot of applications and this may take 60 to 90 days or so.

So please join us in being patient and in praying for the strength to cope with whatever outcome we get. If the governor rejects Troy's application, we will seek a re-sentencing hearing within the jurisdiction where Troy committed his crime, so this is hardly the end of the road.

Thank you for your support.

Peace,
Maryann

P.S. Note that I've added a related links box on the right. Humanity for Prisoners is an extremely worthwhile organization run by our dear friend Doug Tjapkes. I recommend you take a look at his new blog and consider supporting Humanity for Prisoners.

Progress on Application for Commutation

2008-05-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

Today we received word that Troy's application for commutation has apparently been forwarded from the Executive Clemency Council to the Michigan Parole Board. What we don't know yet is whether or not this forwarding means the Clemency Council has recommended Troy for commutation or simply passed on the application without comment or with a negative recommendation. Our lawyer is going to try to find out. The system is not completely transparent, but this news is hopeful and I will update you if we find out more. I suspect the odds are that the council recommended Troy for commutation, but I can only base that on minimal knowledge of the process and the fact that hope springs eternal even in a pessimist like me.

If you're interested in getting yourself up to that minimal level of knowledge of the roles of the Clemency Council, Parole Board and governor of Michigan in this process, please see the article reproduced in the previous post (scroll down or click here) or email me with any questions you may have.

As always, thank you all for your support, love and prayers.

Peace,
Maryann Gorman

Executive Clemency Council

2008-01-19T02:58:00.000-08:00

Many of you have asked how long it might take for us to receive notice that the Parole Board has addressed Troy's application for commutation. The article below, published in August 2007, gives good insight into the process. From it, I get the impression that this will probably take awhile; Troy has this impression too and is prepared for the wait.

A lot of prisoners are asking for attention and it looks like the Executive Clemency Council is taking the applications seriously. Our lawyer will attempt to track Troy's application over time so we know where it stands. He thinks Troy's application package is meritorious and is optimistic. I agree with him, and much of the application's value lies in the letters so many of you sent on Troy's behalf.

Thank you for your support and please continue to pray for and bless Troy's application with your loving attention. Troy is doing well... the hope inspired by legal actions like this presents both ache and comfort, but he's hanging in there, especially knowing we are pulling for him.

(Thanks, Doug, for sending this article.)

Peace,
Maryann Gorman

Applying for freedom
Many more prisoners seek clemency
by Sandra Svoboda
8/22/2007
Detroit's Metro Times

With his appeals in state court exhausted and a last-ditch motion lingering in federal court, Fredrick Freeman is hoping one other avenue could get him released from Michigan prisons: a commutation or pardon from the governor. He's one of a skyrocketing number of Michigan prisoners requesting such action this year.

Freeman, 44, is 20 years into his life sentence for the first-degree murder of Scott Macklem, who was shot to death in the parking lot of St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron in 1986.

No physical evidence tied Freeman to the shooting. An eyewitness, under questionable circumstances, placed Freeman at the scene. And a jailhouse snitch testified Freeman had confessed, but then the snitch, who received favors from prosecutors, recanted his claim. All this and more has drawn legal, investigative and public support for Freeman.

In a step toward possible commutation, Freeman's case is being considered by Michigan's newly formed Executive Clemency Advisory Council, which makes recommendations to the state Parole Board and ultimately Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Granholm's office recommended Freeman's case to the council for review, spokeswoman Liz Boyd says.

The council, which examined Freeman's request at its meeting last week, will make a recommendation for or against the merit of Freeman's claim to the Michigan Parole Board. The council's decisions are not necessarily public, says Russ Marlan, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections, declining to say what happened to Freeman's application. If the parole board decides a prisoner's case has merit, it will hold hearings.

The council's seven members represent crime victims, the public and law enforcement; a staff person from the Department of Corrections assists them. At their monthly meeting in August they considered 25 requests for clemency.

Since its formation in February, the council has helped inspire an unprecedented number of requests for clemency, Marlan says. So far this year, the state has received 1,006 commutation requests compared to 358, 338 and 377 in each of the previous three calendar years.

"We've gone out and publicly stated that we would be reviewing certain segments of the prisoner population for commutation or parole," Marlan says, referencing pressure to save money within the prison system. "We've publicly said that we'd be evaluating prisoners with medical issues for commutation or parole. Then the governor created the Executive Clemency Advisory Council so all three of those things have caused prisoners themselves to submit more applications."

In Michigan, any prisoner may apply for a pardon or commutation of sentence to the state's Parole Board, which reviews the applications and makes recommendations to the governor. Public hearings must be held before the board makes a recommendation for executive clemency. Victims, their families or other interested persons who have told the Department of Corrections Office of Crime Victim Services they want information about prisoners ˜ including notification of parole hearings ˜ will receive updates.

If the governor grants a commutation, the prisoner's sentence is reduced to the number of years served and the prisoner goes on parole. If the governor pardons someone, the sentence is effectively voided and the prisoner is freed.

A pardon implies society's forgiveness. A commutation says justice is not served by keeping the prisoner locked up.

Overall, prisoners' requests for clemency from Michigan's governors have had varying success with the last three administrations even as the prison population has grown and pressures to control costs have increased. Granholm, a Democrat in the first year of her second term, has granted 12 commutations and one pardon. John Engler, a three-term Republican, pardoned nine prisoners and commuted the sentences of 34 others. Jim Blanchard, a Democrat in office for eight years, issued five commutations and one pardon just days before he left office in 1990. He issued one other commutation during his tenure.

"Liberal politicians must have one conservative issue to be electable. Often it becomes crime," says Ron Bretz, a professor at Cooley Law School in Lansing and president of the Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending.

William Milliken, a Republican who served from 1969 to 1982, commuted 94 sentences and pardoned another 23 prisoners.

"It's an extraordinary power that a governor has," Milliken says. "It's something a governor has got to do, be willing to take a chance and the possibility of public criticism for this phrase 'soft on crime,' and do it."

Nationally, the number of commutations granted varies widely by state. A 2003 report by the Argus Leader newspaper in Sioux Falls, S.D., found the nearly 2,000 commutations granted by former Gov. Bill Janklow led the nation from 1995-2003. Michigan during that time had 31, putting it 11th highest on the list. Three states had no commutation records ˜ New Jersey, Wisconsin and Rhode Island ˜ and 14 states' governors did not grant any commutations, the newspaper found.

Historical perspective

The first Michigan prisoner whose sentence was commuted is noted simply as "J.F.M." in state records. J.F.M. had served six years and five months for first-degree murder when released from Jackson Prison in 1861.

A century ago, Gov. Fred Warner in 1907 released 18 prisoners who had been convicted of crimes ranging from statutory rape to sodomy to highway robbery to wife abandonment. Five of them had been convicted of murder, according to records at the Michigan Archives.

Of the 72 Michigan prisoners sentenced to life who received executive clemency during the 19th century, 47 of them ˜ or 65 percent ˜ had committed murder, according a 1928 report from the Pardon Division of the Executive Office.

Gov. George Romney commuted the sentences of 107 inmates during his six years in office in the mid-1960s. Several of those were for first-degree murder.

Milliken granted commutations almost exclusively for men with first-degree murder convictions.

At the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries, Blanchard and Engler used commutations to set aside sentences of several people convicted under drug laws that required mandatory life imprisonment for delivery, possession or conspiracy to possess 650 or more grams of certain drugs including cocaine. The law was eventually revised.

In nearly five years in office, Granholm has granted a dozen, all for medical reasons. Seven of them have since died, according to Department of Correction records.

The most famous of her commutations was Jack Kevorkian, the assisted suicide doctor who served nearly a decade of a 10- to 25-year sentence for second-degree murder. He was released in June after the Parole Board took into account his declining health. His attorney has said he suffers from hepatitis C and diabetes.

Granholm earlier this year established the Executive Clemency Advisory Council and asked members to give priority to applications from sick inmates as well as elderly prisoners who were convicted of nonviolent crimes, Boyd says. Prisoners who could be deported are also a priority.

The council has considered 140 cases so far. Of the first 115, the council decided 85 had merit and forwarded them to the Parole Board. From there, the parole board reviews them. Of the 85, the board decided to hold hearings on 33 of them. Three public hearings have been held, but the board has not yet made any recommendations to the governor, according to Marlan.

Noting that Granholm's experience as a prosecutor ˜ she was Michigan's attorney general before becoming governor ˜ might foster a reluctance to release prisoners, Milliken, for his part, still thinks she should be releasing more prisoners.

"I've urged our current governor to use it in a couple of instances and to use it generally but she has not used this extraordinary power as much as I think she should or any governor should," Milliken says. "She's in her last, final term. She ought to use it."

Boyd says the governor doesn't have any immediate plans for a commutation schedule in the next few years.

"Does she plan to grant more commutations during her final term? I can't answer that question," Boyd says.

She acknowledges Freeman's clemency application ˜ which is based on his assertion of innocence, not the other conditions the governor has prioritized ˜ was sent to the council from the governor's office. But she won't say it indicates any special attention to his case.

"We look at cases on their individual merits," Boyd says.

Package Ready to Go

2007-12-02T08:25:00.001-08:00

It's taken quite awhile to gather all the components of a package containing Troy's request for reconsideration of his sentence, but finally two identical binders of supporting information about Troy will be sent to his lawyer tomorrow. He will send one to the Michigan Executive Clemency Advisory Council, whom we hope will recommend that the parole board and governor consider Troy's petition for commutation of his sentence. The other will go to the prosecutor in the county in which Troy committed his crime.

Much of the text of the package can be seen below in the next post.

Many of you wrote letters on behalf of Troy, and they are in the package. Troy and I can't thank you enough for your support. Please help smooth the passage of these packages to their destinations and maximize their effectiveness with your prayers and love.

Peace,
Maryann Gorman

Troy's Commutation Request Package

2007-12-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

Here is the text of most components of Troy's Application for Commutation of Sentence as of 12/07.

In addition to the text below, there is also a table of contents, a letter from a supporter in Michigan offering practical housing and job assistance to Troy upon his release, examples of Troy's published writings, and last — but not least — your letters of support.

1. About Troy Chapman

Troy Chapman was 20 years old when he committed the crime for which he is incarcerated (second-degree murder), and he is not the same man today that he was then. At that time in his life he was, in his own words, "on an insane roller-coaster of addiction, violence, and despair," that had begun at a very early age. When he was 16,he committed armed robbery, and it was after he walked away from a state “halfway house” near the end of his sentence for this crime that he took Scott Chandler’s life in a bar-room brawl, and was convicted of second-degree murder.

After he killed Mr. Chandler, Troy set out on a mission to understand and change himself. In the more than two decades that have passed since then, he has adopted a "transformative mode of being," which consists of perpetual self-confrontation, daily introspection, and outreach and service to others. He has dealt with the causes of this crime at their root — within his own heart — and the results of this are obvious in his life. His exemplary behavior has had many positive results both within and outside of prison walls.

Troy is an accomplished writer whose works have been published in national magazines, been reprinted internationally, used in classrooms, and published in many smaller newsletters and journals. Starting in 2001, working with editor and friend Maryann Gorman, Troy turned his writing skills into a newsletter, Inspirit, which was published for dozens of subscribers for three years. Today, Troy continues this work by writing essays for his blog, Sacred Matters, which is maintained by Maryann Gorman. Through it, Troy continues to reach out to others with a message of hope and peace. He is determined to show others how to live with love and compassion as greater forces in their lives, and his writings are an expression of this determination.

Troy is a teacher. Having helped other prisoners learn English as a second language as part of a literacy project early in his incarceration, Troy went on to develop a spiritual dynamics class, a writer's workshop, and an ethics class for fellow inmates in the mid- to late-90s under the aegis of the Jaycees. Most recently, Troy has developed the framework for and teaches The Ethics Project at Kinross, a class that helps prisoners understand how to make ethical choices in their daily lives. The Project produced a seminar on practical ethics for other inmates in November 2006 and is ongoing.

Troy is an artist, musician and songwriter. He has written dozens of songs and plays many of them in church services and other ministries in the prison. He is the music leader for the 50- to 75-man church service at Kinross Correctional Facility. (See this package for a list of his many other accomplishments while in prison.)

Troy has changed drastically since his crime. He is one of the true success stories of our criminal justice system and has done everything we could hope someone sent to prison would do. He has taken, and continues to take, responsibility for his crime and has done everything within his power to change. Indeed, his entire reason for existence stems from his recognition that taking a life has required a life of service as a form of atonement. The question we as a society must answer is: Can we ever forgive him and allow him to return to free society? We believe that we should and we know that if we do Troy will be an asset and not a detriment to our world.

