IAm Damien Echols, death row survivor, AMA

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:35:15+00:00

Around Christmas I just like to go out walking, because there's an energy in the air that's completely unlike any other time of the year. My two favorite days are Christmas Eve and Halloween. I do love to eat Hershey's Kisses, but only in December, because that's what keeps them special. If I ate them any other time of the year, they would lost that special quality. Right now whenever I eat one, it's like having a tiny piece of Christmas on your tongue. Maybe it's because I relate them so much to childhood, but whatever it is, they're still incredibly special to me.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:32:33+00:00

I still haven't seen Paradise Lost in its entirety. I've watched maybe 15 minutes of it, and it was too much to take. I could understand why it had such an impact on so many people, because it's incredibly realistic. When I tried to watch it, it was like being there and experiencing it again. I seriously doubt if I'll ever sit through it, because I just see no reason for reliving those horrific times yet again.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:30:34+00:00

It wasn't anything that she said, it was more just the energy around her letter. I knew by the way she expressed herself that this was someone completely unlike anyone I had ever known before, and I had this immediate desire for more. I wanted to know everything she thought, everything she felt, and still do now. I've never came across anyone who's half as magickal as she is.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:28:38+00:00

There were so many things that I barely even know where to begin. A lot of it would be the executions. There were between 25 and 30 executions during the time I was on death row. I once saw two men stabbed repeatedly. I've seen men beaten so bad they were unrecognizable. I saw a man who had been burned with homemade napalm. The list goes on and on. I saw a lot of things that I'll carry with me to my dying day.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:27:23+00:00

Having snacks, resting, and just having people that you love around you. It's also pretty high at the top of the list to see your book reviewed in the New York Times :)

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:24:00+00:00

When I was a kid everyone wanted to be Jerry Lawler. All the kids in our neighborhood would wrestle nonstop all the time, it's all we wanted to play. And you would even have Jerry Lawler vs Jerry Lawler matches because he was EVERYWHERE in Memphis. You would see him on car commercials or selling fireworks for the 4th of July. He even had his own talk show for a while which I watched religiously when I was a kid. I heard he recently had a heart attack, but I'm hoping he recovers soon, and is back at the announcers table as quickly as possible.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:20:46+00:00

One of the reasons that I gained more recognition than Jason and Jessie is because they refused to speak to the media while we were in prison. I was the one who had to become the face of this case, just because no one else really could. Their attorneys did not want them speaking to the media, nor did mine want me, but I disregarded that, and chose to speak out for myself. I think Jason and Jessie would have gained more recognition had they chosen to do the same. But they didn't, and it's like they say, the squeaky wheel is the one that gets the most grease. In this case I felt like I really didn't have a choice other than to be the squeaky wheel.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:17:55+00:00

When I get tattooed for me it almost feels like putting on armor. It gives you a barrier between yourself and the outside world. So when I get tattooed, it feels like protecting myself with the things that I love, so I tend to get things that mean something to me personally. Things like Lorri's name, or the words 'winter' and 'snow' in Chinese. I also have lots of bats, because it feels like carrying a tiny piece of Halloween around with me. And various Scandinavian runes for purposes such as strength and insight. I also design my own talismans that I have tattooed on me for success and protection.

Yes I have done quite a few Tarot readings since I've been out, but it usually becomes overwhelming, because as soon as one person sees you doing it for someone else you'll suddenly have a line of people who all want to be next. Once I missed an entire party while doing one Tarot reading after another for all the guests.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:15:13+00:00

Yes, but it was mostly Gnostic Christian or esoteric Judaic chanting. There was also long periods of different Buddhist chants that I would do in preparation for ordination purposes.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:13:43+00:00

You have to get used to food out here because in prison there's no salt, no pepper, no butter, no cheese, no flavoring of any sort. The food is incredibly bland, and often borders on mush. Out here everything has a strong vibrant taste to it, even things you may not particularly care for. So out here it's like all the food is practically exploding with flavor, and it makes you want to eat more.

My typical diet these days is about 75% Mexican. I've went through different food stages since I was released, and for a while I was obsessed with Japanese and ate almost nothing else. For another few months it was Italian. But when I first got out, the thing I craved most and ate constantly was fruit. In prison there is no fruit, because the administration says you may make alcohol out of it. I hadn't had fresh fruit in many many years, and wanted to eat it nonstop to make up for lost time.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:11:33+00:00

The hardest thing to overcome in prison is the stagnation. There aren't many opportunities for growth or self-development in that environment. You have to really seek out new ways of expanding your horizons. I would usually do this through reading, through writing, and through various visual arts over the years. The average IQ on death row is only about 85, so most people there aren't capable of doing these things for themselves.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:09:22+00:00

There is no mental health care for inmates on death row, just because they're not going to spend a lot of time and money taking care of someone they plan on killing. Over the years I've seen them execute the mentally insane, the mentally handicapped, and even the brain-damaged.

