D&D General Dungeons & Dragons & Death Row

[ilgatto]

“The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.” (...)

By Ningauble! (Probably can't print what I wanted to.) Never heard that one.

And so utterly true in general, especially when it applies to one who has committed only minor transgressions in a life otherwise mostly good. Tongues do have a tendency to wag far too often.

I am not in any way implying that this applies to any of the convicts in Snarf's story, obviously. Murder has always been #1 on my list of no-nos, but I simply do not know enough about their cases to be able to say anything sensible about them.

What I will say is that the story reminded me of how D&D has enriched my life no end, how it has taught me things, how it has opened my eyes to the world and the people in it, how it has been a companion through the best of times and the worst of times (another quote, obviously).

I do believe that the story suggests that D&D has done much of the same for the convicts.

 

[MGibster]

This is a beautiful, heartbreaking story about the humanity of those we throw away.

Let's keep in mind that Tony Ford, the first prisoner mentioned in the article, and his accomplice forced their way into a home to rob them. And even after their demands were met, Ford shot three people, Armando Murillo, Myra Murillo, and Lisa Murillo. Both Lisa and Myra survived, but Armando was killed. Dude only made it to 18. The article did a great job avoiding any details of their crimes in order to invoke a sense of sympathy. We didn't just throw them away, they earned their place.

That said, I'm not a fan of brutalizing prisoners and I'm happy they're able to pass the time. It's better for the mental health of the prisoner and I think it ends up being safer for staff as well. And while these folks are on death row and unlikely to be released, most prisoners are going to end up being released so making sure we minimalize trauma is a good thing if we want them to function in the real world.

The subject of D&D in prisons comes up from time-to-time. I remember reading about a mobster from Vermont who learned how to play AD&D in prison. It's wild listening to a wise guy talk about his druid during an interview.

 

[dave2008]

Let's keep in mind that Tony Ford, the first prisoner mentioned in the article, and his accomplice forced their way into a home to rob them. And even after their demands were met, Ford shot three people, Armando Murillo, Myra Murillo, and Lisa Murillo. Both Lisa and Myra survived, but Armando was killed. Dude only made it to 18. The article did a great job avoiding any details of their crimes in order to invoke a sense of sympathy. We didn't just throw them away, they earned their place.

Just to be clear, this is what the article says about the case and Ford (I added the parenthetical attribution of "he" as I skipped some lines):

"A few minutes later, they returned, breaking down the door and demanding money and jewelry. One opened fire, killing Murillo’s 18-year-old son, Armando....He (Ford) has maintained that the two men who entered the house were brothers, and that he was outside in the car the whole time. There was no physical evidence clearly connecting him to the crime. He was so confident that a jury would believe him that he rejected a plea deal and took his case to trial in July 1993. He lost. By October, at age 20, he was on death row."

 

[Reynard]

Let's keep in mind that Tony Ford, the first prisoner mentioned in the article, and his accomplice forced their way into a home to rob them. And even after their demands were met, Ford shot three people, Armando Murillo, Myra Murillo, and Lisa Murillo. Both Lisa and Myra survived, but Armando was killed. Dude only made it to 18. The article did a great job avoiding any details of their crimes in order to invoke a sense of sympathy. We didn't just throw them away, they earned their place.

That said, I'm not a fan of brutalizing prisoners and I'm happy they're able to pass the time. It's better for the mental health of the prisoner and I think it ends up being safer for staff as well. And while these folks are on death row and unlikely to be released, most prisoners are going to end up being released so making sure we minimalize trauma is a good thing if we want them to function in the real world.

The subject of D&D in prisons comes up from time-to-time. I remember reading about a mobster from Vermont who learned how to play AD&D in prison. It's wild listening to a wise guy talk about his druid during an interview.

I cannot respond and remain within the bounds of forum rules.

 

[TheSword]

By Ningauble! (Probably can't print what I wanted to.) Never heard that one.

William Shakespeare, from Mark Anthony’s speech at the forum. One of the great speeches.

Not a perfect fit but I don’t how else to say what I feel about the folks in the article.