—Friends of Troy Chapman

2. APPLICATION FOR PARDON OR COMMUTATION OF SENTENCE

Troy Chapman #169076
Answers to Questions 3-6

3. Briefly describe the circumstances of the crime(s) for which you are requesting a pardon:

In November 1984, I walked away from a corrections center in Grand Rapids, where I was incarcerated for armed robbery. I was in a bar in Lincoln Lake when [PW], a man I had been drinking with, accused me of making a pass at his wife. We fought briefly, though not very effectively as we were both intoxicated. As we wrestled on the floor, Scott Chandler, an unofficial bouncer at the bar and a friend of [PW], and who was also intoxicated, pulled us up and separated us. In doing so, he shoved me backward and I ended up about 10 feet from where he and [P] stood.

I drew a knife and held it up in front of me. Witnesses were unsure as to whether I yelled “Stay back” at this point or later and I don’t recall. Scott Chandler moved across the space between us and when he was standing over me I thrust the knife toward his stomach. He backed up, holding his stomach, and I stood looking down at the knife in my hand. Scott put his hands on the wall then sat down on the floor in front of me. I remembered I’d left the car keys on the bar, so I walked over, retrieved them and ran away.

I didn’t know until after my arrest that Scott Chandler had died. I thought I had stabbed him in the stomach. I learned later that the knife had in fact angled upward and entered his heart and he’d died within minutes. With this said, however, I know that Scott’s death was a direct result of a long pattern of destructive behavior in my life. Although no one was physically harmed in my first crime, I terrorized those victims and scarred them psychologically. I know this is also true of the other victims in this case, including [KG] and others in the bar that night. I didn’t go into the bar with the intention of taking a life but my general disregard for others is what led to this result.

4. Provide a brief statement explaining why are you requesting a pardon or commutation:

It was certainly right that I be sent to prison for a long time. Yet my sentence of 60 to 90 years is effectively a natural life sentence. The purpose of any sentence is punishment, incapacitation, rehabilitation and deterrence. It is up to others to decide how much punishment is appropriate but there is no further need to incapacitate me as someone likely to re-offend. I am rehabilitated and deeply committed to nonviolence and peaceful resolution of problems. As to deterrence, my punishment has helped me develop better self-understanding; the behavior that brought me to prison is no longer a part of me. I am also committed to sharing my life experience with others and teaching the principles of nonviolence to those who may think as I did when I committed this crime. Both the time I’ve served and my testimony about it can serve as a deterrent to anyone who hears it.

5. Provide a brief statement explaining why you should be granted a pardon or commutation:

It has become my life’s work to share my experience with others and help them avoid the mistakes I’ve made. I’ve already had an impact on many lives, as the enclosed letters of support demonstrate, but I can provide this social assistance to a far greater degree on the outside than on the inside. As a prisoner, I am an unnecessary expense for the criminal justice system. I have demonstrated that I am not going to be a repeat offender and that I can live within the law.

This crime changed me. I have spent my time in prison examining and confronting my morality, character and view of the world that led to it. It didn’t happen immediately, as I continued creating problems during my early years in prison, but I’ve changed steadily and my last major misconduct was in 1996.

I’ve taken responsibility for my crime and would like to do so more fully by becoming a contributing member of society and an example to others in word and deed. I know that it was my own character and thinking that led to this crime.

In addition, as you’ll see from my answer to #6 below, I have a plan for what to do with my life and realistic plans for transitioning from here to there with a specific individual identified who will help me find work and a place to live.

I am sorry for the choices I made and the devastating consequences they’ve had on numerous lives. The central anchor in my life today is my commitment to making wiser choices and responding to life in ways that make me more of what I admire and value in others — namely, a decent person who is beneficial to others rather than the curse I was in the past.

6. What are your home and job placement plans in the event you are released?

If released from prison I plan to go to Muskegon, Mich., to connect with Doug Tjapkes, who has offered to assist me in finding a job and a place to live (letter enclosed). I have state certification in custodial maintenance and so will seek employment in the area, but I am open to doing any kind of work initially. I have food service experience, writing/editing experience, I type an average of 45 words per minute, and am also a competent artist and have worked in many different media; work in any of these areas is a possibility. I am also a quick learner and have a good work ethic (as can be seen by my employment records here in prison) and these traits open up other job possibilities.

When I’m established in these basic areas I will begin seeking opportunities to pursue my life’s work in violence prevention and conflict resolution. Many people are working in these and related areas and it is my plan to volunteer my services to established organizations, to tell my story and to help in any other way I can. (Please see the appended description of the Kinross Ethics Project, which I developed in 2006 and which is ongoing, for an idea of the way I teach ethical living.)

It’s my hope to ultimately find employment in this area of social assistance work and I’m confident that if I’m patient and willing to earn the trust of people in this community, that will eventually happen.

I know of a man who works with ex-offenders in California; he advises them to think of themselves as guests in the communities they return to, and to see full membership in a community as something that must be earned. This describes the attitude I have toward society and that I will carry out with me. I think it will help me succeed not only in the area of finding employment but all areas of my life outside.

—Troy Chapman

3. The Kinross Ethics Project

I created the Kinross Ethics Project in 2006 to give prisoners (including myself) a space to explore the ongoing question of how to be better people and live better lives. During weekly meetings I give a presentation on some aspect of ethical living and then we discuss this as a group.

With each new group we run through an eight-week syllabus to establish a foundation, then we begin functioning more as a support group/workshop exploring various principles and how to practice them in daily life. As people transfer out or stop coming for various other reasons, I rerun the eight-week syllabus with a new group and restart the cycle.

The group is attended by a volunteer from the local community and is supported by staff here at Kinross such as the chaplain (our supervisor) and the warden.

Following is a syllabus and brief synopsis of the class for your review.

Week One: General Introduction

We introduce ourselves and I talk about the rules for discussion. I stress that we will disagree but need to do so respectfully. I talk about religion and the fact that this is an interfaith group. The rule here is everyone can speak from their own religious beliefs but we don’t speak against anyone else’s.

I then inform the group that we’re not here to study ethics as a philosophical or academic topic but as a practical matter. I give examples of ethical choices we all face countless times each day and how these choices affect the health of our communities and our own personal well-being.

Week Two: An Introduction and Overview of Ethics

This session covers terminology and three different types of ethical systems:

• Reason-based ethics (based on the belief that what’s good and bad can be discovered by reason alone);
• Prescription-based ethics (rules that are prescribed by an authority);
• Relation-based ethics (ethics that arise from and are discovered through relationship).

I talk about these as complementary rather than competitive systems; there is a time for reason, a time for rules, and a time for relation-based ethics.

I then introduce the ethics espoused by the group, a combination of reason-based and relation-based systems. I talk about Joseph Fletcher’s “situation ethics” (calculate the most loving thing to do in any situation and consider it your duty) and Thomas Aquinas’ “natural law ethics” (all things have a role to play in the natural order and if we know what this role is we can determine what is right behavior for that thing). We talk about our role as human beings and I ask them to identify their own purpose and begin thinking about whether their values and actions are serving that purpose or undermining it.

Week Three: Ethical Thinking

This is a discussion about two types of thought that I call structural and informational. Structural thoughts are those that determine how we process information; they are our deepest beliefs about reality and act as a “program” for our thinking. Informational thoughts make up the content of our minds on a daily basis. “I’m a victim” is a structural thought. All the various grievances and evidence of mistreatment gathered up by someone who thinks they are a victim, as well as the flawed reasoning produced by this thought, are informational.

The point is that we often don’t examine our thinking below the informational level and thinking on that level is always self-affirming; it always “makes sense” in light of the structural thought behind it. I encourage the men to go behind the content of their thinking and question the assumptions and beliefs that produce this content.

Week Four: The Ultimate Good

This session is about identifying a standard we can use to determine right and wrong. If we identify the “ultimate good” we know that all other goods are aspects of this. I identify the ultimate good as love/right-relationship and encourage the group to test various behaviors and thoughts against this standard and to define right-relationship. For instance, is it loving to steal from or do violence to people?

I conclude with the idea that the good and the right are the same thing — i.e., doing what’s right morally will ultimately make oneself and the world more healthy. I deal with the wrong idea that we can get ahead by harming others and share my notion that whenever we harm others we violate ourselves. So while it may seem we get ahead in the short run, there’s always a hidden cost in the long run.

Week Five: Three Aspects of Right-Relationship

Here we talk about three aspects of right-relationship:

• Reverence — seeing the potential and value of a person or thing;
• Goodwill — wanting people and things to unfold in accordance with their intended purpose;
• Assistance — taking some action to facilitate this unfolding.

At this point I talk about intrinsic value, which is the value of things with no reference to how they may or may not serve us. I teach that all people have intrinsic value and should therefore be treated with respect whether we think they “deserve” it or not.

Whenever we fail in any one of these aspects of right-relationship, we fall into unethical behaviors or thinking.

Week Six — The Four Basic Relationships

Here we look at the idea that we are always in relationship with everything whether we want to be or not, the idea that life itself is relationship. We talk about interconnection and interdependence and I discuss the four basic relationships of life:

• With God as we understand him;
• With others;
• With ourselves;
• With the physical world and nature.

We talk about what it means to practice reverence, goodwill and assistance in each of these areas.

Week Seven — The Circle of Moral Inclusion

The circle of moral inclusion is about who we include or exclude from our moral concern and calculations. The idea is that the fewer people we consider to be morally relevant, the less mature we are. We begin as infants with no one in our circle but ourselves. Then, as we grow out of this self-centeredness, we include our family, our gang, our neighborhood, race and so on.

My teaching is that to exclude anyone from our moral concern, to consider any aspect of life unimportant, is unethical. We talk again about interconnection and I challenge the men to reject the idea that only those who are like us or agree with us are “our people.”

Week Eight — Where Do We Go from Here?

During this closing session we briefly review the course and talk about how we will continue to practice these things in our lives. We discuss self-confrontation, stopping ourselves in the moment of doing or thinking something harmful or, conversely, holding ourselves accountable to do things we know we should do but may not want to.

The concept of self-governance is a big part of the class throughout and at this point we talk about how not effectively governing ourselves from within has led — rightly — to losing our freedom. I talk about it as a breach of contract in that the continuous cost of freedom is the responsibility to govern oneself. When we fail to do this we effectively give up the right to freedom.

We also talk about living an engaged life where we continue to seek truth and live it. Finally, we talk about the three commitments and three renouncements that are suggested but not mandatory. Each person may make them or not in their own lives. They’re a starting point to commitment in other areas. A copy of them is included in the enclosed flyer.

—Troy Chapman

4. Troy's Accomplishments

1985-1987
When Troy first went to prison in 1985, he immediately enrolled in community college courses offered at the Michigan Reformatory. He studied art, learned to draw and paint, received 30 credits toward an associates degree, and served as college librarian.

Troy was transferred to the Michigan Training Unit in 1986 and, though the state discontinued its college program, Troy continued to study on his own. During this time, he was also asked by staff to recharter the Jaycees chapter at that prison. This entailed re-writing the by-laws and constitution of the chapter, reorganizing its internal structure, overseeing various chapter projects — self-improvement classes and community improvement projects — and general management.

1988-1990
When he transferred to the Dunes Correctional facility, Troy continued to paint, donating and selling his work, and also became involved in a literacy project with volunteers from Michigan Literacy. This included appearing in a training video and tutoring other prisoners in reading and language skills. Because Troy was interested in Spanish, he worked with those who were learning English as a second language. Troy also taught himself to play guitar and to read and write music; he has composed dozens of songs and performs them at prison concerts.

1991-1994
When he was transferred again to Carson City, then to Kincheloe Temporary Facility in the Upper Peninsula, Troy continued to paint but focused more on writing. He explored novel writing, producing two full-length drafts, and wrote an autobiography using the creative nonfiction format (unpublished) during this time.

1995-1999
Transferred again to Kinross Correctional Facility, where he is currently incarcerated, Troy's first published article appeared in Prison Life. In 1999, he published another article in a national ecumenical Christian magazine, The Other Side ("Why I Love My Jailers"). He enrolled in and completed a course in writing through Writer's Digest School and won second place in a state art show in Paris, Michigan, for a watercolor ("The General Store"). In his early years at Kinross, Troy ran an ongoing Spiritual Dynamics class, a Writer's Workshop, and an Ethics Class, all as Jaycees programs. Troy received his custodial maintenance certification at Kinross, a state certification that he can use "on the outside" as a profession.

