Dear friends and relatives of Jan,
Yesterday was the six-month anniversary of Jan's death, and we (Tesa and Linda) wanted to share a piece of news with you that she would have been thrilled about.
As some of you know, Jan spent many years corresponding with several prisoners on death row at Louisiana State Penitentiary. Angola Prison (as it is also called) is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. Built on the site of a former slave plantation, it spans 18,000 acres, near Baton Rouge.
Her first penpal was Feltus Taylor Jr. who arrived on death row in 1992 and was executed on June 6, 2000. Jan and Feltus wrote each other hundreds of letters during those 8 years, and she visited him several times at Angola. You can see a photo of them together (during one of these prison visits) on this memorial page's top banner.
Feltus ended up writing his memoir while on death row, and he had asked people on his support team for help with getting the book published. Elsa Hahne from Louisiana State University wrote a beautiful article recounting how this assignment ended up being entrusted to Monique Morrison, a few years after Feltus died: https://www.lsu.edu/research/…
After a long process, Monique finally succeeded in securing a publisher for the book last year: the UK-based international publisher Bloomsbury, best known for having published Harry Potter. Per Feltus' expressed wishes, a significant part of the proceeds of the book will be distributed to his victims.
Because the memoir relates Feltus' entire life story, it includes the story of his friendship with Jan while he was on death row. There are several direct quotes by Jan throughout the book, including her explanation of how she and Feltus first connected:
"Feltus was the first death row prisoner to whom I had written. I was living in England at the time and as a result of watching a BBC documentary, I had joined an organization called “Lifelines.” This group provides support to DR prisoners in the United States, through correspondence. I was attending their bi-annual conference in London where Sister Helen Prejean was the main speaker. At the end of her speech, she held up a piece of paper and waved it, saying “I have three here, three names of men [who] just arrived on Louisiana’s death row, please come and take a name if you would like to write.” I went up to her and she handed me a piece of paper on which was written, “Feltus Taylor #93130” and the address at Angola."
Feltus' memoir (which is titled "Waiting to Die: One Man's Journey on Death Row") is scheduled to be released in two months, on April 16th, and the news we wanted to share with you is that it is now available for pre-order on Amazon in both the U.S. and the U.K., as well as directly through the publisher: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk…
We thought some of you might be interested to learn more about this important part of Jan's life which she did not always talk about with everyone. In a very thick binder dedicated to Feltus which she kept at her home, Jan had written:
"Over the years, I have also sadly learnt that not everybody thinks it's acceptable to extend forgiveness to one who has committed murder. I receive varied reactions to my interest in Death Row and Death Row prisoners. These reactions range from anger to understanding and sympathy. I have grown to believe that were everyone aware of all the facts surrounding these people and their lives, the response would be more compassionate. This is not meant to sound as if I am preaching, rather that on a pragmatic, logical level, one can only make an informed decision with the full story and factual information."
Below, we included what another penpal of Feltus wrote about the heartbreaking day when he was executed. That letter is not from the book. It was posted on the web, and so we assumed it is alright to repost it here, given that Jan was part of that experience.
Tesa and Linda
Goodbye to Mr. Smile - A Tribute to Feltus Taylor by Jane Officer
On June 6th 2000 the sun went down over Angola at exactly 8.30pm. At that moment Feltus Taylor was being killed by the state of Louisiana in Camp F and about 15 of us, his friends and supporters stood in a circle outside the main gates, holding hands and singing Amazing Grace. At 8.43pm a guard walked towards us and shouted ' Time of death, 8.40pm.' and returned to his post. Thoughts were very mixed up at this time; anger, shock, sadness and also a sense of relief... no one could ever hurt Feltus again.
This was my second experience of being in Louisiana for the execution of a friend. In July 1991 my first death row penfriend, Andrew Lee Jones, became the last man to be electrocuted to death in Angola. I had spent that night with Andrew's family at their home in the tiny town of Glynn, a ferry ride across the Mississippi. It was a truly shocking experience for my first ever visit to the US.
In May 1992, Sr. Helen Prejean was here in my home town of Birmingham, England speaking to the members of the LifeLines, a British DR penfriend's organisation. Later, she asked me, as the LifeLines Louisiana coordinator, if I would find someone to write to Feltus who had just arrived on DR. I wrote to him... and so did two other LifeLiners: Jan Macdonald and Carol Bowden. All three of us wrote to Feltus through all his eight years on DR. We became his other family. His mother and two sisters.
I first visited with Feltus in May 1993 and he asked me if I would please do the same for him as I had for Andrew... be there in the event of his execution. I agreed without hesitation but hoped it would never come to that. Over the years we wrote regularly and I visited at least once a year. Jan, Carol and I also kept in touch, which added to the 'circle of love and care'. Feltus always drew a smiley face on his letters and referred to himself as 'Mr. Smile'.
While on DR Feltus 'grew up' in many ways. He learnt how to paint, helped by another of my penfriends, Scotty Loyd, who was in the adjoining cell for several years. From Scotty he also learnt how to control his temper and reflect upon his misspent youth and acknowledge his responsibility for what happened to condemn him to death row. He started and later, completed his life story and began to discuss how he could say sorry to the victims of his crime. He wanted to do something positive about his life whether dead or alive.
In the last 15 months of his life Feltus had two 'serious' dates with stays at 36 and 11/2 hours. Jan and I were there both times and took his aged grandmother, Henrietta up to say her final 'goodbyes'. He found these stays very difficult to deal with but also, I believe gained strength and a deep religious belief from them, especially with the support of his exceptional spiritual advisor, Charlie deGravelles. But this June there was no stay. Feltus last day of visiting was reduced to no more than 3 hours by his court appearance but he took control of the time he had to talk with his family and friends and to draw us together in prayer and thanksgiving. It was a beautiful and unforgettable experience. We left at 5pm with heavy hearts but knowing he had those who loved him to see him through the darkest part of the day; Charlie, Jean Faria and Michelle Fournet.
Feltus died with dignity and with words of regret and comfort for his victims. He did not die in vain. His words and hopes will live on in the form of his book and the Feltus Taylor Foundation. His life brought people together in love and fellowship and I imagine him smiling and cracking his jokes till the end of time.
Goodbye, Mr Smile! I love you, my 'special' son.
Jane Officer, Birmingham, UK, July 2000
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