News from death row

I had a letter from Irving today. He says:

We don't have acess to the prison laundry or even detergent. I wash my clothing in the state issue soap. Some guys wash clothes in the toilet, but I use my sink.....To dry I use my shoestrings. I hang one end on the light fixture and the bolt sticking out he back wall. I can only hang two articles at a time in order not to break the line. In the summer time when the wet air blows through the vents and the humidity is high, nothing dries.

He says he's no longer has access to the prison library and if he "doesn't get to read something, he'll go mad".

So. No work, no radio, no television, nothing to read, and no opportunity for redemption. And the US is supposed to be one of the most civilised countries in the world. Yes, I know this man committed (or probably committed) a vile crime. There are no excuses; not even his appalling childhood.  But he is a human being. What is any of this achieving?

I could weep.