2000-2002
In 2000, Troy met editor and writer Maryann Gorman; in 2001 they created The Lifeful Way. This was an organization devoted to spiritual awakening, consisting of a Web Site and hard copy newsletter (the newsletter is since discontinued). Troy created the philosophical basis for the Lifeful Way, helped organized the Web site, wrote a study guide, wrote for the bimonthly newsletter, and continues to author the Lifeful Way's offshoot, the Sacred Matters blog. In 2001, Troy published the article "Through My Enemy's Eyes" in YES! magazine, which has been used in college and high school classrooms and has been reprinted nationally and internationally, in publications such as The Christian Sentinel, the Irish Journal of the Anthroposophical Society, and Ode (the Netherlands).

2003-2005
Troy then went on to publish My Neighborhood (The Other Side magazine), The Broken Promise of War (The Other Side), Why I Go to Church (U Can Change the World (India)), and a column for Progressive Health newspaper. He organized and wrote an e-mail workshop for The Lifeful Way, "Ten Steps to Increase Your Peace," in which 24 people participated. An allegory Troy wrote appeared (credited) in a book published in 2003 by internationally recognized Zen teacher Cheri Huber, "When You're Falling, Dive." Until the cancellation of the prison newspaper KCF Link by the Michigan Department of Corrections, Troy also was employed as a writer for several months with this award-winning prison newspaper; prior to his employment with the paper, he had written many articles for it on a volunteer basis.

2006-2007
In 2006, Troy created an ethics class for fellow inmates that he still leads, and which produced a well-attended seminar on practical ethics for other inmates in November 2006. He recently started a writing class for inmates, which he co-leads with another prisoner. With the help of his friend Maryann Gorman, he maintains a blog, Sacred Matters. Troy's story of his discovery of "the third side," from YES! magazine, is retold in the new book "The Power of a Positive No" (2007) by William Ury, an internationally renowned mediator who is co-founder of Harvard University's Program on Negotiation.

Troy served on the board for Keryx, a volunteer Christian ministry, for several years; he is the music minister for the 50- to 75-member Protestant service at the prison, and he initiated a project called Kid's Christmas, which donates crafts made by prisoners to be sold for money to buy Christmas presents for underprivileged children. He worked for a time in Kinross's organic garden, which donates produce to the local population, until scheduling conflicts with other activities prevented this.

—Friends of Troy Chapman

5. Use of Troy’s Writings

Troy’s writing — inspiring, original and practical — has been reprinted or used internationally by editors, authors, and leaders of religious organizations as touchstones within articles, magazines, books and sermons.

Published shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, Troy’s article “Through My Enemy’s Eyes,” in the Nov/Dec 2001 issue of YES! magazine, was especially well-received. Obviously meeting a need in a wounded world for an inspiring and practical example of how to move beyond left-right, good-bad dichotomies, this article garnered an amazing response. Troy received positive correspondence about the piece from over 100 readers of the magazine, and got word from two educators that they were using the article in philosophy and religion class syllabi. “Through My Enemy’s Eyes” has been reprinted internationally, in the Journal of the Anthroposophical Society in Ireland, Ode (the Netherlands), the El Dorado Sun, the Christian Science Sentinel, and Quaker publications such as Transforming Power: Alternatives to Violence.

The article inspired one educator and writer from Bangalore, India, Dr. Neeraja Raghavan, to correspond with Troy and write an article about his life example in the Indian publication U Can Change the World. Most recently, Troy’s story of how he found the “third side” in conflict, as he related it in the YES! article, was retold in the new book The Power of a Positive No (2007, Bantam Books) by William Ury, who is co-founder of Harvard University's Program on Negotiation, an internationally renowned mediator and the author of the popular negotiation book, Getting to Yes.

Troy covered a similar subject in his first published article, “Why I Love My Jailers” (The Other Side magazine, Nov/Dec 1999). This piece — about love as the great liberator and his only personal power behind bars — was reprinted in Roy Masters’ New Insights newsletter; Troy received supportive and grateful letters from several readers who went on to become longtime supporters and friends from the publication of this article.

The themes of practicing love and waging peace wind through Troy’s work and have been used in the sermons or writings of ministers and laypeople who have read his work in magazines or online. Troy’s words have been quoted in the sermons and newsletters of religious establishments in Philadelphia, Pa. (Ethical Humanist Society); Roswell, Ga. (Unitarian Universalist); Allenton, Wis. (Roman Catholic); Baltimore, Md. (the Jonah House); and Rochester, N.Y. (United Methodist) — to name only those known to Troy’s supporters. Outside of the Judeo-Christian tradition, Zen Buddhist monk and teacher Cheri Huber used an allegory written by Troy about the “true self” in her 2003 book When You’re Falling, Dive.

In addition to their use in publications, Troy’s writings and his personal example have also been used in jails in Maine for mentoring and creative writing classes (see the letters section of this package).

There is a hunger among good, peace-seeking people for the wisdom Troy shares in his writing — wisdom garnered over long years of study, introspection, and relating with compassion to his fellow inmates, the guards and others at his prison, as well as friends and family in the world. Troy’s influence could be multiplied many times were he permitted to carry on his ministry of atonement and compassion outside of prison walls.

—Friends of Troy Chapman

A Note of Appreciation

2007-08-12T04:26:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone. It's a beautiful day here at Kinross. The sun rose this morning behind a heavy mist and is now burning its way through the veil. The seagulls — a constant presence here in summer due to the abundance of free scraps — are arguing seagull politics outside my window. And I'm sitting here on my bunk with my first cup of coffee. It's my favorite time of the day.

I'm thinking as I do often nowadays, of how close we are to filing a request for commutation from the governor. As I think about the path we've traveled to get to this point, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for the role you have all played in this.

When Maryann and I started this journey we were alone and felt pretty small in the world next to the Goliath of my situation. Then we looked around and noticed our families and a small group of friends were with us. We took heart and continued, still feeling small but not quite as small as we did in the beginning. Since then, this group of friends and supporters has continued to grow as more and more of you have come to stand with us and hold us up to this point.

Without your prayers and encouragement we would not have been able to sustain our efforts and maintain our hope to get this far. Without your unbelievably generous financial support we wouldn't have been able to hire an attorney to lead us through the legal maze and develop a realistic strategy for moving forward. Then, when we asked for letters, you came through again and they have poured in.

As I read these letters I am extremely humbled and reminded of the abundance of grace in my life. Whatever happens in this legal situation, I want you to know that I've already been blessed beyond anything I deserve by your belief in me, your support and your friendship. I want to thank you for that blessing. I am indebted to you beyond anything that words can express.

Now as we move forward from here I ask you to continue to extend your prayers to the family of Scott Chandler, the man whose life I took. His family was deeply and unjustly harmed by my action, and should be remembered as we make our request for clemency. So think of them when you think of me and what we're trying to do and thank you for caring. Know that this alone is an act of healing and is a thing of great value in our world and in my life. Many blessings.

Troy

Some Further Guidance for Writing Letters

2007-06-30T03:52:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much to those of you who have written letters on Troy's behalf (see next post below). Your response has thrilled both Troy and I; we are blessed. And we can still use more.

This post has some important further tips for those of you who haven't finished your letters yet.

I had our lawyer review some of the early submissions and he said an effective letter is about Troy's effect on YOU PERSONALLY — how his ideas or spirit have touched you personally and produced something tangible.

For example, I have a friend who, after being inspired by reading Troy's work, found herself relaxing internally and listening carefully to a friend who normally frustrates her. It's a small thing, but if you've ever taken an action, had a kind thought, done something you might not otherwise have done, because of Troy’s work, write about it. Also, if you've used Troy's work in any way, quoted him in something you've written, used his work in your classroom or workplace, write about that. This in addition to whatever else you might say in answer to our list of suggested points in the last post below.

Three other key points that some early submissions may have missed:

1. Include, if not your whole address, at least your city, state and country below your signature unless you use letterhead.
2. Your letters have to come to me; please do not send directly to the Parole Board. My address is Maryann Gorman, PO Box 731, Narberth, PA 19072 USA.
3. I would like to have letters by July 15.

If you've already written and would like to revise your letter per this post, let me know. There is time.

Again, Troy and I thank you all so much for your inspiring letters. I look forward to receiving more!

Peace,
Maryann Gorman

Letters of Support Needed NOW

2007-06-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

To all of you who have supported Troy Chapman over the years: Now is the time you can directly help him!

As I've written about before (see previous post below), Troy's lawyer is going to send a commutation request package to the Michigan Executive Clemency Advisory Council. The package will include letters of support from people who know Troy or his work and who support the reduction of his sentence. This is you!

Portions of this package may also be included in any motion we file, so there can be a dual use for the work you do.

PLEASE take some time to write a letter on behalf of Troy. Now is the time that he needs you all the most.

Instructions:

While you will send the letter to me (address below), please put this address at the top:

Parole Board
c/o Michigan Department of Corrections
Grandview Plaza Building
P. O. Box 30003
Lansing, MI 48909

I'm asking that you send the letter as hard copy because these letters are going to be put into a physical binder and they need to be real letters with signatures. As wonderful as electrons are, we're doing this the old-fashioned way!

After you write and sign your letter, please send it to me by July 15 at:

Maryann Gorman
PO Box 731
Narberth, PA 19072

You can send it electronically to friendsoftroy AT verizon DOT net only if the electronic copy has your signature visible.

Not sure what to write? Here are suggested points for your letter; use all that apply and anything else you think is relevant:

a. How do you know/know of Troy?
b. Why are you writing this letter?
c. How has Troy/Troy’s writing affected your life?
d. What is your impression of how Troy has atoned for his crime?
e. Why do you feel he should be released?
f. Would you be willing to have him live in your community?
g. Are you willing or able to testify further if asked?

I will send all the letters to our lawyer for inclusion in the package and motion for a hearing.

Thank you in advance for your love and support.

Maryann Gorman

A Step Forward

2007-04-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm created by executive order an Executive Clemency Advisory Council. It is Governor Granholm's goal to commute the sentences of elderly/sick/worthy inmates as one way to help ease the incredible cost of the Michigan prison system to the state's taxpayers. Troy's lawyer and I spoke today and we are going to send a request for the commutation of Troy's sentence to this special advisory council.

Meanwhile, we are also continuing to pursue the possibility of a resentencing hearing.

Our next step is for Troy to write essay-style answers to questions on the commutation request form. I'll send them to our lawyer next week at the latest and he'll send the completed form to the council.

Please stick with us through this with your support and prayers. Things are moving slowly, but they are moving, we hope inexorably toward Troy's freedom. We thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for all your love and support so far.

Send Out Those Good Vibes

2007-04-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

This is a brief update to remind you of Troy's legal situation and to ask for your prayer help. Our lawyer is actively working on Troy's case; please renew your prayer efforts and send more good vibes. Troy has been in prison a very long time; let's see him out of there. All prayers for Michigan's criminal justice system and for Troy are needed. Thank you for your support.

Troy's Story Cited in New Book by Renowned Mediator

2007-02-19T07:14:00.000-08:00

Late last week I received an email from the Harvard University office of Dr. William Ury, who is co-founder of Harvard's Program on Negotiation and an internationally renowned mediator. Ury's books include "Getting to Yes" and "The Third Side: Why We Fight and How We Can Stop."

Dr. Ury is publishing a new book (available Feb. 27) called "The Power of a Positive No," and in it he mentions Troy's story of finding the "third side" in conflict as Troy related it in his 2001 article for YES! magazine, "Through My Enemy's Eyes."

Dr. Ury's assistant, who first emailed me after she found Troy's article online two years ago, has kindly offered to send me a signed copy of the book for Troy. Troy is humbled to have an esteemed worker for peace like Dr. Ury use his story and hopes the book will inspire a wider audience in ways of seeking the path toward peace. We thank him and his assistant Essrea for remembering the story, including it, and telling us about it.

Peace,
Maryann Gorman

News Archive

2007-02-18T14:32:00.000-08:00

Here are news updates in reverse chronological order (most recent first) from the old FriendsofTroy.org website. New news is posted on this blog as it happens.

The Next Step

August 2, 2006

Troy and John met this past Saturday for the first time, and it was a good meeting. John had read some of Troy’s writings and they had a good talk about spiritual issues and who Troy has become since his crime. They also mostly talked about Troy’s case, and John still wants to pursue the path that I described in the last news item (scroll down).

John has asked Troy to begin drafting a proposal for his plans to help society once he is free — plans that will make it clear that his freedom will be an asset to society. Troy has already written an excellent first draft.

Our timeline is a bit of a long one. There is an election in November, so John says now is not the time to ask for mercy from the system. He wants to wait to introduce the motion after the new year.

Keep praying, meditating, chanting, ululating, whatever it is you do to send out assistance. You can also directly support Troy by dropping him an encouraging note or letter at the address below, or send an email and I can mail it to Troy.

—Maryann Gorman

Troy Chapman
169076
Kinross Correctional Facility
16770 Watertower Dr.
Kincheloe, MI 49788

A Strategy

May 8, 2006

So far so good. Attorney John Smietanka has responded to us after reading through the transcript materials I sent. And we are still in the game.

