Come, Walk With Me

About the Book

"The author asks as you read this 'prison reform' book interlaced with small parts of her own personal involvement, that you overlook the grammar, punctuation and, sentence structure errors because she did not and, does not consider herself a writer. But she felt this story had to be told to inform society there is another view of prison life on the inside, rather than only the stories reported by the media and the justice system itself.

Therefore, what you are about to read will take you on a journey into the chilling hellhole of prison and, you will find it is not at all what you expected it to be. Quite the contrary, it is a house of dreams for souls who are victims themselves: Victims of abuse while living on the outside in society and, victims of abuse by the penal system during incarceration. In addition, they are victims of drug and alcohol related incidents, or bad judgment and, in more cases than we can imagine, of wrongful conviction."

"Elaine was almost oblivious to the insane walk; two sets of remote controlled steel gates, a “search” room, a 70-foot fenced walkway topped with rolls of ice-steel razor wire, another set of barred gates, but this time, she was conducted straight to the hospital. Every time she made this trip she was appalled at the madness behind the disproportionate security. It appeared to her the perimeter towers, rifles, steel topped clubs, pepper spray and stun guns strapped to the hips of every guard were security enough against men who were shackled behind these cement walls." (p. 17)

"Elaine was alone in Starke, Florida. She had driven from Michigan alone to meet Horace and to help him with his appeals and also, when the time was right to become his wife. During the five months since her arrival from Michigan, she had made a few acquaintances, but hadn’t had sufficient time to make a good friend. Horace had been her only friend. She had neither friends nor family to stand by her side to give comfort and solace as Horace slowly died a suffering death. But why? Why would a woman, who was considered an average societal wife and mother, leave family and home, even divorcing, to marry a man on death row? Why enter into an environment where personal diminishment is the daily experience? And especially perplexing, why enter into a relationship with a man whose impending death was possibly the only future? Why did Elaine do this? Did She have a choice? It seemed, somehow, her whole life had prepared her in a special way to follow this course, as if a plot had been written. Did she feel a martyr? Did she feel a fool? Did she feel courageous? Elaine truly doesn't have answers to any of these questions, yet one thing she knows about herself," (p. 21)

"Even though Horace worked hard in the orange groves all day and led a Honky Tonk band at night in several Lounges in Bartow and Eloise, it didn't matter what he could have been. His reality was, he was marked...His being part Japanese at that prejudicial time and Native American as well, he was prejudged and condemned by an absurd record of poverty and ethnicity. Whether he was laboring in the groves or strumming his guitar playing in lounges at night, Horace was a wandering man with a wandering heart in search of fulfillment. And for this honky-tonk heartbreaker, unfortunately, the worst was about to come for he was one more person who would not be touched by the American Dream but was about to become part of America’s nightmare. (page 29)

"The Court: If I can assure you that I would make—well, I will assure you that in the event you are sentenced to life or death—

The Defendant: Yes, ma’am.

The Court:—that I would do everything within my power to have them protect you, but in protecting you, not isolate you from sight and hearing of other inmates.

The Defendant: Yes, ma’am, I understand.

About the Author

Although her degree is in medicine Elaine Pope’s first love was music. She is an accomplished musician and a very talented singer with an incredible voice. Elaine was married, had three wonderful children and led a rich, full life in the eastern “thumb” region of Michigan. During her marriage to Florida Death Row inmate Mel Pope she moved to Starke, Florida, but has since returned to her homeland. Here she is active in church and volunteer work as she contemplates her future. She is an excellent speaker and will likely become more and more in demand as a public speaker as her Death Row projects materialize. Elaine devotes much of her time and energy to wrongful Death Row convictions and the execution of innocents as the Governor of Florida seeks to shorten the time between incarceration and execution for these unfortunate souls.