At his request, I am sharing here an essay, “THE DEATH PENALTY AND ABORTION,” written by Ronald Wayne Clark, Jr, who is incarcerated at Union Correctional Institution in Florida. (Full essay)

There has been a long hiatus in posts here, due in part to Ronnie’s forced isolation for “disciplinary” reasons and the toll that Florida executions are taking on those on Death Row and their loved ones: ten already in 2026, with three more warrants signed for killings in July and August. That’s just one state.

I share Ronnie’s words and echo his call for an end to silence on many forms of violence, including “America’s failed death penalty and over-reaching abortion restrictions!” I do not know what specifically to recommend. But I do know that what we are doing to end the horrors of incarceration and Death Row and executions is just not enough.

I also mention here that I have already written to Ronnie in response to this essay to let him know: A) that I heard him and am sharing his words, B) that I grieve with him, and C) that his life is valued: the system is the problem, not any individuals suffering within it. I do not know what, if anything, I can offer Ronnie or anyone else in similar circumstances. But I do know that people inside can use all the positive thoughts and interactions and advocacy that we on the outside can manage.

Having no more words of my own at this juncture, I share a few from Psalm 30: “weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes in the morning…Hear and answer.”

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“THE DEATH PENALTY AND ABORTION,” by Ronald Wayne Clark Jr.

I’ve been out of commission for a while. Just so much going on here at Union Correctional Institution and all these back to back executions over at Florida State Prison that has placed me in a deep depressive state of mind. So much so that its taken medication to try to bring me out of it.

Am I good? Would you be good if you were being warehoused in a cage and they come on the wing every couple of weeks and march someone off that you’ve been associating with for decades to their impending death?…

Men are dying, being murdered under the mantel of Justice by a sick society that has no civility too it! A society that doesn’t know true Justice! Lady liberty is not wearing a blindfold to weigh out Justice evenly, she’s wearing that blindfold because she doesn’t want to see them imbalanced scales of injustice that she’s holding in her hands!

Lady liberty is … wearing that blindfold because she doesn’t want to see them imbalanced scales of injustice that she’s holding in her hands!

…Violence breeds violence, and silence is acknowledging acceptance of this unjust conduct and America’s failed death penalty and over reaching abortion restrictions! Unwanted, abused children who may one day find themselves sitting on death row marched into a death chamber due to forced pregnancies.

Welcome to my world, a world I wish I would have never known!

Regretfully Submitted, Ronald Wayne Clark Jr., July 19, 2026 (Full essay)

statue of “Justice” with blindfold, holding scales in both hands. From Pixabay, used with permission.