John has suggested a strategy of introducing a motion to reduce Troy’s sentence (which is currently 60-90 years, of which Troy has served 21). The resentencing motion would be based on Troy’s contrition, his transformative rehabilitation, his potential on the outside, and the fact that, when the judge imposed this sentence in 1985, state guidelines showed that Troy could be paroled in roughly 22 years from sentencing. Laws passed since then now prevent Troy from seeing the parole board until he has served his minimum of 60 years. A lesser sentence would restore the judge’s original intent.

Now is the time for donations, for those of you who have expressed interest (and everyone else). What we have banked right now will take care of a mere slice of the upcoming work. John wants to have a respected psychologist assess Troy for the court, and that will add to our costs. (By the way, you may not know this, but there are not hundreds of people on our email list of Friends. In fact, there are fewer than 150. So every one of you matters.) Also, a deep thank you to those who have donated already. What’s in the bank is there because of you. Please dig deeper if you can.

Please also send your support and love to Troy. He is hanging in there, but facing his sentence again, the longshot we’re taking, and the likelihood of character assault by the other side in the courtroom and the local press is a personal trial-by-fire of its own. The combination of hope and fear inspired by taking big steps like this is draining. Please use Troy’s address below or reply to this email and I’ll pass it on to Troy.

John Smietanka has been inundated with requests for help since he was named Michigan Lawyer of the Year for 2005 with his winning appeal for the wrongly convicted Larry Souter. He told me that he has only taken on two other cases in addition to Troy’s. While John is realistic and calls Troy’s case a “rough road to hoe,” he must see something essentially promising. John is a former long-time prosecutor; he knows what the other side wants to see and obviously he thinks he has a shot at giving them sufficient reason to bet on Troy. This is a good thing, everybody. Keep up the spiritual work and please send funds.

—Maryann Gorman

Troy Chapman
169076
Kinross Correctional Facility
16770 Watertower Dr.
Kincheloe, MI 49788

We Have an Attorney!

Feb. 10, 2006

We are hiring an attorney who will lay the groundwork for a possible resentencing hearing and/or commutation request for Troy. If you can spare it, we could use financial help. See below.

John Smietanka is a well-known figure in Michigan legal and political circles. He was just named 2005 Lawyer of the Year for his impressive work last year on behalf of a wrongfully convicted man, Larry Souter, who is now free.

John spent many years as a prosecutor and now leads a two-attorney defense practice in Kent County, which is the jurisdiction in which Troy was convicted and in which any motion for resentencing would have to be filed.

I had a long talk with John about Troy’s case this week and, on the basis of that and good word of mouth, Troy and I decided he is exactly the man we need: well-known and respected in Kent County, a darn good lawyer, and also warm and accessible.

John’s first step on our behalf will be to review Troy’s trial, sentencing and appeal transcripts so that he is conversant in the case. We may then move ahead into the courtroom (and also possibly simultaneously with a request for commutation to the parole board); if not, we will simply go with the request for commutation.

In today’s criminal justice climate, both of these options are pretty much longshots, although I personally think a strong motion for resentencing, with an advocate like John Smietanka, is a lot more likely to succeed than a request for commutation from the governor (they are almost never granted). We need whatever it is you do in terms of sending out good energy: prayers, intentions, etc.

It may be a longshot, but it is also Troy’s only chance since all other appeals have been exhausted.

In order to pay John, we do need financial assistance. We have enough cash to start the work, but need more to see it through to the courtroom.

Thank you for your support.

~Maryann Gorman

Commutation Request

September 2005

Our efforts to find pro bono legal help have not yielded any assistance yet (as of Labor Day Weekend 2005). Troy and I have decided we can file for a commutation of his sentence privately, that is, without assistance from a lawyer. This will involve gathering evidence of Troy's good works for a written presentation to the parole board, garnering the support of the prosecutor and judge from his case, gaining some publicity for Troy's situation, and sending letters to the governor of Michigan (to be copied to the parole board) so she knows about Troy and his positive influence on people. This is where our Friends come in, but please don't do anything until we ask; the right timing is key and we don't want premature, wasted effort. We are grateful to Doug Tjapkes, a Michigan advocate for prisoners, for his offers of assistance and will take whatever other assistance anyone wants to offer in terms of organization, publicity, or legal advice.

Medical Update

Spring 2005

As many of you are aware, Troy was quite ill in 2004 for four months with serious but undiagnosed symptoms, chiefly neurological and gastrointestinal with rapid weight loss. Fortunately, he has regained much of the weight and is much more functional now, although still experiencing less severe neuro and gastro symptoms and lack of stamina.

The condition has not been diagnosed and prison healthcare services made it very clear that they believed Troy was “malingering” despite his obvious suffering. The experience was very frightening, in equal measure because of the symptoms and the negligence of the prison healthcare system.

Message from Maryann Gorman: Volunteers Needed

January 2005

Currently, I am seeking legal assistance for Troy's case. The possibilities are many: filing a 6-500 motion, filing a 6-400 motion, requesting commutation from Michigan's governor, requesting a new trial based on problems with the first trial... and, for everything, getting publicity — "good press" about Troy.

I do not right now have a lawyer and I am, ideally, seeking pro bono help. I am looking for a lawyer, law school professor, law firm, and/or legislator willing to work creatively with the many possibilities of this case.

If you are willing to help me find legal assistance, to contact Michigan legislators for advice and help, or just want to work with me on generating ideas for actions that will get Troy out of prison, please e-mail me. We can work with your schedule to request of you no more volunteer time than you can handle.

Thank you!

Troy's Writings

2007-02-18T14:26:00.000-08:00

Troy Chapman has written many essays and stories that have been a great help to those reading them. His practical and deeply moving spiritual essays have been published in YES! magazine, the (sadly) now defunct The Other Side magazine, and reprinted in a variety of publications, from the Dutch magazine Ode to the Christian Science Sentinel to Quaker publications. Troy's story of his discovery of "the third side" from YES! magazine is most recently retold in the new book "The Power of a Positive No," by William Ury, who is co-founder of Harvard University's Program on Negotiation and an internationally renowned mediator.

In addition, Troy and his partner Maryann Gorman published a newsletter, Inspirit, for three years from 2001-2004.

Below are samples of Troy's writing. You can enjoy even more at Troy's blog, Sacred Matters.

1. The YES! magazine article mentioned above is available here.

2. "Why I Love My Jailers" was published by The Other Side magazine in November/December 1999. Scroll down for more articles.

Why I Love My Jailers

by Troy Chapman

Published in the November/December 1999 issue of The Other Side magazine.

I never wanted to be enemies with my jailers. I've spent my whole adult life in prison — eighteen years in all — and will be here for whatever of it is left. Why would I want to live all those years at war with the keepers? I don't. Never have.

But like every other aspect of prison, what I want or don't want doesn't amount to much. The jailers are indeed my enemies, like it or not.

I've never done anything to them that would warrant this state of war. I mind my own business, do my best to follow the rules, and spend my time trying to understand myself and the world around me — what brought me here, and what I can do to change this in myself and in others who might be on the same path. When I deal with my jailers, I do so politely and with genuine concern for each of them as a human being.

I've learned that it doesn't help. I've learned that as much as I might like to, I don't get to choose my enemies. If I could, I would have none; my jailers would be fellow workers. Together we could reach out to those here, and to those children who will fill these cages after I and my fellow convicts are dead.

But this is not to be. The people who make up the prison population — not all but most, and especially those in charge — have appointed themselves my enemies. Their vision is not one in which we are reconciled, joined together for a common purpose, but one in which I am crushed as a human being. Their task is to inflict suffering on me, contain me, reduce me, to stop me from spreading — like some cancer.

It doesn't matter that none of my keepers have any idea what I did to be put here, or even who I am now, so many years after my crime. In a strange but truthful way, the pain they inflict on me, the campaign they wage against me as a human being, has nothing to do with me. Of course, some jailers are more aggressive and zealous than others. But even those who take personal pleasure and pay particular attention to inflicting suffering don't see me as a person. They see me as a criminal — just like any other criminal. And that's the way criminals are treated.

Their view of me as "the enemy" arises entirely from a predetermined way of thinking, an ideology in which all things and people are accounted for before they are encountered. I committed a crime and yes, I am guilty of my crime — therefore I am the enemy. This was determined before I committed my crime, even before I was born.

It's odd, to say the least. That a whole group of people could think themselves an enemy to someone they have never met and who perhaps doesn't yet exist, then take up arms and engage in battle the minute this person appears. Can it be called anything but odd?

Yet it is so. I won't try to prove this by detailing a long line of evidence. I'll ask you simply to choose between an abstract perception of prison and my actual experience of it. The abstraction claims to be based on some "good cause," some promised "justice." But I've experienced this abstraction in action, and I tell you that no such good arises from it. That is the truth, and I have had to find some way to deal with it.

Back before I understood this, I was vulnerable and got sucked into their war. I responded to their attacks with counterattacks. I filed grievances and writs in court, tried to make my case with public officials and the public in general. I worked to use their laws against them, to inflict some form of hardship on the institution, to "get even," In short, I responded the way prisoners habitually respond — by engaging in conflict, by entering into this war.

It didn't take long for me to realize that this was hopeless, and to grow tired of the perpetual conflict. My jailers have shown that they have no intention of stopping, that they will continue to punish me until the day I leave this earth.

What's a person to do in the face of such facts? What would you do?

I've seen all kinds of responses — rage, insanity, despair, suicide, distraction, apathy, numbness, denial — but none of them is very inviting, Instead, I have a strong urge to want to exist and grow, to realize whatever potential I can with my life, to move forward, not backward, to rise up rather than plunge down.

As I saw that none of the apparent alternatives could fulfill this desire, I began to search for one that would. It didn't take me long to get through the material responses. I saw them being applied all around me and recognized their ineffectiveness. I abandoned them and began examining spiritual responses.

The teachings of Jesus had always been presented to me in ethical terms. The Bible and Jesus' life and teachings were about being a "good person," "getting saved," avoiding eternal punishment and earning eternal reward. You were supposed to love your enemies because that would get you into heaven. That's how I'd always heard Jesus' teachings, as a moral matter.

This is true, I suppose. But to be honest, heaven didn't matter to me. Immediate problems so consume my life that I have no energy left to worry about heaven or hell in some other life. Besides, I figure that God can see my life clearly and will probably have compassion on me.

I also decided that any God who couldn't do this, who could only threaten me with punishment for my mistakes and sins — well, once I died I would tell that God what I thought of this method and take my chances with the outcome. I've lived my whole life under the thumb of such people. If God were just one more jailer who considered me the enemy, that wouldn't be much of a God.

But I've realized that there is much more to Jesus' teachings than the simplistic white hats/black hats scenario. These teachings may well be a map to heaven, but more importantly — at least to me — they are specific instructions for responding to the real problems of this world. Sure, I want salvation in the next life, but I really need to maintain my sanity in this life. I need something that will help me stay whole, that will keep my soul, my humanity from being destroyed. What did Jesus say about this?

He said, "Love your enemies." And I began to consider the possibility that this was not just another hole punched in my ticket to heaven, but a way to deal with these enemies in this world.

Some words are so charged with various meanings and connotations that they tend to get in their own way; for me, love was such a word. It meant being nice, cuddling, feeling butterflies in my stomach. It was the feeling I had for my grandmother, my mother, my dad, even my dog. It meant doing things that others would appreciate, maybe even reciprocate.

That wasn't the feeling I had for my keepers. Most of them were either petty and mean or outright indifferent to me. If I were to love them, it had to be more than warm feelings and appreciative "thank you's." To get this clear in my head I dropped the word love, and replaced it with goodness. "Apply the power of goodness to your enemies," I heard Jesus saying.

Now this was something I could examine. And when I did, I found a surprising logic to it. Yes, applying the power of goodness works for the benefit of others, but that's only a side effect. The deeper logic, the truer meaning, is that it serves the good of those who embrace it — by profoundly transforming them.

So yes, I love my keepers because they need it; there's no question of this. They are lost and afraid and have forgotten who we are. I've been there, and even though I attacked those who tried to give me love, I know it was the thing I needed most. Ultimately, the love of those who would not be driven away by my attacks was the only thing that kept me from perishing.

I also love my jailers because it might change them. I can see the slightest glimmer of hope that love might reach them if they could only experience it and remember how good it is. I've tried everything else. Maybe love can succeed.

But here's what's incredible: It doesn't matter if love succeeds or fails in this regard. I love them because I need to love, and this need isn't fulfilled by loving something abstractly, something far away. It's fulfilled only by loving real things in one's real world. My world is peopled by enemies; loving them fulfills my deepest human need.

