Rev. Earl Smith - Death row chaplain : unbelievable true stories from Americas most notorious prison

Praise for Death Row Chaplain

This book shows how one mans life was changed not by iron bars but by a leather book. That book allowed him to open his heart toward the love that God had for him, which changed his life, changed his household, and ultimately changed the trajectory of the future generations of his family.

Mike Singletary, coach and NFL Hall of Famer

A riveting, clear-eyed but supremely compassionate journey through one of the darkest corners of the American judicial system. Death Row Chaplain compels the reader to a renewed assessment and appreciation of the human potential for constructive, even inspired, change.

Harry Edwards, PhD, professor emeritus of sociology, UC Berkeley, and consultant for the San Francisco 49ers, the NFL, and the NBA

Chaplain Earl Smith is a man of real integrity and unusually effective in dealing with inmates in prison. He also has enjoyed great ability in communicating as a chaplain for the San Francisco 49ers and the Golden State Warriors. He is highly socially mobile, being able to deal with the elite athletes in the world and the most notorious criminals. There are very few ministers who have this range of communication abilities, but Earl certainly does.

Bill Glass, founder of Beyond the Walls, the largest prison ministry in America

The stories in Death Row Chaplain are told not from a political viewpoint but from a pastors heart. They are real stories about real men who made real mistakes and who need a real God to forgive them. Death Row Chaplain will leave you with a refreshing taste of Gods grace. A grace that is available not only to those inside a prison with bars, but to those who may sit in the pew next to you, live next door, bag your groceries, or even look back at you in the mirror.

Dr. Samuel M. Huddleston, assistant district superintendent, Assemblies of God, northern California and Nevada

Contents

I dedicate this book to my dad.

He taught me the definition of unconditional love.

My dad was not perfect by the worlds standards,

which made him perfect in my eyes.

Also to my wife, Angel:

as I continued to try to figure out what I was supposed to be

as a man, as a husband, and as a father,

you held on and continued to believe in me

and the call God placed on our relationship.

To Ebony, Earl, Tamara, and Franklin: I feel so blessed

that God chose to loan you to your mother and me.

I will always value the lessons I have learned from you.

To my sisters, Betty Jo and Sylvia: you treated

me more like a son than a brother.

Thank you for helping me survive.

To Curtis, little boys have the tendency to want to look up

to their big brothers; I am blessed that in you I

had a big brother worthy to look up to.

To my mother, thank you for the life-lessons you taught me.

As I have gotten older, the more I have come

to value the unique relationship we had.

I now understand that you did your best,

and for that I am thankful.

Introduction

T HIS BOOK IS THE NO-HOLDS-BARRED chronicle of my time as chaplain at San Quentin State Prison in California, which many visitors have described as one of the most menacing and frightening places on earth. During my time behind the walls of San Quentin, I counseled murderers, rapists, and thieves. I prayed to God for mercy with twelve men who were executed for their crimes.

In this book, I will take readers behind the scenes of the state execution process and into the death chamber, revealing my dialogues with the execution team members and the secret thoughts of the men who were awaiting their appointment with the gas chamber or the needle. I will share the stories of family membersthose of the victims, and those of the inmates about to face the ultimate punishment.

More than anything else, Death Row Chaplain is my memoir of a life rescued by God, a complex story of drugs, crime, race, violence, family, faith, heroism, sports, and forgiveness. It is a testimony about the many ways the Lord helped me to fulfill my purpose: help men beyond all other help discover Gods plan for their lives.

My personal storyrising from a life of hopelessness, crime, and nihilism to find God and follow His willspeaks to many people who are struggling to keep their faith and find the righteous path in these difficult times. When I chose God, I was rescued from a life of crime, drugs, and gangs. I was called into the ministry and made the decision to become a Christian. I preached my first sermon one year after I was shot six times and left for dead. A few years later, in 1983, at the age of twenty-seven, I walked through the iron gates of San Quentin to begin serving as Protestant chaplain. It was the fulfillment of my promise to God and to my father.

The men of San Quentin and many others struggling with their place in the world face the same dilemma that I did: the choice between the difficult but righteous path and the old, destructive path. Which path we choose when confronted with these moments of decision making will determine the course of our livesand the two paths are adjacent and unmarked. Ill share the vital lessons that my many years in the prison have taught me about navigating those situations whereby we can go either way. Through the frightening and uplifting stories of condemned men and celebrity athletes, Ill reveal the many ways that biblical principles and Gods grace can help anyone recognize when a critical life choice is before him.

I initiated some programs to help inmates with critical choices to make. In 1989, I launched an education program. A number of men wanted to study the Bible and advance in their educational pursuits. Chaplain Harry Howard and I started it in cooperation with Patten University in Oakland, California. The college purchased the books and the professors volunteered to teach the courses. The certificate program has grown into a fully accredited associate of arts degree program, called the Prison University Project. Under direction of the great staff, which is led by Dr. Jody Lewen, the program has far exceeded anything I envisioned when we were trying to give inmates a better understanding of biblical principles. Since the inception of the original course, over four hundred men have received a certificate in religious studies or an associate of arts degree. Education was, and is still, a large part of what I feel the regenerative process must embrace.

I started and managed the prisons baseball team. I founded the prisons choir and helped produce a music CD that brought incarcerated men, correctional officers, and the prisons administrative staff together for the first time. I sat across from Charles Manson, who to many people is the face of pure evil, for a friendly game of chess, and helped negotiate a truce between rival leaders of the Black Panther Party.

In 1995, I helped launch Project IMPACT (Incarcerated Men Putting Away Childish Things). The program began as a response to two destructive ideas: that men in prison cannot be accountable to one another, and that men of different races and religions cannot coexist peacefully behind bars. Today, this project remains one of my deepest passions. We expanded its influence into the community to curb youth violence and recidivism among ex-cons.