Letters to a Lifer
The Boy Never to be Released
Cindy Sanford
With a Foreword by Jeanne Bishop
Copyright and publication details
Letters to a Lifer
The Boy Never to be Released
Cindy Sanford
ISBN 978-1-909976-15-3 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-908162-98-4 (Epub ebook)
ISBN 978-1-908162-99-1 (Adobe ebook)
Copyright 2015 This work is the copyright of Cindy Sanford. All intellectual property and associated rights are hereby asserted and reserved by her in full compliance with USA, UK, European and international law. No part of this book may be copied, reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, including in hard copy or via the Internet, without the prior written permission of the publishers to whom all such rights have been assigned. The Foreword is the copyright of Jeanne Bishop.
Cover design 2015 Waterside Press. Design by www.gibgob.com incorporating leaf paintings by Ken.
North American distribution Ingram Book Company, One Ingram Blvd, La Vergne, TN 37086, USA. Tel: (+1) 615 793 5000;
Main UK distributor Gardners Books, 1 Whittle Drive, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 6QH . Tel: +44 (0)1323 521777; ; www.gardners.com
Cataloguing-In-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library.
Printed by Ingram Book Company and CPI Group, Chippenham, UK.
e-bookLetters to a Lifer is available as an ebook and also to subscribers of Myilibrary, Dawsonera, ebrary, and Ebscohost.
Published 2015 by
Waterside Press
Sherfield Gables
Sherfield-on-Loddon
Hook, Hampshire
United Kingdom RG27 0JG
Telephone +44(0)1256 882250
E-mail
Online catalogue WatersidePress.co.uk
Contents
Publishers Note
Although published in the UK the authors American spellings and usages have been retained in this work. Some of the names in this book have been changed.
Even in sorrow, we are given a choice: A choice between the hopelessness of despair and the everlasting promise of faith. Faith that there is a plan and that in times of doubt, God will speak to you in a voice that is clear and true.
The Book of Job
About the Author
Cindy Sanford is a self-proclaimed tough on crime advocate whose accidental meeting with a juvenile lifer prompted a re-examination of long held values and beliefs. She is a registered nurse, the mother of three sons and the wife of a Wildlife Conservation Officer. Cindy lives in Pennsylvania, USA.
All of the authors profits from the sales of this book are being donated to Men in Motion in the Community (MIMIC) a Philadelphia-based charity run by ex-offenders for at-risk kids and Two Mothers: From Death to Life an organization devoted to the support of mothers and families of victims and offenders.
The Author of the Foreword
Jeanne Bishop is a public defender from Illinois whose sister, sisters husband and their unborn child fell victim to a minor who, like Ken, received a sentence of life without parole for killing them.
Acknowledgements
First and foremost I would like to thank my family. I am deeply grateful to my husband Keith, and sons Eric, David and Jeff, who so kindly and generously opened their hearts to Ken despite his circumstances. I am indeed blessed to have such a wonderful bunch of merciful, Godly men in my life.
During the writing of this book, I met a writer who became a dear friend and helped me edit this story, page by page. A huge thank you to Addie Cass for all your help! Without you, Addie, I would still be struggling with an unfinished manuscript!
I am also grateful to some very special people who helped me have the confidence to step forward and share this story. My sincere thanks to Sara Elizabeth and Emily Keller whose encouragement and advice were invaluable. Thanks also to Dewey Oakes and Alex Gibson for their patient help and expertise designing the cover of this book and for so patiently incorporating a novices suggestions.
Many other people helped me believe in this project while it was under construction and provided advice and encouragement. My sincerest thanks to Linda White, Heather Simonson, Lisa Maier Casmedes, Reuben Smitley, David Matyis, Caroline Adamo, Rebecca Otis, Bob and Libby Crane, James Widenhouse, Stacy Maurer, Brenda Emerick, James Ross, Kristine Miller Anderson, Jeanette York and my sisters Cathy Grammar and Rose Marie Turley. Every one of you inspired me in some way to believe this story was important enough to share.
Traveling four and a half hours to the prison on a monthly basis requires more than gas and time, it required the help of a wonderful family who reached out in love, not only to us but to Ken as well. I am deeply grateful to the Belding family for all the pit stops provided during our visits to see Ken. You have huge hearts and have helped us all, including Ken, in immeasurable ways.
Most of all, I need to thank author/columnist Erwin James who was instrumental in getting this book in print and my publisher Bryan Gibson whose patience during the editing process still has me in awe. I greatly appreciate you both for seeing the value of sharing this story and for your devotion to restorative justice.
Last but not least, I would like to thank the young man who inspired this book, and from whom we have learned so much. Thank you, Ken, for the love and kindness you share with us and others, and for the lessons we have all learned about Gods mercy and forgiveness. We are grateful and honored to be that family God meant for you to have.
Foreword
Visit a murderer in prison?
Cindy Sanford never thought she would do such a thing. I didnt either.
When my younger sister Nancy Bishop Langert, her husband Richard and their unborn baby were murdered in their home in 1990, I wanted their killer brought to justice. When he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, I was gladeven though he was only seventeen-years-old at the time of his arrest.
God changed my heart. Its not just that I no longer support life sentences for juveniles; I have forgiven the young man who killed my family members, and I am visiting him in prison.
God changed Sanfords heart, too.
Cindy Sanford started out as an unlikely person to be visiting a prisoner, especially the one who crossed her path. At the age of fifteen, the prisoner, Ken, had a role in a double homicide near Sanfords home in Pennsylvania. Like thousands of other juveniles across the United States who have committed similar crimes, Ken was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Nothing in her background prepared her to feel compassion for a killer. The granddaughter of a police officer, Sanford grew up in a home of cold, hard justice, she writes. Her husband is a retired officer for the Pennsylvania Game Commission; her sons all grew to adulthood without so much as a speeding ticket. She saw the world as black and white, right and wrong.