The Gospel of Thomas quotes Jesus as saying, "If you bring out what is within you, what you bring out will save you. If you do not bring out what is within you, what you do not bring out will destroy you."

What is within me is a deep need to love. I have learned from experience that if it isn't brought out, it will turn to poison. It will destroy me.

In the final analysis, then, I love my jailers because it is my last refuge. I have run from their hounding into many hiding places, only to be rooted out and to have my humanity lashed and kicked and beaten. This is what prison is all about: hating and fearing someone's humanity to the point where you want to destroy it. That's the reality of prison (and, I suspect, of all war and oppression as well). Hatred and fear caused me to commit my crime, and it causes prisons to continue committing theirs.

But precisely what is it that we hate and fear about another person's humanity? After everything else was stripped away, I realized that the essence of my humanity is my need and ability to love others. Take that away, and I'm destroyed. Leave it, and I'll be eternally safe, eternally intact, and I'll have no need of any other defense — even in jail.

So I love my jailers for the simple reason that I don't want to die. It isn't because I want to be a "good person," but because love, the power of goodness, is the only political and personal power I possess. I want victory over death. I love them for reasons of self-preservation; to protect my essence, my core, my soul.

It's been a long road to learning this, but I thank God for every stone, every briar, every thorn along the way. And I bow to the irony that prison — which despises justice by wielding it as a club — has led me to the greatest justice of all, the one thing my jailers try so hard to deny me: my very salvation.

3. Want more? After publication of "Why I Love My Jailers," Troy wrote a follow-up, "How I Love My Jailers," which did not see publication. Scroll down for more.

How I Love My Jailers

by Troy Chapman

Some time ago I wrote an article for The Other Side titled, “Why I Love my Jailers.” Since then I’ve set out to examine much more consciously the question of how I love them. What exactly does it mean to love those who stand in opposition to our very life? Those who for ideological or economic reasons identify us as “the enemy” and set out to destroy us?

Jesus clearly tells us to “love our enemies,” and if I was able to answer the question of “why” in that first article, I am still left with its troublesome sister, the question of “how.”

How shall I love those who relentlessly attack every good thing I’ve ever known? How shall I love them as my family connections are ripped apart and stamped under their angry feet? As my sense of well-being is assailed daily until some days it’s all I can do to get up and go on hoping? How shall I love them when the very target of their aggression is my ability to perceive beauty, my ability to love anything?

What Is Love?
In search of an answer I’ve had to ask another even more difficult question: What is love in the first place? As I asked this question I found myself turning to the one who uttered the crazy command “Love your enemies.” What did Jesus think love was?

The first thing that comes to mind as I look at him is that we can forget about modern popular ideas of what love is. Forget about emotional “pink clouds” and “I’m-okay-you’re-okay” psychology. Jesus, from what I see in the gospels, wasn’t looking for or advocating that kind of “love.”

Forget also about the dominant Christian concept of love which portrays Jesus as “meek and mild,” a sort of religious Melvin Milquetoast. I just don’t see that Jesus in the Gospels, despite what I was taught in Sunday school. And I’m glad I don’t because if that’s what he was offering he would have no significance whatsoever to my life here. The meek and mild are devoured in prison and if Jesus is telling me to smile sweetly at my soul-executioners and politely carry my neck to the chopping block, I simply don’t have “ears to hear” that message.

So what is he telling us? The only definition of love we get from him is that of his life and what we find there is an extraordinarily complex answer. Love, it seems, is “whatever it needs to be in the moment,” and this answer, as unsatisfying as it is to our “need-to-know” minds is all there is.

Jesus lifted love above all other law when he said “On this hangs the fulfillment of all the law and all the prophets.” With these words he defined love as the ultimate good, the only true morality, and the very purpose of human existence. He said, in essence, if you don’t get this right, nothing else you do will matter.

St. Paul, in the famous “love chapter” (1 Cor. 13) later said it directly, calling himself a clanging gong and a banging cymbal without love. And if love is the ultimate good and Jesus was who he claimed to be, we can assume that he never acted outside of the ultimate good. Everything he ever did or said was an act of love. This makes him the answer to the question, “What is love?”

It means that whatever we can say about him, we can say about love. What can we say about him?

Jesus was unpredictable. He was enigmatic, mysterious. He was subversive and troubling to those in power. He was kind and forgiving of those under power. He was committed to the outcast, the rejected, the captive. He was “in the face” of those who considered themselves righteous and wise, cutting them with his words, flipping their money tables and putting the whip to them.

He was a teacher to those who wanted to learn and a confronter of those who didn’t. More than anything else, he was a yeast, a force that would not, and will not even today, leave the human spirit to its rest. Whoever truly met him, truly encountered him, whether we see the encounter as “negative” or “positive,” walked away shaken. No one found peace as the first result of meeting Jesus and he himself said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace.”

Yet through it all he was serving something. A clue as to what this was can be found in the Aramaic phrase, “rukha d’koodsha,” which we have translated as “holy spirit.” “Koodsha” is the word from which the Hebrew “Kosher” is derived and means “that which conforms to divine intent for humankind.” “Rukha” refers to spirit, wind, and energy, and always carries a quality of “force.” Thus, “rukha d’koodsha” is “the force behind God’s intention for humankind.” This is the holy spirit of our Scriptures.

It is also the key to understanding Jesus and his love. His life was a service to God’s intention for humankind and he literally became a living force for this intention on earth. Love then, is to serve, to become a force for this intention, just as Jesus did.

The fact that God’s intention for us causes “unpeace” can only mean that we stand in opposition to this intention. We, with our plans and visions and strivings, with our “morality” and empire building, and even our religion, are standing in a place that receives God’s intention as an interruption, a disruption to be stamped out. In killing Jesus we attempted to kill God’s intention for us, the very act that Lucifer committed so long ago in heaven — the act of trying to become God rather than submit to his will, his intention.

But God’s intention cannot be thwarted and every attempt to do so is suicidal. It is the ultimate act of self destructiveness. The love of Jesus, then, really is salvation because it is living opposition to our impulse toward self-destruction.

How Do I Love?
And what does this say about how I can love my jailers? It tells me first that my love must be an expression of God’s intention for us and must oppose anything that attempts to thwart, twist, or divert this intention. It must be a love that sees beyond categories and social roles, one that refuses to accept the place of victim or victimizer, yet still acknowledges the reality and force of these perceptions in the mind of others. Enemies are real, even though there is a reality beyond that. Love must never forget either the lesser or the greater reality in any situation. It must confront this lower level of reality and those who cling to it, while at the same time revealing the higher reality and inviting — no, demanding — that the world acknowledge it.

So I will love my jailers by never allowing them or the institution to erase from my mind the vision of this higher reality.

Prison attempts to impose its reality of hopelessness, violence, cynicism, apathy, and despair upon its charges. It is so overwhelming and all encompassing that it often drives out of the mind and spirit all other possibilities. After a time, it becomes the ultimate reality in the mind of the prisoner — and even the keepers — until it is no longer an external, but an internal reality. When people who have been caged for many years look at the world, they see only a larger prison because prison with its sick ethos has become the world for them. It replaces the reality of God’s intention within the mind and spirit.

Love says no to the loss of this reality. So I will love my jailers by never letting it go. When they say, “We are your killers,” I will say, “No you are not. I know you and I do not accept that lie about you.”

Jesus said to his killers, “There is one place in all the universe where you are not killers and that is within my own heart.” He would not let us be killers there. There we were children of God, and as long as that definition exists in his heart it will eternally call us. We can deny it but it will eat at us, forever demanding that we either embrace or reject it.

I will love my jailers in the same way. I will hold God’s intention, his vision of them — of us — in my heart. I will see my self-appointed enemies in both realities — the small and the large.

I will love them by rejecting their small vision of who we are and who we can be. I will love them by subverting smallness, violence, and mindless compliance, by sowing seeds against their comfort and their spiritual security, by being a living question, a breathing challenge to death.

I will love them by becoming a reflection, not of what they are but of what they could be, what we all could be, and what God intends for us to be.

When they come dressed in their helmets and flak jackets I will speak to them by name. I will greet their hostility with humor. I will engage them at every opportunity in normal interaction, refusing to stay in my place of “prisoner” or leave them in theirs as “keepers.”

They may kill me in the end, but never my spirit. If I die today or a hundred years from now, I can say with certainty that I’ll go out remembering who I am. Even more, I’ll go out remembering who they are. I can live for that.

4. "My Neighborhood" was published by The Other Side magazine in March/April 2003. Scroll down for another article.

My Neighborhood

by Troy Chapman

Published in the March/April 2003 issue of The Other Side magazine.

Most people have childhood memories of their home, their neighborhood, the place where they grew up. I've never been in one place long enough to acquire such memories.

My family moved nineteen times before my sixteenth birthday. We were poor rural people, what others called "White trash." Moving from one place to another was just a normal part of our lives, as we were unable to come up with rent payments, or landlords decided they wanted us out for some other reason.

At age sixteen, I was arrested. I was shuttled between jail and juvenile detention, and finally sent to prison. With the exception of about two weeks spent on escape in 1984, this has been my "home" for the past twenty years. During that period, I've been transferred twenty times to various sites in the state system — part of a deliberate Michigan policy to undermine any formation of prison community by transferring prisoners constantly from one facility to another.

As a follower of the gospel, all this mobility raises the question for me: Who, exactly, is my neighbor? Jesus says, "Love your neighbor as yourself" — this from a man who seems to have moved around even more than I have. Who was he talking about when he spoke about loving our neighbors? The Jews? The Romans? The Samaritans? The priests, Pharisees, Sadducees, and other religious groups? Or did he mean only his small circle of friends and disciples?

This question of my neighbor makes me reflect on the growing "community movement" in our society, which I've observed from inside prison. In this highly individualized culture, it seems we are recognizing the value of community and our own longing for it. More and more, people are talking about building and sustaining community.

This is, no doubt, a good thing, but there's also a dangerous side to it. Much of what gets called community is really less about "coming together" than it is about separating ourselves from "others," and drawing a line between "us" and "them." Too often the boundaries of community are drawn along racial or class lines. Many expressions of community include "security" measures to protect the inner group from outside threats — whether in the form of fairly reasonable initiatives such as neighborhood-watch programs or more elaborate gated and heavily guarded residential complexes. The concern of such communities seems to be less about determining who is the neighbor and how they ought to be treated than about keeping out intruders.

Christian communities aren't usually much different, I'm afraid. While I can't speak about the intentional Christian communities around the country, I do know that our churches and congregations usually operate with their own exclusivity and sharply etched boundaries. Sometimes these boundaries are denominational, but often race and class come into play as well. At the very least, a pressure to believe and behave in very specified ways marks many congregations. People with different sexual orientations are also often ostracized from many Christian churches. Among some congregations, these believers are evidently not neighbors. Sometimes simply searching for truth in an "unacceptable" way can result in the same fate.

I remember one particularly odious incident in the Christian congregation here in the prison. A brother who admitted to reading the Qur'an and associating with Muslims was taken to the church elders and the prison chaplain. He was eventually driven from the service and the community. He no longer merited the definition of neighbor.

Obviously, a community needs some sense of definition, some common bond, even some standards to which a person must adhere. But we need to ask ourselves: What are these bonds and standards? Who defines them? Who regulates them? How do we determine who is part or not part of any given community? These are all variations on the question the lawyer asked Jesus (Luke 10:29): "But who is my neighbor?"

My experience of being shuffled from one place to another has had many negative consequences. But at the same time, it has forced me to find my own definition of community and to rethink who is "my neighbor," who are "my people." Having never been around any one group of people for more than a year or two leaves me with two choices: Either I shrink my definition of "my people" down to exclude everyone but me, or I expand it to include all people. I've chosen the latter. Though difficult, I believe this is the path we are called to take as human beings and as Christians. As Jesus' followers, we are invited to a new understanding of the earth as our neighborhood and all people on it as our neighbors.

Here in prison I live with predators, violent people, mentally ill people, and people of every race and every level of development. I live under the thumb of prison staff, some of whom have scant regard for human life. Often they are cruel, insensitive, and ignorant. Even those who are personally more enlightened work for a system that attacks the human spirit at every turn. Yet all of these are my people. They are my community.

Sometimes they drive me crazy, sometimes they annoy me, sometimes they steal from me, threaten me, and even do physical violence to me. When these things happen, I do what I can to best address them. What I don't do, what I'll never do, is disown them. I will never exclude them from that place in my heart which is the root of all community.

I don't say this because I've gotten rid of all standards, but rather because I've expanded my standards. I've looked for a larger common bond upon which to build community, and I've found it in our humanity.

