INTERVIEW WITH REGINALD BLANTON

BY
CHRISTOPHER YOUNG
I met Reginald Blanton in February 2007, we clicked like we knew each other our whole life. Reg is
the person I credit for my enlightenment and growth. I love him dearly like he was my blood
brother.
Recently Reg has received an execution date for October 27th, Reg has maintained his innocence,
punched numerous holes in the district attorneys accusations, and did what society said he could'nt
do, rehabilitate himself. Although I don't think he ever needed to.
During his appeals, Reginalds attorneys fumbled the ball and failed to raise numerous claims in one
stage, which barred him from raising those same claims in future stages. (see his myspace page for
for details www.myspace.com/freereggieb
Here is just a small insight into a Magnificient Mind, please help save my brother.

CHRIS:-
FOR THOSE WHO HAS NEVER HEARD OF YOU, INTRODUCE YOURSELF

REG
What I think is important for people to realise is, first I AM…not a death row prisoner. I am not
any of the hideous images that floods the minds of people when they hear “Death Row” prisoner;
that floods their minds with bogeymen and all of the worst things the imagination conjures up out of
the darkness; and darkness is exactly what it is—ignorance. I AM…not TDC 999395. On the other
hand, I’m much more than a Black man wrongfully convicted. Much more than my Mama’s baby;
much more; much more than a husband; much more than my brother’s keeper.
I am my community. I AM a reflection of everything good within the soul of that community. I
am love and sacrifice; passion and discipline. Sometimes I realize I’m one with the universe,
sometimes…when I’m not spending too much time ruminating over the State of Texas trying to
dismember me from the rest of my self; the rest; the community.
CHRIS
BREAKDOWN A TYPICAL DAY FOR YOU, BEING THAT YOU ARE LOCKED UP IN A
CELL 22 HOURS A DAY

REG
Hmm, I’m probably waking from some intense dream I had since it seems like the intensity of
my predicament, has stimulated a part of me that is now speaking to me through my dreams, while
reflecting on the images I can remember to search out its meaning; reflecting on the type of energy
I’m feeling as a result of the dream, deciding if I should sort of sit in that energy or channell it into
the universe as a sort of spiritual jujitsu, if I feel the energy is negative; channelling it into
manifesting MY truth, not what the state of Texas thinks is truth. I’m talking about Justice,
freedom, these principles that is suppose to make our Nation so great.
After this is done, maybe while washing up or pacing my cage with some coffee, I try to fight
—no, not necessarily fight, but cultivate a certain type of Atmosphere from inside me out around
me, filling the air I breathe, coating the walls and floors with something, I don’t know, maybe light;
yes, as if I’m surrounding myself with a light barrier to protect me from all of the bogeymen that
now haunt my mind, heart and spirit; bogeymen that were created out of the imaginations of the
people who either created this system called the Death Penalty or those that allow it to persist out of
ignorance.
Once I’ve cultivated this atmosphere, then I sit down, maybe with the Kings of Leon or Chris
Cornell playing on my radio, and I do what I’m doing now—try to be heard and understood. TO BE
bruh, to be reconnected with the rest of me.
CHRIS
I KNOW YOUR GOOD AT SIMPLFYING COMPLEX SITUATIONS, SO TELL US
WHAT BEING ISOLATED IN A CELL CAN DO TO A HUMAN BEING OVER TIME.

