Another classic from Sophie Love…(Great old Pub on the river at Long Flat)"

...Bernie Matthews was OLO resident and prolific scribe on the prison system with its outcomes and impacts on society at :-
http://netk.net.au/Mathews/Mathews5.asp

...And a long list of OLO Articles by Bernie Matthews at :-
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/author.asp?id=102

…But the question raised is; #...why do women approach men on death row and form relationships with them?...#
Firstly, there are no death row scenarios in Australia, but the real issue is the effects on women and children imprisonment of a family member imposes on the family.

...Imprisonment is a “Poor Mans’ Disease”; and as a consequence the effects impact heavily on the poor mans’ poor family: So effectively “Who Cares”? That appears to be the outcome evident, with a total lack of official response.

...Never pass-up a golden opportunity they say..!!

Prison...the ultimate state weapon...Beware..You too could inhabit a cell...one day,one night,one day,one night etc, etc.

FROM WHENCE AND TO WHERE

In the land of nowhere
Jingle the keys of crime
Where overlord is jackboot
And enemy time
Future called empty
Suppression the King
Supine the body
Medication bell ring

Correction a mantra
A transient verb
Suppression the object
No argument heard
Crashing steel door
The song 24
Prisoner in shackles
down on the floor

Mother of Son
Not hers was the crime
Wife and the children
All do their time
Nine AM Sunday
A gathering crowd
Front of the main gate
All looking proud

Prisoner excited
Expectancies rise
Suddenly remembers
The sorrow in eyes
Visit a joy?
No, a passing event!
Capitalist toy now
Asunder to rent

diver

This is my favourite Jail poem,Henry Lawson "One Hundred and Three"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwk-5z1GsOY

The article is a bit muddled, it doesn't really approach the subject matter alluded to in it's title. The American justice system is very different to ours, they often rely on plea bargaining for one thing and the sentencing regime varies substantially from state to state. The automatic assumption is that a man on death row is probably some sort of monster, a creepy degenerate like Carl Watts or Richard Ramirez but a death sentence can be applied to a lot of very different crimes.

Information on Texas' death penalty:
http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/dr_facts.html

List of Federal death row inmates:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/federal-death-row-prisoners

Notice how many of these people committed murder for revenge, upon other criminals or inmates or in the course of a robbery or other crime, the Hollywood image of a Hannibal Lecter type is misleading.

angry men who grew up fatherless or with step fathers make up a very very high percentage of the prison population. Popular feminist dogma needs to be addressed before any real progress will ever be made.

DIVER DAN...

Usually I'm no fan of yours, nor are you mine ? Howver, do you know much about our friend Bernard Thomas Matthews at all ?

The main problem with Bernard, is he possesses this narcissistic personality, with an unfortunate habit of being an inveterate liar. And according to several discussions I've had with a hitherto, highly regarded NSW forensic psychiatrist (now deceased), Bernard actually believes himself to be the 'gangster' figure, that he's at pains to portray. When in reality it's more of a romantic notion that he's allowed to manifest in his own mind.

Anyway, to the topic specifically. Back in the mid seventies, Matthews was serving a sentence in Long Bay. For medical reasons he was trasferred to the Prison Ward at PHH. While there, he apparently became infatuated with a nurse that was working within that special ward. All nursing staff who worked therein were specially selected to perform duty there, based on maturity and qualifications etc. After all, they were nursing convicted criminals.

Because he was scheduled to remain, post-operative for at least another couple of weeks, we were subsequently advised, as an additional security measure. This Nurse was, by all accounts questioned several times and for her own safety she was made aware of Matthews's obsession about her, she merely laughed and stated she was well and truly aware of him and his verbal overtues ? She was most unequivocal and determined, NOT to encourage him whatsoever.

So unbeknown to anyone, either at the hospital, or the Prison Authorities, we (police) were alerted. We had several conversation with her about him, and when questioned, other then remarking she felt a little sorry for him being in gaol, she thought him to be a rather pathetic and conceited sort of fellow, and not in anyway attracted to him, or his type.

So it might appear, whatever the fascination or allure some women have for prisoners in custody, there are many more women, who don't feel anything particularly about them, other than perhaps some inquisitiveness as to their notoriety and infamy ?

JOM:

...Thanks for the UTube url Re; Henry Lawson and No 103. It prompted me to dust-off my Henry Lawson collection, but to no avail. You did well!

...Bernie Matthews makes an excellent subject for sociological research. Why did Bernie Matthews stream of contributions on matters sociological to OLO, suddenly cease in 2008? Open this link!

http://netk.net.au/Mathews/Mathews12.asp

...More proof that damage to Children can be a life-long affliction!

...Simple answer to the question raised in this article; why do Women become romantically attached to killers on death row? Answer; “Love is blind”…No “pun” intended towards the author of this article, Sophie Love!