After all, didn't Jesus die for everyone? He died for the priests, Pharisees, and Sadducees whom he chastised so harshly; he died for the Samaritans, the Greeks, and the Romans; and yes, he even died for Pilate, Herod, and those who nailed him to the cross. These were, and still are, "his people."

If they are his people, they are my people. They are my neighbors. However long I remain in prison, however many times I may be moved from one place to another in the future, I will remember that wherever I end up, that place is my neighborhood.

5. As mentioned above, Troy wrote for Inspirit newsletter, which he founded in 2001, for three years. Below is a sample essay from that publication.

On Being a Sacred Person

by Troy Chapman

In the 13th century, Jelaluddin Rumi wrote, “There is one thing in this world that you must never forget to do. If you forget everything else and not this, there’s nothing to worry about. But if you remember everything else and forget this, then you will have done nothing in your life.

“It’s as if a king has sent you to some country to do a task, and you perform a hundred other services, but not the one he sent you to do. So human beings come into this world to do a particular work. That work is the purpose, and each is specific to the person.”

I’ve been thinking about these words lately as I contemplate the war in Iraq. I wonder if the major players in this war think this is the thing they’ve come into this world to do. Or is this just one of the “hundred other things” we do when we forget why we’re here?

I look a little closer to home at children dressed up as corporate billboards with logos plastered on their clothing; at adults desperately amassing money and property; at racism, two-sided political posturing, hatred, conflict, violence, despair, drug addiction, deception and game playing, the destruction of the earth for profit — and I ask the same question. Is this what we were made for? Is this our purpose?

The fourth principle of The Lifeful Way says: “The purpose of human life is to encounter and become a potent expression of Lifeful Intelligence.”

Lifeful Intelligence is the deeper intelligence of the universe, what we think of as “the sacred.” To encounter it is to become aware of who we are and to know that we’re here for a sacred purpose. It is to see ourselves in reference to eternity rather than the various circumstances of our lives.

It is to know that though we are “American,” “black,” “white,” “rich,” “poor,” “male,” “female,” “Christian,” “Muslim,” “Buddhist,” and so on, these things are really all just circumstances. When we define ourselves according to these things we’re talking about our “circumstantial self.” Beyond this is the sacred self, the part of us that exists beyond all circumstance.

When we see this other part of who we are, we understand that circumstances are ultimately irrelevant. They do not tell us who we are any more than the color of our eyes or the kind of clothes we wear.

Really seeing this changes everything. We stop identifying ourselves with small fragments of humanity and begin to see ourselves as “human first.” Our purpose as Americans is no longer to uplift America, but all nations; as Christians or Muslims we no longer pit ourselves against other religions but see all people as brothers and sisters; we do not fight for black rights or white power, but for the betterment of all races; we are not feminists or chauvinists, but rather seek the communion of men and women.

When we recognize ourselves as “sacred people” we return to the truth about ourselves — the truth that we are bigger than any of these fragments. Our purpose becomes clear: We are here to encounter and express our sacredness. That’s what Lifeful Intelligence is. It’s the knowledge of our sacred selves.

When we come into possession of this knowledge it sets us free. All the circumstances of our lives, all the things we think identify us, are really just entanglements. They’re like seaweed wrapped around our legs in the ocean of life. To kick free of them is to regain our mobility, our ability to swim freely and with joy.

I am not American, but rather a human being who happens to live in America; I am not white, but rather a human being who happens to have light skin and Caucasian features; I am not male, but rather a human being who happens to have a certain gender. Every time I see and abandon one of these aspects of my circumstantial self I’m kicking free of the seaweed that’s pulling me under and keeping me stuck in one place.

I decided a long time ago that I wasn’t going to be “a prisoner,” even though I am in prison. So many people here are prisoners and I’ve seen what it does to them. I’ve decided I will be a sacred person who happens to be in prison. The decision changed my life. It put me in proper context to history and life. Dostoy-evsky was in prison, but he never was a prisoner; St. Paul was in prison, Gandhi was in prison, so was Martin Luther King — but they were not prisoners by any means. They knew that they were more than any circumstance and their lives reflected this knowledge.

Being a prisoner is a state of mind. I’ve learned that any circumstance can be a prison if we let it tell us who we are. Encountering Lifeful Intelligence is a matter of stepping outside the prisons of our circumstance and calling ourselves sacred people. It’s a matter of knowing that we are more than we think we are.

Becoming a “potent expression” of this knowledge is the natural outcome of possessing it in the first place. All of the crazy things we do to ourselves and to one another and to the earth are the result of not knowing that we are sacred beings. Our children dress up as corporate billboards because we’ve told them this is who they are — or we’ve simply neglected to tell them anything and allowed others to tell them who they are. They take rifles into schools because they don’t know they are sacred beings. Racists are able to feed them hatred for the same reason — there’s an empty place where sacred self-knowledge is meant to be.

We adults find meaning in material possessions, anger, fear, cruelty, war, and all the rest because we don’t know who we are. We become addicts and alcoholics for the same want of knowledge. We destroy the earth from a poverty of sacred self knowledge. People who know who they are do not do such things any more than they would eat rubber pellets when hungry.

The Lifeful Way is about embracing the truth of ourselves, stepping into and living from within our own sacredness. To do anything else is to forget the task we were sent here to do. To forget our purpose is to lose our way and we have indeed lost our way on many levels.

To become a potent expression of Lifeful Intelligence is to see not only our own sacredness, but that of all others as well.

It is to remind ourselves and then become a reminder to all people we encounter. Could anything be more “potent” or “lifefully intelligent” in these times?

What Others Say About Troy

2007-02-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

Below are comments about Troy from his Friends, ending with a short article written by a supporter who lives in India, published in the Indian periodical U Can Change the World.

You can add your voice to this page by writing a letter describing why you think Troy should be free and/or the impact of his work on you. E-mail it to Maryann Gorman.
____
I became aware of Troy Chapman's situation through several articles in spiritual magazines and subscribed to his Lifeful Way publication and classwork. Although I agree that the crime Troy committed was very wrong, I also believe he has paid his debt and that the conditions of his trial leading to an astonishingly long sentence were unfair. I believe the penal system can only function under reasonable, rational punishments. Just as I believe a girl whose boyfriend hides drugs in her closet shouldn’t go to jail for 20 years, nor do I believe a young man who inadvertently kills someone in a barroom brawl deserves life in jail. Our society needs reason and consistency to function as a healthy body. And certain basic rights must exist — we deserve to be judged by an impartial body. The best motion society could now offer would be to revise Troy’s sentence to a reasonable 20-30 years and release him under probation.

I have followed Troy’s writings and have been inspired by his view on life, on death. When he writes I forget he is incarcerated; I am absorbed by the maturity of thought and wisdom of mind, and mostly his faith in God. I believe Troy should return to general society and that he would function as a spiritual leader in a country eager for just that sort of guidance.

Lesley West
West Chester, Pennsylvania

____
Troy's writing brings us the ultimate truths of religion and spirituality pared to their essence and tested by his terrible ordeal in our system of "justice." This gives them the sense of conviction needed to overcome our resistance to the too easy solutions of typical do-gooders.

He gently but firmly chides both sides of our arguments on war, politics and morality so that we begin to question whether our positions are the whole truth. He shows us that there is a "third way" beyond our limited vision of right and wrong, friend and enemy. A way of love for all — without blame, judgment and feelings of superiority toward those we disagree with.

But this way of love doesn't mean we shouldn't oppose what we feel is unjust. On the contrary, we should stand up for what we think is good and right, but in a kind way that doesn't denigrate the other and hopes to explain a new way of perceiving the issue. Without insisting that we're right or that they should agree with us, but showing respect and allowing them to make up their own mind at their own pace. This kind of interaction is educational in itself and may be a wholly new experience for them.

Thanks, Troy.

Ted Knerr
New York, New York
art-spirit.net

____
It is not very often I am asked to write a letter of a positive nature for a convicted felon.

However, 22 years of experience with the Department of Corrections dictates that I do so now.

I have known Troy Chapman for several years, within the context of the prison system. He has always conducted himself with maturity, level-headedness, compassion and patience. He is courteous toward staff and fellow inmates and diligent in his employment.

He creates no problems, only ideas, dreams and positive thoughts.

Regardless of his crime, no further good would be accomplished by his further incarceration.

Hopefully he and I will meet some day on the open side of the fence.

P.M. O’Toole
Former prison guard
Written 2001 before his retirement

____
As a wonderful by-product of my work teaching creative writing in our county jail here in Maine, I have been acquainted with Troy Chapman through his inspiring newsletters and articles. His writing has become my primary resource in conveying to the men in the jail a sense of higher purpose that transcends the predicament of incarceration. I often use Troy as an example of a person who, as a young man, made a mistake, as many of us do, though with deeper ramifications, and has worked under difficult conditions to transform his life successfully.

Not only has Troy accomplished that, but through his writing and example, he has reached out to all of us as we struggle to find meaning in our daily lives. He is a vivid example of how to be. As such, the issue of his crime and subsequent incarceration is now more than balanced by his life work. Realizing this, the need for his incarceration no longer exists, as there is no longer, for him, a need to reform, be punished, or even be rehabilitated.

Troy Chapman is a person who the state no longer needs to incarcerate. Beyond the moral and ethical considerations, the state should consider the unnecessary cost to the taxpayers for keeping Troy in prison for the remainder of his sentence. The cost to society, both in terms of prison escalating budgets, and the loss of Mr. Chapman’s full productive capacity as a member of society, is probably in the millions.

As a free man Troy could, through his work, have a major impact on prison recidivism, thus reducing further the high costs of incarceration for others. I could envision him visiting, or living, in our area, where an overflowing prison population would profit greatly from Troy’s experience and vision.

The criminal justice system, and ultimately society, would benefit greatly by a just, moral, and intelligent commutation of Troy Chapman’s sentence. The time for his release is way overdue.

Jim Bergin
Blue Hill, Maine
Creative Writing Program of Hancock County Jail and Friend

____
We [Volunteers for Hancock Jail Residents] first learned of Troy Chapman from one of his published articles. It was so remarkably simple and, at the same time, serious, that we knew it was perfect for us.

VHJR’s goal is to bring mentoring, education, and restoration to the incarcerated men and women in our county jail. We are always on the lookout for role models that the jail residents – who are mostly young – can relate to and learn from. It turns out that Troy Chapman, through his writing, has become our most effective role model.

Since that first article we have consistently used Troy Chapman’s ideas in our programs, as the basis for discussions, creative writing, and inner growth. By teaching in his uniquely profound way, Troy has managed to elicit responses when others have failed.

Troy Chapman has modeled for us a life worth living, whether in or out of prison, and has helped so many people through his exceptional way of explaining very inspiring ideas with simplicity and grace. He has been able to do this while incarcerated. Imagine, then, the possibilities of what Troy could do for people after he is released.

It is for this reason that we volunteers are adding to the groundswell of requests for Troy Chapman’s release from prison. Our world needs him on the outside, as a mentor. We need people who have given up everything and have learned to live to help the rest of us.

Troy has served his time; even more time than would be required in Maine for such a crime, and will, for the rest of his life, be attempting to right the wrongs of his earlier life by his service to others.

Thank you for going deep into your hearts to consider Troy Chapman’s sentence reduction. An early release, such as time served, would be a positive outcome, and would allow Troy to give back to his fellow citizens in even greater measure.

Judy Garvey, Director
and the volunteers of Volunteers for Hancock Jail Residents

____
I first encountered Troy Chapman when I read the article he had written, Through My Enemy’s Eyes, in the Winter 2002 Issue of Yes Magazine. I was stunned by the portrait of this man’s radical transformation from murderer to life-loving, life affirming practitioner of what some have come to call the third way in conflict resolution and conflict transformation. There was such moral clarity and so much love for all humanity radiating from this simple piece that I was awe-struck and knew that I had to make Troy’s acquaintance. This seemed especially urgent because, at the time, I was leading a seminar for men convicted of violent crimes at the Western State Reformatory at Monroe, Washington. The seminar was an inquiry into the issue of accountability in which the participants and I sought to understand why so few people who had committed violent crimes ever take responsibility for those crimes.

I wrote to Troy immediately and corresponded with him fairly regularly for about a year. I was also a subscriber to his newsletter Inspirit when it was published. I have also read Troy’s unpublished autobiography. Through the medium of letters, Troy and I have talked at length about the issues of responsibility and accountability for crimes. In particular, I wanted to know and understand how Troy had come to make such a profound transformation in his life, from a confused, angry and chemically dependent youth to the extraordinary writer, artist, musician and philosopher he is today.