REG
(laughing) I’ve been accused of complicating simple things. Infact I think I’m the most
complicated person I know, with an extremely complicated life. But I think I’ve partially answered
this a minute ago. I could easily reference the essay I wrote on sensory deprivation, (recognizing
psychological warfare, highlighting all the symptoms psychologist have found to result from such a
said state of confinement, but I cultivate that atmosphere I was talking about to partially fight or
protect myself those bogeyman-like symptoms that I’ve not only experienced but I’ve found,
through asking other death row prisoners for their opinion on the essay, that may others suffer the
corresponding symptoms as well.
But there’s more to the symptoms. There’s something beyond measurement that I experience.
A feeling, a sort of thing that tries to take control over my peace, over my emotions. I mean, I’m
thrown in this concrete tomb to remind me that the state intends for me to DIE here; to die when I
know I deserve to live. This is the most humiliating thing I’ve ever experienced. No matter where I
turn, I’m entombed. I’m entombed because I cant be self reliant. I must depend on others for
everything. Oh, and how devasting the blow when these others show you you cant depend on them,
cant depend on them to feed you, shower you, recreate you. That you cant always depend on them
to respond to your letters or see the necessity in persuing an objective I need persued.
(looking around) All this entombs bruh. It strives to entomb you in helplessness and
hopelessness. I’m entombed by the people and their stereo-types, their bogeymen. If I speak with
anger and intelligence, then I’m a militant. If I speak of innocence then I’m merely a groveling,
spineless murderer condemned to death and only trying to save my hide. I’m entombed by those
that remain stand-offish to me.
Then my own lawyer entombed me, by ignoring my legal concerns, not filing my innocence
claims to the court as to perserve them for further appeals, and because of this, the Federal court
entombed me by procedurally barring these claims my lawyer refused to file, while blaming me for
my attorney’s wrongdoing. So everywhere you look you see, ironically, exactly what they try to
label us as: The worst of the worst.
But these bricks that they have been using to build this tomb, their tomb, I’ve taken and began
stacking them brick by brick, making myself something. I’ve made me something and I will keep
using these bricks to help me reach the pinnacle of my being. Yet everybody doesn’t transform
adversity into stepping stones. Many turn them into tombstones.

CHRIS
GIVE US YOUR VIEWS ON THE DEATH PENALTY

REG
I think the Death Penalty represents our lower self, the worst in us, not the worst of the worst in
society, but the worst in us as a whole. It’s reflective of our refusal, as a nation, to change; to
change our philosophical and ideological approach to all those things that creates the atmosphere
that stimulates the worst in us. One of the most absurd facts I’ve found is how the masses are under
the illusion that death row prisoners are so violent that they can’t be imprisoned around other
prisoners and must be put to death. All murders are a sin against humanity. However the absurdity
is that they say that a person who kills somebody and robs them of case is more violent than a serial
killer. By law, the former can receive a death sentence, whereas the serial killer can only receive
multiple life-sentences.
There are various sound reasons that call for abolition, but prosecutors and even politicians
would allow the people to remain ignorant to protect their profession. Or else they would cease with
propagating “worst of the worst” rhetoric.
How about the millions of tax payers’ dollars that the state squanders in paying for killing a
human being, when they could cut cost in half, saving a million dollars per prisoner by imprisoning
them with life sentences. Then those millions of dollars that are saved can be used for better
rehabilitation and victims advocacy programs.
The Death Penalty is a vicious cycle of death eating at the moral fabric of society, devouring
lives unnecessarily.

CHRIS
DO YOU THINK ABOLISHING THE DEATH PENALTY CAN BE A DETERANT TO
CRIME? IF SO HOW.

REG
Interesting (raised eyebrow) Kind of a leading question, huh bruh? You know studies have
found that the crime rate was higher in states with the death penalty than those without it. But this
has been known since the Furman vs Georgia ruling that brought the death penalty to its knees in
1972. In fact it was one of the things Justice Thurgood Marshall pointed out. The death penalty is an
experiment in retribution and deterrance that has gone awry. And it appears that this philosophy of
death is merely creating more death. Logic goes: killing a body doesn’t kill a body of thought. We
need another approach to heal ourselves.

CHRIS
YOU HAVE BEEN ON DEATH ROW CLOSE TO 10 YEARS NOW, WHAT HAVE YOU
DONE TO STAY FOCUSED?

REG
Using the methods I previously spoke of to get my day started to focus on my goal of freedom.
I live by a philosophy of freedom, I strive to free myself of all my misconceptions to open myself to
myself to clear those clouds out so the light inside me can flow forth. And so with that light I flow.
You see, that which you think you become. An what you become you also leave in your wake. If
you consume your thoughts with a philosophy of retaliation and death, you become that. You leave
that behind; If you consume your thoughts with a philosophy of love and freedom, you also become
that, and create that love and freedom. Your philosophy of life determines your experience. For me,
pain and struggle are questions with their own answers. Don’t get me wrong the dark sometimes
brings me to my knees. I lose focus and feel helpless and hopeless. But the light, the love, the life in
me pushes me forward, even if I’m crawling; it all pushes me forward, striving to manifest itself
around me. I have given myself to something, I cant turn away from. The truth in me wont let me,
Yet this is only part of the picture. Because my Queen, Sandie, in my eyes personifies these ideals.
So in my mind, an image of her arms open to me is my freedom, my light, my life, my love, my
focus.

