Profile

Kenneth E. Foster

In the journey of life one thing that I can say we all search for is a genuine friendship. No matter of race, gender, age or situation we all would like to share dreams and hopes with someone.

Through all the writing I’ve done one thing I know must be done in correspondence is to be honest and sincere. From the good to the bad, we must be open and understanding to each others needs, feelings and experiences. This is how we learn and grow.

I spend most of my time working with anti-death penalty groups, activists and artists to bring change is multiple arenas. Be it with my poetry, essays or insights it’s what I love to do.

It’s my desire to reach out to the world and provide a new perspective of ones in situations like mine through a positive and conscious voice; be it politically or spiritually.

As we reach beyond the stigmas and critique we can discover the deeper meaning to our interrelation.

I close with this quote:

“To aim and destroy the body of man is no deed of recognition for valour, whether in war or in mortal conflict. But, to save a body, which is the temple of the soul, is an act and deed of the God-like.”

Kenneth the Person

Kenneth was born on October 22, 1976. Both of his parents were involved with the street life of drugs and crime throughout his upbringing. As a child he went from home to home and eventually settled with his grandparents when he was in the 4^th grade. Despite his personal struggles he still tried to accomplish things in life. He graduated from high school in 1995, went on to college in the fall (sociology major) and began a music business (Tribulation Records) in 1996.

While most would think being on death row would cause Kenneth to give up or become violent, quite the opposite is the case as Kenneth has grown into a stronger, spiritual person. Kenneth's thoughts, beliefs and actions are inspired by his studies of theology, philosophy, and the plight of African-Americans. He demonstrates this in his poetry, articles and interviews. It is Kenneth's desire to return to society and become a social activist where he can support popular movements for a just society.

The Case

Kenneth's conviction for the crime he is charged with came down to guilt by association. He and two others, Dewayne Dillard and Julius Steen, sat in a car while another co-defendant, Maurecio Brown exited the car alone white the car was parked. Without any discussion with the others about a robbery, Brown approached a woman named Mary Patrick, over 80 feet away up a residential driveway to ask her for her phone number. Brown was unexpectedly confronted by her boyfriend, Michael LaHood Jr., and Brown shot LaHood with Dillard's gun, which unknown to Kenneth, Brown had snatched off the seat as he jumped out of the car, The prosecution, due to other extraneous events, relied heavily on saying Kenneth knew a robbery was going to take place, when in fact that was never the idea from the start.

All four young men, including Brown, gave statements that implicated Brown as the shooter, but none of the statements indicated that a robbery was in progress. During Kenneth's State Appeal, Diliard testified that Kenneth was not part of any supposed plan to rob LaHood. In a recent affidavit, Steen has stated that he only suspected Brown might be robbing LaHood after Brown had exited the car and that he does not believe that Kenneth had any knowledge of a supposed plan to rob LaHood. The significance of these facts is that the only people who could have any knowledge of a supposed conspiracy to rob LaHood have all stated on the legal record that they do not believe such a conspiracy took place, thus exonerating Kenneth of any involvement in the shooting of LaHood.

For more information please visit the following websites:

www.freekenneth.com
www.kennethfoster.de
www.drivemovement.org

Address:

Kenneth E. Foster Jr. #999232
Polunsky Unit
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston, TX 97351
USA

Click here to visit Kenneth's writings / poems page

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