Troy has become an ardent advocate of non-violent change and insists that those who commit violence must take responsibility for those acts and change themselves and change their lives; how he did this, with little or no help from the criminal justice system, is a remarkable story which the world needs to hear and understand. This is the reason I am writing this letter and advocating strongly for a review of his sentence and possibly for a commutation of his sentence by the governor.

From everything I have read that Troy has written (and granted, I have never met the man in person), I have been deeply moved and impressed by the man’s integrity, compassion and love for all human beings, even for those among us who are difficult to love. For those of us who have been hurt by violent acts, the deepest wish of our hearts is that the perpetrator can someday recognize the deep damage he or she has done and undergo a personal transformation that would result in an awakening where he or she can re-enter the human community, making right the wrongs of the past. I believe that Troy’s gifts and abilities are so unique, that he could better serve our society by living the rest of his life as a free man. I envision him studying, writing, and continuing his process of transformation and working to end violence on this planet. While he can do some of that work behind bars, surely he can do more of it and do it more effectively living freely out in society.

There is no question in my mind that Troy recognizes the utter gravity and seriousness of the crime he committed. He will regret to his dying day the foolishness and stupidity of the act he committed that led to the death of the young man in the bar that night.

I would be completely willing and proud beyond words to have Troy live in my community. I would love to have him as my friend and colleague in the peace and non-violence work that I am engaged in both here and abroad.

Joy Helmer, RN, MS
Seattle, WA

____
I first came to know of Troy Chapman in 1994 through a magazine article he had written. I was so impressed with what he had to say that I wrote him a letter, and was again impressed with what he wrote to me in response. When his thoughts became available through the Inspirit newsletter, I became a subscriber. I wrote to him again about some of his ideas in 2002, and once again his response was inspirational.

I am writing this letter for Troy Chapman to request a commutation or at least a review of his sentence because I believe his continued incarceration is serving no good purpose. I believe without any question that he has recognized the seriousness of his crime and takes responsibility for his actions. Beyond that, he has transformed his life to become an influence for good in society, an influence that would increase considerably with his release from prison. I would not only welcome him into my community, but would consider it a privilege to welcome him into my home.

Rosalie Taylor Howlett
Soquel, CA

____
When I read in the journal “Yes!” the article “Through My Enemy’s Eyes,” by Troy Chapman, I was indeed profoundly touched by it. It was just before Easter in 2002 and we used this article as a preparation for Easter amongst the co-workers and our mentally handicapped adults, whom we call Companions, at our Camphill community in southern France.

The deep insight about the human striving expressed in this article and seeing this put into a biographical context, made me certain that this man is honest and that he knows what he is talking about. I couldn’t do otherwise than to try to contact him in order to express my thanks for this beautiful, wisdom-filled description. The more I pondered about this article, the less it became understandable to me why such a person who served 20 years in prison and has gone through such a fundamental transformation in his life, should stay in prison for 60 to 90 years.

My partner Marie-Laure, who translated Troy’s article into French, and I got in touch with Troy’s partner Maryann Gorman. After some time, as we started to prepare for a journey to visit friends in the United States, the wish became ever stronger to go and see Troy in his Michigan prison.

From Good Friday to Easter Monday in 2003 Maryann, Marie-Laure and myself spent many hours talking to Troy in his prison.

It became indeed a deeply moving experience, reinforced by the Easter mood, the festival of Death and Resurrection, or that of dying and becoming.

As I didn’t expect before arriving, there was an understanding and a facility in conversing straight from the start. Troy is a tremendous creative person who wants to ennoble the grey which is around him in prison through his paintings and music and to help calm people who get easily entangled with each other.

For sure, both Marie-Laure and I have realised that Troy has worked hard on himself and has changed a lot. Today, he is a very well educated man, sensitive, intelligent and very alive. His interest toward others makes us think that he probably would be very useful in helping others, such as socially disturbed youngsters. All his experiences in life, especially the difficult ones, may be particularly helpful on one hand to understand these youngsters and on the other to show them how one can transform oneself. The social life of today harbours many people with problems and we feel that his life experience is a positive potential which should be used for it.

Taking all this in consideration, it will be understandable that we would like to shake Troy’s hand outside the prison walls. Can you help us with this?

Hubert Genz
Provence, France

____
I am writing this letter on behalf of Troy Chapman who is seeking review of his sentence.

I began corresponding with Troy several years ago after reading an article by him in YES magazine.

Based on the correspondence and the things I have learned and read about Troy, I find him to be an amazing man. To have the commitment to reach out and encourage love and optimism, under the circumstances he is in, I find amazing. Only a man with incredible courage could do what he is doing.

Based on what I read, he appears to clearly understand the horror of his crime and is sincerely remorseful. He has now served 20 years to think about it. I work as a parole officer in Minnesota where he well may have been out in 6 years. Granted that may be not enough but I see 20 years as more than enough for this man. I would see him as a tremendous asset to our society as a free man and strongly urge you to release him.

Joe Mayer
St. Paul, MN

____
I am a teacher and a writer who is presently incarcerated in the Arizona prison system, and am writing on behalf of Troy Chapman who is presently in the Kinross Correctional Facility in Kincheloe, Michigan.

Mr. Chapman’s writings reveal his wisdom and kind heart. He has the ability to use words to allow us all to think a little bit more about who we are and how we live our lives. After every piece of his I read, I am again awed by his ability to maintain an optimistic attitude and to reach his hand and heart out to others despite the environment he finds himself in.

Upon release, his intention would be to teach, write and help others in every way that he can, using his own life as an example.

If the purpose of his incarceration is punishment, his time has already been served. If the purpose lies in the lesson to be learned from his actions, it has long since been learned. If the purpose lies in making him a contributing member of society, he has far surpassed what any of us could expect of him. The world has a lot to learn from Troy Chapman.

Please grant this very special person the ability to make a difference in the outside world. You will not be disappointed in him.

Charles “Tom” Brown
140237
ASPC-Lewis
Buckeye, Arizona

____
I lived with Troy. Having spent eight years incarcerated in the Michigan Department of Corrections, I spent three of those years, not only at the same institution, but sharing the same living quarters with Troy.

We spent a great deal of time together. Aside from sharing the room, we shared many of the same interests and aspirations, including music, personal healing, and the journey of spiritual awakening. In an environment nearly void of anything conducive to personal healing and development, Troy was a blessing — a light in the darkness.

Since my release in 2000, we have continued to correspond. Troy’s letters and the articles he’s written for “Inspirit” newsletter have continued to be a source of emotional and spiritual nourishment for me.

In an environment where many people turned out not to be as they appeared, my time with Troy proved him not only to be unfaltering in his resolve to heal and amend his life, but also his heartfelt commitment to assist others on their journey, and deep compassion for all that is life — from the smallest creature to the largest global conflict. It also revealed to me a man whose intellect and spirit deepened with each “door” that opened.

There is a need for prisons, or, at least, a need to interrupt the behaviors of certain people. Both Troy and I arrived at that point in our lives. Without detailing my particular evaluation of the prison system, I know the insane whirlwind that was my life, and the harm I caused to other ceased, the healing began, and I and society are healthier. My personal transformation actually occurred and was solidified several years before my release.

Just as a judge considers numerous factors in determining the length of a criminal sentence, society, as a whole, would greatly benefit from a “conscious” prison system that is based on necessity rather than legal technicalities, emotionally charged issues, and political agendas.

The Troy Chapman that required incarceration so many years ago does not exist. Only the lingerings of a legal document and a physical body. A deeply intelligent, spiritual, and compassionate human being, with the same name, remains in prison today.

Brad Ayotte
Johannesburg, MI

____
It defies normal intellect and reason and humanity that someone of Troy Chapman's noble and sagacious spirit remains behind the confines of prison walls, and yet he still rises! He still gives, he still inspires, he still moves our spirit, he still soars above the world's inability to embrace the change that's needed in the treatment of human beings today, he still thrives above and beyond the "prison of self.”

Thank you, Troy, for all your ineffable contributions to the endless number of souls over the past years; words are not adequate to describe the depth and priceless gifts you honor us (and anyone who crosses your path) with.

Carol Dahlen
Las Vegas, NV

____
I know of Troy Chapman through my friend, Ron Carlson, who died in August 2002, in Gladstone, Mich. Ron had visited Troy at Kinross Correctional Facility at least five times that I remember, and those visits averaged five hours or so each time. They developed a friendship during those visits, and Ron told me that he wouldn't hesitate having Troy come to live with him, if it were possible. A good judge of character, Ron saw the genuine goodness in Troy. On his own, he was moved to write the governor of Michigan, the superintendent of prisons, the parole board, and “60 Minutes” TV program, in hopes of having Troy's harsh sentence reviewed, but nothing positive resulted from those efforts.

My first connection with Troy, was through the published article he wrote, that Ron had sent me. It was entitled "Why I Love My Jailers." It was profound. It was and is the writing of one who was deeply searching for the way to love his enemies as Jesus taught. How could he love those who had such contempt for him, he wondered? Finally it dawned on him; he would love his jailers because he has the need to love! I believe that Troy Chapman has served enough time for what appears to be manslaughter, and should be set free, as the new man he's become.

Richard Gross
Grants Pass, Oregon

____
This is a request to review the sentence of Troy Chapman and to allow him to return to society.

I have never had the pleasure of meeting Troy Chapman. I learned of him through my recent friend, Maryann Gorman, many years after his incarceration.

Maryann told me of an article written by Troy that was published in the magazine, Yes! When I read the article, I was struck by his lack of self-pity, his admission to his crime and his focus on sharing thoughts of living a considerate life. I was amazed by his acts of compassion toward his ‘fellow man.’

Troy chose to deal with the endless, restricted time imposed by his sentence by using it. He used it to think deeply and truthfully – to look at the fact that he was in prison for killing another human being. The fact that he reacted to a situation, rather than responding to it and was now paying for that lapse in judgment. It has to have been gut-wrenchingly hard. But he owned up to his crime to himself; and he has since taken responsibility for it, publicly, through his writings.

During the past several years, with Maryann’s able production of a monthly newsletter (The Lifeful Way), Troy’s continuing articles of inspiration and self-discovery have been read and responded to by a worldwide audience. He has shared his ideas with cellmates in a group setting, once permission was granted by prison administration to do so.

I have benefited personally from Troy’s own points of view, and his encouragement to look at things from various perspectives. He has structured ways for a person to review his or her current approach to living by seeing areas of automatic behavior that leave us less-than-best, and to choose better strategies. This is how Troy has continued to spend most of his time.

When I learned the details of Troy’s crime by asking Maryann, I placed them, mentally, next to the kind of man I perceive Troy to be. I am convinced that this man’s basic character is in direct opposition to that of a murderer. I feel that this killing was the result of an appalling, sudden twist of an event. That Troy did not set out to take his victim’s life, but made a tragic error in judgment.

I believe that for these 20-plus years of incarceration, Troy has trained himself to think before acting and is truly committed to this objective. This is the kind of person I would want in my own community.

I urge you to review his case and look at the possibility of giving him back to Society. He has much to give us.

Janice Moore
Narberth, PA

____
Last summer, I bought a Norwegian magazine called “Flux,” where Troy Chapman’s article "Through My Enemy's Eyes" was one of the main articles (translated into Norwegian).

The first time I read the article, I found it amazing that a man could change as Troy did, and obtain such insight and wisdom under such conditions. Since then, I have read the article many times (and also most of the articles on Troy’s Web sites). Troy’s experiences and viewpoints has made a deep and lasting impression on me.

I must admit that it took some time before I understood what the "third way" really is all about. You see, I had to experience by first hand what it really means to look into my own self (the bitter pill...), face my fear, anger, envy and so on, and accept my part of the misery in my own surroundings. Underneath my fear and anger, I have found the same treasure as Troy did: inner peace, and a love that can embrace anyone, not just the loving ones. As this personal experience and insight is quite new to me, I often slip back to misery and sorrow. But I know — by heart — that the third way is always there, even if I sometimes forget it, or can't see it, and it makes life so much clearer and meaningful.

I have also read the article out loud for people who are close to me, and told them about Troy's situation, and I will continue sharing Troy's way and wisdom with others.

When it comes to Troy’s situation, I think that it is unfair and sad that such a spirit should be locked into a prison. It doesn't make sense any longer; the judge was wrong when he assumed that there was no hope for rehabilitation. As many others have mentioned, Troy has transformed himself into a new person, who has no reason to be in prison — apart from giving love and inspiration to the jailers and other inmates he lives together with.

Mariann Gunderson
Sandnes, Norway

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FROM SORROW TO FREEDOM

Article by Neeraja Raghavan in U Can Change the World, Indian periodical (published 2003)

How does a person sentenced to life imprisonment feel? Especially if the judge, while pronouncing his sentence, tells him that there is no hope for his rehabilitation?

