An Arab proverb says that he who wants to do something will find a way to do it, and he who doesn’t want to do something, will find excuses for not doing it. It echoes words that are often attributed to18th century Irish thinker Edmund Burke: “nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little” Finally, many know the famous quote from Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “we cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”

There are many different ways for the visitors of this website or the readers of Roger’s book to help. We name here just a few:

• Support organizations such as Amnesty International and the numerous organizations in the USA and elsewhere which oppose the death penalty.

• Consider becoming the pen pal of a death row inmate. Organizations such as * Life Lines in the UK and Ireland, Lifespark in Switzerland, Inside-Outside* in the Netherlands mediate between death row inmates in the United States and people who want to correspond with them. There are currently about 3500 death row inmates in the USA, many of which are still looking for a pen pal.

• If you are a US citizen, you can write a letter to your Congressman/woman or your Senator, explaining how you feel about the death penalty and current death row living conditions, stressing how harmful this all is for the image of the USA in the world. Send a copy of your letter to influent local/national newspapers.

• Contribute financially to Roger’s defence fund, or that of any inmate you are in contact with. Until it reaches the Supreme Court, an appeal can easily cost up to $200.000, a sum that few among the less fortunate Americans can afford (most death row inmates are nearly destitute).

• Meditate and pray. Roger is profoundly convinced of the power of sincere prayer. You can also visualize him as already free. Roger has more than once mentioned in his letters, that he never thinks of his own death. He never imagines himself being taken to the Walls Unit in Huntsville , where Texas death row inmates are executed. In a recent letter, he described himself as “floating” on people’s prayers. So, your positive thoughts, prayers, meditation are felt. They do make a difference to the world!

Work on yourself to eliminate all hate, animosity, desire for vengeance, or resentment from your thoughts. One way of doing this, which Roger discovered in prison, is the constant practice of blessing; blessing people, situations, events, moments, etc.

The death penalty still exists because so many people entertain thoughts charged with negative energy.

The day we, as a species, will have risen above this rather primitive level of consciousness; the death penalty will automatically disappear.

For instructions on how to contribute to Roger McGowen’s defence fund by credit card, check, wire transfer or PayPal please email:

* Pierre Pradervand * pierre@viveautrement.ch (In Geneva, Switzerland)

* Ronald Radford * Ron@ronaldradford.com (In St. Louis, MO, USA)

* Read about how to visit Roger *