"What advice would you give to someone that was going through a situation that they think will never get better?" --- Z.M. of Lakeland, FL

I don't think I'm a person anyone should be asking for advice. But, I can tell you how I deal with "hopeless" situations personally. As you probably know, I have been on "death row" for over ten years and my attorneys have nearly exhausted all of their appeals. And for the last thirteen years (since my arrest in 2005) I have lived in solitary confinement, many of those years in conditions well-known for causing severe psychological stress (i.e. little human contact, constant harassment, unappetizing food, no T.V. or radio, one blanket, and a thin mattress on a too narrow concrete slab for a "bunk", surrounded by filth and vermin like cockroaches, mold, and maggots - I'm referring mostly here to the two years I spent in Riverside County Jail in Southern California - yes, it was that bad!). And yet I have managed to maintain excellent health in body, mind, and spirit (i.e. I have no medical conditions and generally don't feel depressed).

How? By constantly remembering and choosing to focus my mind on what I HAVE, not on what I WANT and DON'T HAVE! In the worst cases, when the circumstances are so bad that all I HAVE is my mind, body, and breath, it is these things I turn to for "comfort". Some call this meditation, but I think of it as simply taking absolutely NOTHING for granted; not even the air I breathe. Each breath is an enjoyable experience all by itself. This is what works for me. But I don't expect it to work for everyone. And since it is so well-documented (as "meditation" usually") I normally don't talk (or write) about it much. So thank you for asking.

[J.D. March 4, 2018]