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Interviews
with the Condemned
Interview no.11 (2006-03-05)
The
11th interview is held with Anthony
Ross, housed on California's death row for the past 23 years.
Personality: Name:
Anthony Ross
1: Question:
Where were you born and raised? Answer:
South Central Los
Angeles, California, but my family lived in several different cities:
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:
My
fondest childhood memories are visiting my maternal grandparent’s farm
in the summer. Nothing particular stands out. It was the way things
felt, looked, tasted, and sound. Being there I always had the sense that
there was more to life, more than the crap I was going through at home.
I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
4: Question:
Did you like school? If so, share with us your favorite memory from your
school years. Answer:
School was okay up
until 4th or 5th grade when I began to mentally drop out. I started to
notice how my teachers only seemed concerned with certain students, the
rest of us were left to fend for ourselves. The same day Huey Newton
walked out of jail for defending himself against a racist cop, I walked
out of my classroom because the teacher called me a nigger. I refused to
listen to her read the book “Little Black Sambo.”
5: Question:
What person or event impacted you most as a child? Answer:
My
stepfather . His violence. His rage. I was 5 the first time his fist
connected with my head. That single event would engender an anger within
me so profound it changed the course of my life. By age 7 I was already
contemplating ways to kill him. In school and on my street I learned to
settle every argument, every disagreement, and every misunderstanding
with violence.
6: Question:
What hobbies or activities did you participate in while growing up, e.g.
scouting, sports, etc. Answer:
I played baseball
mostly before dropping out of school. In the 7th grade I was on the
school team. But it was the street that held the most fascination for
me. I shot dice, pool, and guns. I got into every mischief a boy growing
up in a big city, with the streets as his playground, could get into.
Burglaries and stealing was my hobbies. I would eventually graduate to
more serious crimes.
7: Question:
What was your first job? Please describe your duties/responsibilities
and whether or not you liked the job. Answer:
I
had one job in my entire life. When I was 10 I became a paperboy for
exactly one month. One day on my route I found a small transistor radio.
Later that week one of my customers saw it dangling from my handlebars
and bought it for 15 bucks. That gave me an idea – I stopped selling
papers, for which I earned about 2 dollars a week; and started selling
whatever merchandise I could find or steal.
8: Question:
As a child or teenager, what did you want to do when you grew up? Why? Answer: I wanted to be an animator and work for Disney. I started drawing cartoons when I was very young, In the 4th grade I was one of five winners in a city wide drawing contest. Our prize was going to the Disney Studios and getting one-on-one of how Disney does animation. I was the only black kid. While there one of the animators told me, “Don’t worry, Kid. Niggers aren’t good at this sort of work.” I didn’t start drawing until I came to prison.
9: Question: Do you have a favorite movie or book? Please elaborate. Answer:
10: Question:
Where was the most beautiful or special place that you can remember
having visited? Please describe it. Answer:
11: Question: What is the funniest thing that ever happened to you? Answer:
A
friend and I sneaked onto the lot of Universal Studios in
12: Question:
What job or occupation did you have prior to your incarceration? Were
you employed at the time of your arrest? Answer: I was not employed at the time of my arrest.
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:
I was an
anomaly amongst my friend. I didn’t drink or use drugs. My high came
from a much more visceral and emotionally dark place. At age 12 I became
a member of The Crips gang. Violence was my drug, my ideology, my
religion. The name I was given by my friends was Evil. I was what I had
become, and the hell that burned within is what I visited on those who
came into my path.
14: Question: What do you miss most about the outside world and why? Answer:
Grass, trees, plants,
flowers – nature. Everything here is steel and concrete. My feet have
not touched soil in over 23 years. I have not smelled any plants, leaned
against a tree or walked on grass since I’ve been here. This is what I
miss most.
15: Question: What is the one thing you regret most? Answer:
It
is senseless to regret because you can not alter the past. Every event
of my life, no matter how bad, intersects with who I am now. I believe
to change a single event mean to change the whole fabric of my present
state, the connections I made with others and my self-transformation. I
am now self aware and have the ability to think critically. I wouldn’t
change this for anything, not even my freedom.
16: Question:
Do
you have any strong spiritual or religious beliefs? If so do they
influence how you view the future? Answer:
17: Question: How important is it for you to have contact with your family, friends and/or the outside world? Please elaborate. Answer:
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:
I
was 23 when the jury foreman read the verdict of death. My trial was a
joke, my judge was pro-prosecution, and I had an idiot for a lawyer –
The word “death” didn’t sting me, and I wasn't shock by it. In a
way I expected it. I had already walked out of the courtroom on 3
occasions, and when the verdict was read I walked out again. It was only
later, sitting in my cell, did the word numb me.
19: Question:
What is a typical day like for you on
death row? Answer:
Read
my prose entitles; Routines
(click the link)
20: Question:
Do you feel that capital punishment
serves as a deterrent? Yes/No Please elaborate on you answer. Answer:
I
was the 107th person on
21: Question:
If you could change one thing in the
world today, what would it be and why? Answer:
The
world’s dependency on fossil fuel. It is this dependency, more than
any other, that has placed the planet on a course of irreversible
damage. That has fuelled wars, environmental destruction, and the loss
of countless lives. Less dependency would mean newer and cleaner
substainable fuel has to be created with the global community in mind,
not just the wealthy nations.
22: Question:
If you could go back in time, where
and to what date would you travel and why? Answer: Day one: The Big Bang – to satisfy my human curiosity for the answer to the question of science vs. religion. To see firsthand the interconnectedness of all things. To see if this world was the only possibility of all possible worlds. And to ask God, if one does exist, just what in the hell was he thinking?
23: Question:
What has been the most important and
life-altering event you have experienced? Answer:
Self-realization:
This gave me the ability to transcend the pathological mentally that had
dictated my life. It reattached my spirit to something beyond the hell I
existed in. It revitalized my humanity and allowed me to contextualize
love and compassion in a way that was meaningful, healthy, and
unselfish.
24: Question:
What is the most important thing that
you want our visitors to know about you? Answer: That self-change is possible. Redemption is possible.
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: -
Visit Anthony's profile / writings Back
to interview introduction page. 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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