People tell me to have faith, and I get it, I really do. I always want to have faith, but sometimes my mind is cluttered with so much doubt. They’ll try to encourage me and say things like, “You are so strong, Chucky,” meaning mentally. If only I had a penny for every time somebody told me that.
The truth is, they don’t see it, but sometimes things hit me out of the blue, and I cry for reasons I’m not totally sure of. I stress about everything, from small to big issues. I recently became a grandfather. I can’t tell you how it feels not being there for him. I failed as a parent to my own children. I see my grandson as my parental redemption ticket – however, I’m still locked up. And my stress continues.
Psychologically, there is nothing like being on Texas death row. Every day is a struggle within a struggle. You have to fight. You have to fight for toilet paper. You have to fight for commissary, a phone call, mail or Jpays, decent and edible food. And you have to keep on fighting just to be treated like a person and not some animal. What is even more insane is, just when you think you have resolved an issue, the next day you have to resolve it all over again. I think I’ve heard it said, “Hell is a repetitious place.”
I rarely talk about the things that go on here. I don’t talk about it to my loved ones, ‘cause I don’t want to worry them. If I knew they were worried, it would cause me more stress. So, I deal with it alone, as I have always done. Self-absorbed to self-abuse… self. I wouldn’t recommend that mind-set to anyone. It’s not ideal or healthy. But, in here, I know there is nothing any other human being can do to alleviate the inner loneliness.
Nehemiah once prayed to God, “Now strengthen my hands.” He had to fight every day and when he grew weary, and it seemed he could not go on, he prayed to God for the strength to endure. So do I. That’s how I get by. With God, I am able to get through this. Without God, I don’t believe I’d be alive to be able to write these words with the hands that God has made stronger.
There is also a facebook page dedicated to sharing Charles Mamou’s troubling case.
Photo, courtesy of ©manfredbaumann.com
TO CONTACT CHARLES MAMOU:
Charles Mamou #999333
Polunsky Unit 12-CD-53
3872 South FM 350
Livingston, TX 77351
You can also reach him through jpay.com.
SIGN HIS PETITION – LEARN ABOUT HIS CASE. Charles Mamou is a long time WITS writer. He is part of our writing family and his case has been studied and shared here for a couple years. Please sign a petition requesting that his case be truly investigated – for the first time. If you learn enough about his case, you will likely agree, there was not much done in the way of investigation. What we have been able to learn, supports that. Please sign.