Danièle and René, France
Danièle and René are in a spiritual approach to life and humans.
They had been designed by Rickey Lewis, their mentally handycapped pen friend,
as his "adoptive parents".
He called them Mom and Dad.
They attended his execution on April 9th, 2013.
Together they have walked religiously towards hope,
which they say it never dies.
Rickey said:
"They want to kill my body, but they cannot kill my soul.
They don't know what they are doing".
Read full testimony
They have just published a book in France La Souffrance et la Grâce - Récit d'une exécution
(Albin Michel - Learn more here or buy @ Amazon here)
They also are part of a French documentary: "Corps exécuté" (WATCH in French at Le Jour du Seigneur).
From our first visit to his execution:
A 10 years long relationship with Rickey Lynn Lewis
by Danièle and René Sirven
By the end of 2002 we had exchanged a few letters with an inmate on death row at Polunsky Unit, Livingston, TX, Rickey Lynn Lewis. A few months later, on March 31, 2003 we took the opportunity of a trip to Texas to go and visit him. The second day of our visit, he was in front of us when he got a message:
his execution was scheduled for August 7th.
A terrible and unforgettable instant, face to face through a security glass with this poor, mentally retarded black man who was innocent of the murder for which he had been tried and condemned. A sublime instant too, when after collapsing he rose up and prophesized:
"They will kill my body, they won't kill my soul… They don't know what they are doing…"
Thanks to the support of artists for Lutte pour la justice-Languedoc-Roussillon, a local branch of Lutte pour la justice (Fight for Justice), an NGO founded by Colette Berthès, we could hire a Texan lawyer for Rickey. Mike Charlton obtained a stay of execution for Rickey with reference to the Atkins decision by the Supreme Court that forbids executing mentally retarded persons.
Rickey was born poor among the poor, deprived of everything and excluded by all. From the very first day we met him to his last day, our letters and our yearly visits were a true symbol of his human and spiritual advance on the path of humanity and spirituality. Enlightened by the basic skills of reading and writing he had learnt in jail he would write to a number of persons. His letters would blossom with humanism, desire for communication, and love.
From his 7 sq yd cell, Rickey addressed himself to his Lord, the one who let him progress and meet other human beings, including two people who love him for what he his. Rickey decided to name them mom and dad.
When there was no more hope for a reprieve or a clemency, we advanced together towards
the Greatest Hope which cannot die.
On Tuesday April 9, 2013, at the time scheduled for his last words, before his lingering and heart rending death,
he expressed his love and his faith: I AM (the name of his Lord) and ESPERANZA.
René says:
"This experience has transformed me. I learnt to live in the great paradox of humans,
both capable of love and extreme violence".
Danièle says:
"This experience was a determining event in my life. I had a particular sensitivty to the suffering of humans - born in North Africa amidst the colonisation, I witnessed the permanent contempt of the my dominating community on the subservient population. I feel a great compassion fot those who don't know what they are doing".
