Justice in Jasper

Fri, 26 Feb 1999 20:00:00 +0000

JASPER, Texas -- The mood in the courthouse here Thursday was one of quiet, respectful triumph as John William King received the death penalty for one of the most heinous crimes in recent American history, the murder of James Byrd Jr., whom he dragged to death behind a pick-up truck. The historic sentencing -- the first time a white man in Texas has received the death penalty for killing a black man since the death penalty was reinstated in the late 1970s -- was met with a stunning display of racial unity in the courtroom. White and black Jasperites held hands in suspense while the decision was being read, then embraced each other afterwards. Three African-American residents -- Willie Rhodes, Gloria Mays and Marolynn White -- raised their hands in triumph. The family of Byrd's family was silent and tearful. Exiting the courtroom, Stella Brumley, Byrd's sister, said that justice had been served. "No doubt about it."

As King, who has shown no remorse during the trial, was taken from the courthouse after his death sentence, a reporter asked if he had anything to say to the Byrds. "Suck my dick," he spat.

What I learned from losing my mind

Tue, 12 Jan 1999 20:00:00 +0000

I had a little nervous breakdown last spring. Or maybe it was an identity crisis. I couldn't figure out how I could be a mother of two young sons (a 3-year-old and a baby), a writer and a happy individual all at the same time.

I knew I was going down when the smallest logistical decisions began to take on huge significance: Should I pick up my son from preschool before or after I go to the grocery store? Should I pump my left breast after feeding the baby on the right, or should I pump the right before feeding the baby on the left? Or pump a bit on both, then feed him the rest?

I was absolutely convinced that each question had a right answer and a wrong one. My days were full of hundreds of mommy pop quizzes. All day and most of the night I was cramming, trying to figure out how to make my life manageable. Happy, I figured, would have to come after manageable.

When I had my relatively brief windows of baby sitter-bought time to write, it was hard -- nigh impossible -- to stop the whirring, the list-making, the trying to figure out the right answers to myriad domestic dilemmas. This mind-set, which I call "tasking," is not the most conducive to creative writing. In fact, I felt sure that tasking was killing the tiny bit of creativity my sleep-deprived brain might still be capable of, but I couldn't stop it, couldn't stop trying to figure out the answers that would lead to control.

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Justice in Jasper

What I learned from losing my mind