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Interviews
with the Condemned
Interview no.9 (2006-01-23)
For the ninth interview we choose Tim Pruitt who is also housed at Georgia's death row. Tim Pruitt has been on death row for over 9 years, but spent the last 14 years of his life in prison. We don't know a great deal on Tim other then the information you'll be able to find in his profile. We like to thank Tim for answering our questions. If you want to contact Tim please feel free to do so. Click here to view Tim's profile.
Personality: Name:
Tim
Pruitt
1: Question:
Where were you born and raised? Answer:
I
was born in
2: Question: Will you share with us what it was like for you growing up? (Did you have a pet, a favorite game, hiding place, or favorite toy? Were you raised by both parents, a single parent or relative?) Answer:
3: Question:
Do you have a favorite childhood memory? If so, what is it? Answer:
-
4: Question:
Did you like school? If so, share with us your favorite memory from your
school years. Answer: No, only thing I liked about school was seeing my friends and a couple of teachers that were cool.
5: Question:
What person or event impacted you most as a child? Answer:
My
sister Shelia. She always looked out for me, she was the oldest and I
was the youngest. She always took time to include me in things; she went
out of her way to be there for me.
6: Question:
What hobbies or activities did you participate in while growing up, e.g.
scouting, sports, etc. Answer:
Motorcycles,
hunting, fishing, and camping.
7: Question:
What was your first job? Please describe your duties/responsibilities
and whether or not you liked the job. Answer:
My
first “paying” job was at a chicken plant’s “clean up crew”
(cleaned the plant). It was a good job, nights laid back, hard work but
we had fun. Then I started working on a farm I grew up on. It was a 6 /
7 day a week thing, didn’t much enjoy the work but had plenty room to
play!
8: Question:
As a child or teenager, what did you want to do when you grew up? Why? Answer:
9: Question: Do you have a favorite movie or book? Please elaborate. Answer:
Non-fiction: - Taoist classics by Thomas Cleary vol’s 1-4 Fiction: - The wheel of time series by Robert Jordan
10: Question:
Where was the most beautiful or special place that you can remember
having visited? Please describe it. Answer:
I
used to visit a place up on the mountains where loggers had clear-cut an
area of about
11: Question: What is the funniest thing that ever happened to you? Answer: Me and my brother were fighting and we were 11 & 13. He knocked me through a wall into my sister’s closet. I came rolling out into her floor. We all ended up laughing at the look on her face. My bro only hit me in the chest and said “don’t want to mess up that pretty face.” That made us laugh that much harder.
12: Question:
What job or occupation did you have prior to your incarceration? Were
you employed at the time of your arrest? Answer: Yeah, I had a job catching chickens. It was hard work but a good pay. And short hours to, left me time for a day time job.
13: Question:
Were you involved with drugs or alcohol prior to your incarceration? If
so, please share the effects this had on your life. Answer: -
14: Question: What do you miss most about the outside world and why? Answer: I miss watching my son grow and learn. He was always so smart and always getting into things. He was only 6 when I got locked up. He always wanted to hang around me and to watch me work, doing his own little thing to help. He’s 20 now, grown into a good man with a good heart. After all he’s been through he still has an inquisitive mind and loves skydiving and motorcycles.
15: Question: What is the one thing you regret most? Answer:
Not
being a father to my son. Not being there for him while growing up.
16: Question:
Do
you have any strong spiritual or religious beliefs? If so do they
influence how you view the future? Answer:
Heaven
or Nirvana what ever you choose to call it isn’t in the future, it’s
in the here and now, in each passing moment, God, Goddess Buddha,
universal mind, whatever you believe isn’t the future, it’s now. So
why fixate on what has been or what might be and miss out on what is,
things are as they are for a reason, can you find that reason? Can you
from a selfless viewpoint see what is and let your spirit guide you? We
all have the ability, our spirits are eternal. I
practice awareness meditation. I take time each day to sit, and follow
my breath, let my mind still itself, it enables me to respond to life in
a better way, makes life a lot more enjoyable. Through the reality of
impermanence you’re able to not be so attached to things in the world
you start seeing what many blessings you do have instead of what you
don’t have or want to have! I
belief in reincarnation, that we are all connected through the journey
of our souls, that if we can just take the time to stop and see we will
see that life is a opportunity to grow and to be more conscious of who
we are and our connection to all life that we have.