Troy Chapman was sentenced to life imprisonment in just such a manner, for having killed a man in a bar fight when he was twenty years of age. In his own words, he was, at that time “on an insane roller coaster of addiction, violence and despair”. Sorrow must surely have engulfed the young man, taking him into a deep, dark abyss. Surely he must have felt that there was no point in living life any more?

Over the past few months, I have been in correspondence with Troy Chapman (now a man of thirty nine), through e-mail. Sitting in his prison in Michigan, Troy writes out letters that are mailed to his friend in Pennsylvania, and she, in turn, types them out on her computer and e-mails them to me. I have been the lucky recipient of inspiring, moving and heart-warming letters from a man who should, by all ‘normal’ expectations, have given up hope in life and living, but is, in fact, far freer and far more at peace with himself than those of us who are not in prison.

He has brought home to me that we are, in fact, effectively imprisoned by our past, and that here is a man who could well have been as effectively imprisoned by the horrible memory of his crime, or by the terrible prospect of living the rest of his life in prison, but who broke free of his past as well as his future, and who leads a life that is fresher than many.

It all began with an article (from YES! Magazine) that came my way: Through My Enemy's Eyes. Written by Troy Chapman in 2001, from prison, it spoke of his inner journey during the last sixteen years while he was serving his sentence. It spoke of his utter despondency initially, when the judge made the above pronouncement. In Troy’s words: “No hope. If he was right there was no point in going on, and I quite logically considered taking my own life. But in the end I determined that the judge could not be right and I would live on. I don’t mean I decided merely not to die, but to be really alive from that point on, to embrace life and find some meaning and truth I could live by and for.”

Then, as he confronted his own sorrow, he consciously turned away from it. Working on himself with ruthless tenacity, he weeded out the inner enemy by recognizing the outer enemy as actually dwelling deep within him! “I was being pulled by the future but also pushed by the past. My crime, and later my sentence, stood at the center of all my examinations. Slowly I came to understand my need for redemption and true atonement. I realized that nothing could atone for what I’d become better than simply turning away from it with my whole being, and this is what I did. I repented in action. I changed.”

One of my first questions to Troy was: Troy, how did you manage to do all this alone? For, it seems to me, that that is the universally identifiable characteristic about sorrow. One feels so utterly alone. His answer was characteristic in its unexpectedness. From a man in prison, I received a reply:

First let me correct your perception that I did it alone. I certainly didn't. There were many helpers from both sides --both the spiritual world and the physical world. There were people who loved me, prayed for me; others who did real things for me, took care of me and wrote me letters, let me know I wasn't forgotten; there were others who only spoke to me through the centuries in their writings. Then there is, of course, the Spirit that nursed me. This is still true today. None of us can make it alone.

How did he release himself from a horrible past when so many of us are still imprisoned by ours? How free of it he now seemed…how did he do it? Again, his answer:

Never underestimate the power of your role in things. I understand what you say about people "out there" being imprisoned, but never think that I have any power that you do not.

How did he overcome rage? A man who could experience it in such tremendous proportions, so as to take another’s life? How was he now free of it? His answer is:

You asked about my ability to overcome rage. No, it wasn't easy but it could have been and I see that now. Maybe that's what you see in my writing. It could have been easy had I been given sacred knowledge — indeed, the rage would never have come in the first place. I recently came upon something in meditation that seems to be the next step for me, where I'm being pushed to go. It is that I am not a human being in the universe but rather the universe being human. This is what occurred to me: It is that the universe knows exactly how to be human but I do not. To say, "I am trying to overcome anger," or "I am trying to be a better person," is to lock yourself into a losing battle. You cannot do these things — you don't know how and can never learn. The "I" and the "you" are the problem. The self is a fictional character. I've known this intellectually from Eastern teachers for a long time, yet I always had trouble with it because if I am not “me” who am I? The answer given is that I don't exist, but this goes against my own experience, so the teaching of the self-as-fiction became, at least for me, nothing more than a mystical riddle.

I am something because I'm here. The question is, what? The answer that makes sense to me is that I am the universe being human, just as trees are the universe being trees, and peacocks on your campus are the universe being peacocks. The universe knows how to be a peacock doesn't it? Well, it also knows how to be human — if we would get out of the way and let it.

How does this work in real life? When you're angry, that's you trying to be human and take over the job of the universe — a pretty tall order. Try just reminding yourself that you're getting in the way and that the universe knows how to be happy in you. It knows how to laugh, to hold a hand, to be at peace, and compassionate. It is very wise — just look what it's done in the rest of creation. Why do we mistrust it so? The intelligent universe wants to express itself in Neeraja Raghavan. Isn't that a wonderful thing? Would this expression be anger, or is that coming from us? The universe isn't angry. Just try asking yourself as often as you can throughout the day, "Am I letting the universe be human in me right now? Am I letting it write this letter? Am I letting it respond to this difficult person? Am I letting it respond to my past experiences?" Again, it knows well how to be human. Listen to it and tell me if your anger doesn't go away. But don't try to "make" it go away. Don't try to do any good or bad — that's just "you" asserting yourself in a different direction — it's the same as the anger. Let me know what happens.

“Is there beauty in your life? Do you see the sun and the birds and the trees?” I had asked, imagining dull grey stone walls of a cold prison. His answer was touching:

I do enjoy the birds and flowers and the sun. This prison is much better than any I've been to. We have small animals in the yard and trees, and a big garden. It's often cold and windy here, but I don't mind that. It makes me appreciate the warm days better.

An interesting excerpt that describes his realization of the profound effect of all that we think and do, goes like this:

I try to remember that all of my actions have profound effects. In prison people are taught that they don't matter and this affects everything they do, ultimately leading to unconscious attitudes and apathy and ultimately to more crime. If we could realize that everything we do matters — even though we may never get to see the results — we would pay more attention and be more intentional. Gandhi was such a beautiful example of this and his treatment of and response to the English was a model for all the world. It's a personal model for me. I am still sad that others saw things so differently and decided to split India into Muslims and Hindus. And now, the tensions between Pakistan and India are sad.

What is your day like, Troy? I asked. And his answer was:

My days are simple, usually. I spend mornings writing and meditating. In the afternoons I walk and do other things. I have various activities and am involved with the church here.

Troy is an artist, a songwriter and a musician. Within this man are the same desires to celebrate life for its fullness, enjoy its beauty and revel in freedom. So many forces and a single horrific event have led him into the place that he is now in. Yet, the manner in which he is dealing with the consequences that Life has handed him, makes me wonder how many of us can do this with the consequences that we, too, have to face of our own actions, in our own lives.

For isn’t that really the essence of sorrow? To resist the present? Either by dwelling on painful memories of the past, or by worrying about a terrible future?

If a man sentenced to die in prison can live in the present with so many forces pulling him to do exactly the opposite, why, then can’t we, “free” people do the same? Does it need a tremendous crisis (like being sentenced to a life in prison) to make us do all that inner work? Why can’t we take the opportunities that come our way in so many little crises of life?

In Troy’s own words, his inner journey was catalysed by a simple exhaustion with his eternal anger: “The catalyst for this change was nothing more noble than exhaustion. I was simply tired of being angry all the time, tired of waking up every morning to a battle. I needed some rest. This need led me away from moral certitude. I developed the ability to see things through the eyes of my enemies.” Having seen his outer enemy as a human being, just like himself, Troy was now in the awkward position of being in a battlefield with no enemy to fight!

With gentle humour, Troy describes his movement from the field of duality to what he calls “the third side.” “What then is left to fight for?” he asks. “What does an out-of-work activist do? Well…God is hiring and God is on the third side. Not the prisoner’s or the jailer’s side. Not the pro-choice or the pro-life side. Not the Left or the Right.”

In the typical whirlpool of opposites that most of us are caught, here is a voice from one who refused to get sucked into sorrow. Troy’s life and his piercing words of conviction are testimony to the power of the human spirit to conquer even the most unimaginable sorrow. For more of Troy’s writings, please visit http://sacredmatters.blogspot.com.

Who Are the Friends of Troy?

2007-02-18T13:24:00.000-08:00

The following people support the review and reduction of Troy Chapman’s severe sentence.

Names with links are happy to be contacted by e-mail to answer any questions. Please feel free to contact any one of them whose name is highlighted below if you have any questions about Troy. Some of these people have written letters about Troy; you can view them here.

Then, if you agree that Troy’s continued incarceration is a miscarriage of justice, contact us so we may add your name to the Friends of Troy. Let us know if you are willing to be contacted by others via e-mail.

Please also consider writing a brief letter, to be included on this site, about why you think Troy should be free and/or the impact he has had on you through his work. Email it here.

To our friends: If you receive correspondence through this site, please cc us on your response.

The Friends of Troy

Dawn Allbee, Winn, Michigan: Troy’s sister
Anneli Aston, Walla Walla, Washington: Friend
Kevin Audleman, Seattle, Washington: Friend
Brad Ayotte, Johannesburg, Michigan: Former fellow inmate and friend

Ruth Ann Beasley, Lansing, Michigan: Friend
Vance Lee Beasley, Lansing, Michigan: Former fellow inmate and friend
Carolyn Beeker, Ludington, Michigan: Friend
Debbi Bendon, Greenville, Michigan: Troy’s sister
Jim Bergin, Blue Hill, Maine: Creative Writing Program of Hancock County Jail and Friend
Hector Black, Cookeville, Tennessee: Friend

Nadia Chandler (unrelated to Scott Chandler), Portland, Oregon: Friend
Amanda Chapman, Lakeview, Michigan: Troy's mother
Mable Chapman, Edmore, Michigan: Troy's aunt
Cynthia Cutting, Corvallis, Oregon: Friend (deceased, 2009)

Carol Dahlen, Las Vegas, Nevada: Friend
Lisa Daly, West Chester, Pennsylvania: Friend
Nancy Davis, Los Angeles, California: Friend
Helen Delaney, Cambridge, Maryland: Friend
Michael Denomme, Wayne, Pennsylvania: Friend
Sharon Denomme, Wayne, Pennsylvania: Friend

Louise Engelen, Leusden, The Netherlands: Friend

Carla Falco, Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania: Friend
Rev. Evan Farrar, Sarasota, Florida: Friend

Claire Garden, Columbia, Missouri: Friend
Judy Garvey, Blue Hill, Maine: Founder and Director of Volunteers for Hancock Jail Residents and Friend
Kennan Garvey, Arlington, Virginia: Friend (deceased, 1/19/08)
Hubert Genz, Provence, France: Friend
Richard Goldberg, Galloway, New Jersey: Friend
Rosemary Goldberg, Galloway, New Jersey: Friend
Jake Goldenflame, San Francisco, California: Friend
Maryann Gorman, Narberth, Pennsylvania: Partner and developer of this Web site
Joanne Gorman-Klein, Havre de Grace, Maryland: Friend
Richard Gross, Grants Pass, Oregon: Friend (deceased, 2010)
Mariann Gunderson, Sandnes, Norway: Friend

Joy Helmer, Seattle, Washington: Friend

Linda Jaczynski, Norristown, Pennsylvania: Friend
Russ Jones, Former chaplain at Kinross Correctional Facility (Troy's prison)

Jack Klein, Havre de Grace, Maryland: Friend
Ted Knerr, New York, New York: Friend
Kitty Kono, St. Davids, Pennsylvania: Friend

Angela Lake, Troy's niece

Charlotte MacNeice, Cologne, New Jersey: Friend
Dan MacNeice, Cologne, New Jersey: Friend (deceased, 2009)
Kitty Matchica, Broomall, Pennsylvania: Friend
Joseph Mayer, St. Paul, Minnesota: Friend
Janice Moore, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania: Friend
Bob Moore, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania: Friend
Tony Morse, Upper Peninsula, Michigan: Friend
David Murray, Michigan: Friend

Paddy O'Toole, Carrabelle, Florida: Former prison guard

Dorothy Peters, Merrill, Wisconsin: Friend

Neeraja Raghavan, Bangalore, Karnataka, India: Friend
Julia Rasch, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania: Friend
Marie-Laure Requillart, Provence, France: Friend

Ken Smith, Plymouth, Michigan: Friend

Rosalie Taylor, London, Ontario, Canada: Friend
Doug Tjapkes, Muskegon, Michigan: Friend and director of Humanity for Prisoners

Matt Vogel, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan: Friend
Sander van den Berg, The Netherlands: Friend

Henry (Bucky) Walters, Lakeview, Michigan: Friend
Cindy West, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts: Friend
Lesley West, West Chester, Pennsylvania: Friend
Richard Wilhelm, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania: Friend
Linda Wolf, Waltham, Massachusetts: Friend

Jim Younger, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan: Former Teacher and Friend

Next page: What Others Say About Troy