ABSTRACT
This chapter is based upon the writings of Jarvis Masters, who currently resides on Death Row at San Quentin State Prison.1 Born in 1962, Jarvis was separated from his siblings and raised in foster care because his mother was addicted to drugs and his father had abandoned the family. For awhile Jarvis was content, but when the couple he was staying with became too old to care for him, his life took on a more destructive pattern. From nine or 10 years of age throughout his teen years, Jarvis was often in trouble and was a ward of the state. He was known as a young person who had a good sense of humor and a great deal of potential, but who continued in a downward spiral. When he was 17, he was released from the California Youth Authority and while he did not shoot anyone, he proceeded to hold up a string of stores and restaurants. Eventually he was caught and sent to San Quentin. Jarvis was 19 when he arrived at San Quentin. He joined a gang as many inmates do. In the course of events that followed, a correctional officer was killed. Jarvis was one of three inmates who were tried for the murder of the correctional officer. An older inmate ordered the killing, another inmate actually stabbed the officer, and Jarvis was accused of sharpening the metal that was used to stab the officer. For a variety of reasons, including Jarvis’s violent past, he was the only one of the three given the death sentence. Jarvis had been on death row since 1990. Facing the possibility of death in such a situation tends to either harden one’s heart or soften it; close one off or open one up. Since 1990, Jarvis has been through many changes. He has taken responsibility for the choices he has made. He has evolved through studying the practice of Buddhism to the point of dedicating himself to the practice of compassion and nonviolence to however long he has left. As he continues the appeals process through state and federal courts, Jarvis continues to write about the challenges and opportunities to be a peacemaker in the midst of a violent world. Each of the following excerpts are followed by questions for reflection and discussion.