17: Question: How important is it for you to have contact with your family, friends and/or the outside world? Please elaborate. Answer:
Very Important! Contact with the outside world is important, it keeps
you from feeling worthless and useless, Contact shows you that your life
means something to someone out there, that not everyone wants to make
you suffer then kill you. Mail call, visits, phone calls are all we have
in these death camps that let us know people care. The more support you
have from the outside world, the more strength you have to fight one
more day in this place. Knowing someone wants you alive and wants that
someday you’ll be free means more than words can say. The
darkness and despair of death rows can swallow you up, destroy your
spirit and will to live. Contact with the outside world brings light
into an otherwise dark world. It keeps your spirit alive and your will
to live strong. To feel love is the greatest gift this life has and to
be able to love in return.
18: Question:
Do you remember your first thoughts
when hearing the jury’s verdict of death as your sentence? Will you
share this experience with us, e.g. your thoughts, feelings, reactions? Answer:
When
I first heard the Jury’s verdict of guilty, it was a shock and
disbelief. On of those moments time stops or slows, asking myself how 12
people could think I was guilty after all the inconsistencies in the
evidence, how could they bring back a guilty verdict when so much
physical evidence undermined the state’s case. How? Kept running
through my mind.
19: Question:
What is a typical day like for you on
death row? Answer:
20: Question:
Do you feel that capital punishment
serves as a deterrent? Yes/No Please elaborate on you answer. Answer: No, it’s used more as a political tool than to deter crime, and it is only used at the poverty level of society. If you can hire attorneys at trial level you usually don’t end up on the row. People don’t think about punishment in extreme situations or circumstances. Capital punishment, DP & LWP isn’t handed out equally!
21: Question:
If you could change one thing in the
world today, what would it be and why? Answer: That people just be more aware of what’s happening around them, and realize every voice counts. That we are responsible for the actions our governments take. Billions are spent on wars, to take life, to force a way of life. Ideology only separates the world. First priority should be saving lives, taking care of the environment, ensuring the welfare of people, who are retired and struggling. We have to tell our leaders enough is enough. Start doing what we know in our hearts is right. Help those less fortunate than ourselves. Realize we are Stewarts of this planet it’s not ours, we must ensure the balance of nature for future generations. It doesn’t take a sage to see the world’s headed in the wrong direction. Only by understanding and selflessness can we make a difference.
22: Question:
If you could go back in time, where
and to what date would you travel and why? Answer: -
23: Question:
What has been the most important and
life-altering event you have experienced? Answer:
Being
convicted of murder and sentenced to death, when so much evidence proved
innocence, I couldn’t believe it.
24: Question:
What is the most important thing that
you want our visitors to know about you? Answer:
That
in my 14 years inside these cages I have come to know so much of how it
takes sincerity and honesty to give people the chance to see the person
you are inside. A friend sent me a prayer/poem the other day and a line
from it struck me as how people should treat each other.
25: Question: If you have anything else that you
would like included as a part of this interview, please share it with us
now. Answer:
That
I’m not the person the State portrayed me to be in court so long ago.
That witnesses lied, crucial evidence tampered with, evidence with held
from the Jury. That my trial attorney didn’t call any witnesses to
fight for me cause “he thought he already had the case won” since
trial my appeals haven’t helped cause no one will help, lawyers that
was on my case didn’t ever investigate alibi evidence, or challenge
witness tampering or the fact that evidence of innocence exist but
wasted 4 years and still didn’t force independent investigation of
evidence, when lots of physical evidence points to another suspect, not
me. That
at this time I have no attorney and no private investigator
and don’t have resources to get on. I’m not alone in this with no
one to fight for me, my friends are trying desperately to help, but
without someone with experience in death case appeals they’re at the
point they can’t get access to my file and neither can I. They are
doing all they can to help save my life, and sure could use all the help
they could get. Without an independent investigation and a lawyer
willing to stand and fight, I will probably be executed no matter the
issue of innocence. It doesn’t matter to the State or Government that
run these state sponsored, tax payer supported death camps. Like I said
earlier, every voice counts. I need help to save my life, so please
write me or contact my friends at freedomfortim@yahoo.com.
We are trying to build a defense team, and a set of websites to link to
one central site, any help with that would be appreciated. Thanks
to everyone who has taken the time to read this, and I sincerely hope to
hear from you. I
also hope as you go through your daily life that you will feel your breath in-out and see what’s happening in your world, and look at the
many blessings you have in life, instead of looking at what you don’t
have or want. See your life! Thank you again!
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Webmaster’s note: I have tried to type the handwritten answers as complete and correct as possible. There is always a possibility that a typo or so slips in. Please send an e-mail when you come across them. Thank you!
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