The following is the story of two men whose lives intersected tragically in time and space. When dissecting this story, it is crucial to understand that both of these men are important, in what they did, how they lived and where they ended up. For to ignore one of these men is to ensure that his story is repeated time and time again
In 1978, a man committed a murder during a robbery in a large university town. This was not your typical murderer, in the sense that he had been blessed with a decent upbringing and had actually attended the university located within the town in which the murder was committed. Nevertheless, he received a "20 to life" sentence for his crime.
However, once in prison, he began to turn his life around. Prison officials deemed him to be such a low-risk inmate that he was granted "trustee" status for nine years. Every day at 5 a.m. he would walk out of prison to his job at a state airplane hanger, and he would be picked up by the authorities at 2:30 p.m. and be taken back to jail. And he never fled.
Why would a man remain in prison so long when he had so many opportunities to run? Certainly it could have been a matter of fear. However, it is also likely that this man felt an obligation to serve his time and was confident that one day he would be released and given a second chance in life.
He was not perfect. Once, he found some liquor in one of the planes and tried to bring it inside the prison as a gift for his friends. Humans are not perfect and here was the human desire to give, regardless of the consequences. His consequence was 15 months without his outside job. Once he regained it, he never made another mistake.
He became a certified driver for his home state in preparation for his release. He wanted to have a job when he was free. According to a fairly major newspaper on the West Coast, the man was "a guy whom people liked."
This brings us to our second man, who was born in the same state, but left for boarding school and college. He too had a very blessed upbringing, even more so than the first man. He came back home and attempted several business ventures, all of which failed. His father was quite influential, however, and bailed him out repeatedly. He met the woman who would be his wife and they were married within a year.
He then decided to enter politics. He ran for congress in his hometown once but lost. Some people felt he was not fit to be a politician. Things changed, however. In 1994, he ran for the governorship of his state. His opponent was a popular woman who was famous for her quick wit; the economy had improved while she was in office, crime was down and her approval ratings rested around 60 percent. Yet he won.
Four years later, he won again, and this time it was a decisive victory. Here is where these two lives intersect. In his first race, the elected man had been helped by the case of an inmate who had been paroled a year before the election and then kidnapped and murdered a seven-year old girl. Crime is rampant, the man claimed. And people listened.
Now that he was the incumbent governor, the man realized that a similar case during the campaign would hurt him. And so, about eight months before the 1998 election, the state's parole system was effectively shut down.
"I don't know why they pay those people," the first man complained to a friend at the hangar. "They didn't ask me any questions or talk to me at all. They just stamped it 'denied.'" The wardens had thought he would be paroled.
The man was depressed. He stole a car and escaped. On July 2, he had a snack and then wrote a note. It read, "I don't want to die in prison." Then he hung himself.
The university town was Austin, Texas.
The first man's name was Robert Hudspeth, and he is destined to be long forgotten.
The second man's name is George W. Bush.
When people believe that they are more important than others, and that their hopes and dreams take precedent over the needs or desires of others, then they lose sight of the singularity of humanity. This is not about politics. This is not about Republicans or Democrats. Bill Clinton executed a mentally retarded man before the 1992 presidential election to prove that he was tough on crime. Everyone is guilty.
Nor is this an attempt to claim that George Bush "killed" Robert Hudspeth. Although evidence that the parole system was shut down is plentiful, there is no concrete proof that this was a direct order from then-Governor Bush. But the fact remains that somebody on the road of power from the wardens to the state house decided that George W. Bush was a more important human being than any of the Robert Hudspeths of the world. Why, as a society, do we tolerate this?
Certainly we should respect authority to some degree, but when the political ambitions of one man interfere with the human rights of another, then there is a huge problem. George Bush is just a human being and he has an obligation not to forget that.