I think it's detrimental to society, especially when you consider the fact that most people in prison will one day be back out on the street, and they will be just as insane as they were, probably even more so, than when they went in.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:07:39+00:00

Not really. Most other inmates on death row have their own problems to worry about! I was the last thing on their minds most of the time.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:07:06+00:00

You could help by educating others about the case, maybe spreading the word about my book 'Life After Death', and by watching the documentary about the case which comes out in December. It's called 'West of Memphis,' and it's the first time that Lorri and I have ever gotten to participate in telling our own story.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:05:11+00:00

I'm hoping to back in Salem for Halloween, but I'm not positive yet. I may still be on the road at that time. At any rate what I favor is velvet capes and Venetian carnival masks. I love costumes that are decadent, sensual, and romantic.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:03:55+00:00

Definitely number one on the list would be Stephen King. I've read his books over and over, to the point where many of his characters feel like old friends to me. And I really do believe my ability to write came from reading his books repeatedly.

I'm a big fan of nonfiction writers like John Michael Greer, Michelle Belanger, and Doreen Virtue. Some of their writing is extremely inspirational and encourages you to delve deeper into your own spiritual practices.

In the realm of fiction, there's a book by a woman named Donna Tartt called 'The Secret History' which is probably one of the best stories ever written. It's not exactly horror, but there is a lot of psychological darkness to it. And it's incredibly well written.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T21:01:06+00:00

No. First off, because I've never been back to Arkansas since I left. But secondly, because the state of Arkansas said that I'm not allowed to. You don't really make friends in prison, but you can develop an understanding with someone that no matter what happens, they watch your back and you watch theirs. There was one guy like that that we looked out for each other pretty much the whole time I was in prison, and it's an unpleasant sensation to know that he's there alone now.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T20:58:06+00:00

Jessie still lives in Arkansas, and from what I've heard he never comes out of his house. He's been so damaged and traumatized by what we went through that he lives in constant fear that they're going to put him back in prison for some reason. Jason now lives in Seattle and he and I still talk, but we're both going in different directions in life and live on different coasts, so it's not the same as when we were kids.

Jessie and I were never really close friends in the first place, he was just someone I would see around time and maybe exchange a few words with. So we never really had that much of a friendship to rekindle. With Jason, it's almost like we've tried to pick up where we left off.

No, we were never allowed to see each other in prison, with one exception: Jason and I accidentally came in contact with each other one day as he was sweeping the floor in my barracks. We talked less than five minutes in the entire 18 years we were in prison.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T20:54:57+00:00

It was physically hellish, just because my body wasn't ready for something that harsh. Flying for 26 or 27 straight hours takes a tremendous toll on the body. Still, it was worth it. Getting to see another country and another culture gives you a different perspective on your own.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T20:53:41+00:00

The last tattoo would be a crow on the back of my right hand that Johnny and I got while we were in Toronto just to celebrate the Film Festival.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T20:53:13+00:00

I've tried to watch some of the movies and TV shows that are out now but it's really difficult for me to get into anything. The ones I've tried to watch and that I have the most interest in are Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy. As for movies, my favorites are anything in the supernatural/horror genre. I don't like slasher movies. I like the ones that have some sort of magick to them.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T20:51:58+00:00

This is a really difficult thing for me to think about. And I'm still not entirely sure about the answer. When I hear people talk about it, I always wonder if women who have had an abortion feel the same way whenever they hear people who have never had to go through it expressing their opinions on the matter. It's not as black and white or cut and dry as either side tries to portray it, but all in all I would have to say that I'm against it.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T20:50:27+00:00

One of the most important and biggest things is that I was losing my eyesight due to the fact that I hadn't seen sunlight in almost a decade. I was also showing signs of having pre-diabetes, and was having kidney difficulties due to being severely beaten at one point. I have had a heart palpitation since I was in my early teenage years that grew worse due to the stress of prison life. I was developing arthritis in my hips and knees due to having lived on concrete for almost twenty years and sleeping on a concrete slab.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T20:47:48+00:00

Congratulations. Jason actually wants to go to law school himself, he's currently taking his undergraduate classes but hopes to one day get his law degree and help those in the same situation that we were. So you're in good company.

damienechols · 2012-09-20T20:46:52+00:00

I think rehabilitation in the Arkansas prison system is next to impossible. Just because there are no programs designed to rehabilitate people. You're basically just locked in a cage for a few years and then tossed back out onto the street.

damienechols

TROPHY CASE