Friendship within "a world of pain"

Charles de Gravelles is a deacon in charge of the Episcopal Chapel of the Transfiguration in Angola, Louisiana. For 12 years he has been visiting the prisoners at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. This 24,000- acre prison is, says de Gravelles, "physically large, just an enormous piece of farmland. It was a plantation in the 18th and 19th centuries. Because many of the slaves who worked this property came from the country of Angola, that is how the land got its name."

There are more than 5,000 men in at the Angola penitentiary. About 80% are serving life sentences, and, says de Gravelles, "in Louisiana, these are real life sentences. These men are not coming out. There is a cemetery to accommodate those who die and there is a geriatric center for the aging population." In fact, de Gravelles was instrumental in bringing a hospice program into the prison – run by prisoners – to care for the aged and dying men. The prison itself has one main complex and several satellite complexes. "It is," says de Gravelles, "a hard place to live."

The hardness comes largely from the lack of hope. "It was, in the 1970s, known as one of the bloodiest prisons in the country," says de Gravelles. "Since then there have been a number of capable wardens who have gotten the prison up to standard. But it’s hard to be in prison when you’re not coming out. There is a lot of hopelessness and a lot of despair. The political climate in the state and in the country is not one that gives much hope for a pardon or parole."

In 1989, when de Gravelles started going to Angola, he was a layperson who, as he explains, "wanted to get my hands dirty with front-line ministry. Gradually, over time, the ministry grew and now we have a congregation that is a mission of the diocese."

As de Gravelles explains, "About 100 guys come to the monthly service. They come from different faith backgrounds. These guys are spiritually hungry and will go to any number of services."

Before or after services, de Gravelles visits the men. "I have the run of the place and will spend all day visiting guys," he explains. "I take communion with me, but I am really in the role of being a friend and supporter. Many men have no outside family who come to visit. We are their family."

Prisoners have also helped de Gravelles. "Lots of the men I’ve worked with have been there for me, just as I’ve been there for them," he says. "I see myself being a friend at a critical time."

Certainly the most critical time in anyone’s life is when he or she is facing death. For three years, de Gravelles worked as a spiritual advisor for a death row inmate who was executed in June 2000. De Gravelles describes Feltus Taylor, Jr. as "a remarkable fellow who did a horrible crime." They began by reading together, and then by talking about Taylor’s crime. "I encouraged him to write his story," says de Gravelles, "and he did write his autobiography." De Gravelles currently has an agent for the book and is trying to get it published. Taylor killed one woman and critically injured another who is now a paraplegic as a result of the crime. Proceeds from the book will be put into the Feltus Taylor Memorial Trust, with one-third of the profits going to the surviving victim and victims’ families, one-third going to Taylor’s grandmother and one-third going to fund programs for at-risk youth.

"Taylor was able to address the people who survived his crime," de Gravelles says. "He achieved peace and closure."

De Gravelles sees his time with Taylor "as the most meaningful work" that he has ever done. "How do you help a person deal with the death sentence? In some ways, it was like the work I do with hospice but it had a whole layer of issues about guilt. I helped him to try to make contact with the surviving victim of his crime so he could express his remorse. All of these were painful, hard, difficult issues that we worked through. He was just a wonderful man and it was gratifying to know I was there for someone in need."

This experience reinforced de Gravelles’ desire to see the death penalty abolished. "The feeling that you get," says de Gravelles, "is that it is a terrible waste. I’m not convinced this does a great deal for the people who are the victims of the crime either. Their pain and anguish is immense. It’s a difficult thing to reach out both to a perpetrator and a victim. But think of a man who has come all this way in his personal story and has changed. To kill a man is just such a waste, does no good and does a lot of harm. The death sentence is tragic. It’s a world of pain for families on both sides."– Camille Colatosti