Telling Rocky’s Story

Wall at the National Museum of African American History

I am Rocky Myers’ lawyer. He is on death row in Alabama, and is out of appeals. That means that clemency from the Governor is the only thing that will prevent his execution by the State. When Rocky lost his last appeal, he told me that he did not want clemency. He said he was tired, and he didn’t want to beg anyone for his life. I told him that he was in luck because I would be doing the begging and it didn’t bother me. But, a much more serious conversation followed. I told him that clemency was mostly something on paper in Alabama, that it had only been granted once—to a white lady on the Governor’s last day in office. I told him that I hoped and prayed he would get clemency, but that I was not going to lie to him about the odds. I also told him that if he would let us pursue clemency on his behalf that we would tell his story to anyone we could get to listen. We would tell people about all of the things that went wrong in his case. And we have been telling his story. Rocky and each of us on his legal team are hopeful Rocky’s story will help people understand the problems with the justice system in Alabama, in America. We also hope it will help stop other stories like Rocky’s from happening.

Last week, I had an amazing experience. It brought up a lot of different feelings and emotions and has taken me some time to process. First, I am feeling so much gratitude—for my job, for my co-workers (and former co-workers), and for opportunities that have come to me through these. Haley Johnson, an intern at our office last summer, was captured by the story of one of our clients—Rocky Myers. And, she invited Sara Romano, Rocky’s investigator, and I to come speak at Howard University School of Law. One of her professors, the amazing Robin Konrad, is a former co-worker, who also invited us to speak to her death penalty seminar class and snagged us an invite to be interviewed for a podcast by the Death Penalty Information Center. So, yesterday, Sara the Great and I had a whirlwind of talking about Rocky at three different presentations. I am always grateful to be able to speak about Rocky—so gratitude was definitely at the forefront all day yesterday.

Contemplation Court fountain at the National Museum of African American History

Sara and I had a break between our morning podcast interview and our Howard University presentations, and we were able to get into the National Museum of African American History. Again, I felt gratitude for this experience. But the tour of this museum brought up so many more emotions, shame at the horribleness of white people; sadness for the countless human beings treated as chattel, tortured, killed, separated from family—just immense sadness; amazement at the resilience, courage, strength, and sheer audacity of those individuals surviving these atrocities and fighting for civil rights—and those that continue that fight today; curiosity to learn more and know more so I can help be part of making a better world; and so many other emotions that I still haven’t processed out.

Coins in the fountain at the National Museum of African American History

Unfortunately, our time was limited so we were only able to do the first three levels of the six-level museum. But, our last stop was the contemplation room that contains a stunning fountain surrounded by benches. I took a seat on one of those benches and I watched adults and children of all races move around the room taking it all in. I clutched a penny in my grasp and I thought about everything I had seen over the day, I thought about the work that I do and the clients that I see and the variety of racism they have encountered and the systemic racism that has held them in place, I thought about clients that have died in prison or who have been executed. Then, I tossed that penny in the fountain and I wished for strength, courage, hope, creativity, and the ability to continue fighting.

Students at Howard University School of Law

Our next stop was Howard University School of Law and an onslaught of emotions continued. It was amazing to journey from seeing the ravages of slavery, Jim Crow, and racism to seeing real images of Black Excellence. The students were awesome. They were welcoming, beginning with a super nice young man that walked two strangers helping them find where they were supposed to be speaking. The students were curious, interested, invested, and itching to get into the fight. They asked questions, made comments, and asked about how to get involved. They were moved by Rocky’s story, but also understood that Rocky’s story isn’t that unique—that it is the story of too many poor people and people of color that become involved in the justice system. At the end of our presentations, they approached with more questions, with offers of help, with hugs, and some of the kindest words I’ve ever heard. As an aside, my favorite comment goes to the student that also included how stylish I am—she was totally the best student present :). In all seriousness, the juxtaposition of visiting the museum and then going to Howard School of Law was a powerful one.

It made me think back to the wish I made in the contemplation room, and I realized this amazing time with students had given me renewed strength, courage, hope, and I found myself again so very grateful.