CHRIS
TELL US THE IMPORTANCE OF PRISONERS BUILDING PEN-PAL FRIENDSHIPS
WITH PEOPLE IN THE FREEWORLD.

REG
I sort of have an antagonistic perspective of the pen-pal system. Nobody in my life, that’s
fighting for my life, came to me through any pen-pal system. Albeit I met my wife through a friend
who met her through the pen-pal system. But I will say, if it wasn’t for the people in my life; I
would be voiceless. My fate would probably be sealed and in the hands of the state of Texas.

CHRIS
RECENTLY YOU HAVE RECEIVED AN EXECUTION DATE, HOW HAS THIS
IMPACTED YOU, MENTALLY, PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY.

REG
 Oh my god. It’s just too much to say on this. It’s like trying to describe what love is. All I can
say is if the universe can be understook in a raindrop, then what I felt when I found about their
date, can be understood in the piece I wrote that day (Death Salivates) which can be found in the
blog section on my myspace page.

CHRIS
HOW CAN PEOPLE HELP YOU

REG
Well, first I think its important for everybody to understand that I’m in Texas, a state notorious
for playing by their own rules, going back to when they were the last state to officially end chattel
slavery. Even now, Governor Rick Perry doesn’t want to accept any of the funds from President
Obama’s stimulus package, nevermind the ridiculous unemployment rate in our state. He even
supported Texas seceding from the United States of America, to become something of a nation unto
itself. However this is just context.
In may of 2002 Napolean Beasley was facing execution here in Texas. This brother was a
juvenile at the time he commiitted his crime which he repeatedly showed remorse for, from trial, all
the way to his execution. He knew what he did was wrong and blamed his ignorance for it. He
wasn’t a criminal, though he committed a crime murdering the father of a judge I believe. So the
pro-death penalty proponents couldn’t use the argument that he didn’t show remorse to manipulate
the people into thinking him a monster deserving of death, though this wasn’t his reason for
showing remorse.
Napoleon had massive support in various countries with members of parliament reaching out to
Gov.Perry asking him to give the juvenile a life sentence. None of this support meant anything to
Gov.Perry. He told Napoleon supporters that they had no say-so in Texas matters, which sadly to
say, is true. But he did say that it would be a different story if that up-swelling of support came from
Texans, who are invested in his political career.
I’m not saying that it is futile for Non-Texans to participate in petitions. What I am saying is we
have to deal with Texas in a way that they understand. We need to continue to build support
everywhere, to gain exposure, everywhere, even sign petitions, write clemency letters. But we need
to use our support outside Texas to educate support inside of Texas. The way we do this is through
connections. We all know somebody that knows somebody. I have spoken before about circles of
influence, which everyone has. People have to build support within that circle of family, friends,
and family and friends of those friends etc. Those pockets of support must appeal to those whose
political careers they are invested in, or those organizations that have an obligation to them. We
then have to use the weight of the politicians or organizations word or their connections to appeal to
various political figures within this state. We have to use our support to generate support and
exposure here in Texas.
People should read my interview with Dee Martin, as well as my pieces, “The Care Package”
“contradicting justice” and the statement for August 17th Rally” then join my yahoo support group,
through my myspace page. www.myspace.com/freereggieb

CHRIS
BRUH, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THIS, I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH, DO YOU HAVE
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO ADD?

REG
Well, I want to thankyou for opening yourself to me and finding me a worthy teacher. I
thankyou for being to strive to realize your highest potential despite your deplorable circumstances.
I think we need to start questioning things more; start questioning our system more; start
questioning ourselves more. We should strive to break any barriers that keep us from realizing our
highest potential, barriers that keep us from reaching over and embracing another.
 And we must remember oppressive systems, any system whether a political system, legal
system or system of thought that is oppressive in the since of hindering our advancement, only the
people can change these things.
I love you bruh; and I shine everything I am on y’all. And in the words of W.E.B Dubois:

“There is in the world no such force as the force of a man determined to rise.
The Human soul cannot be permanently chained.”

AUGUST 2009

CHRISTOPHER YOUNG MYSPACE PAGE

www.myspace.com/chrisyoungtxdr

REGINALDS PAGE
www.myspace.com/freereggieb
http://reginaldblanton.ning.com