Erwin James had met and become friends with John Healy a few years before. He led a conversation after Healy had read extracts from 'The Grass Arena', that extraordinary chronicle of a man who, like James, spent many years in a personal Hell but 'recovered'. I do recommend that book if you are unfamiliar with it. I had been following James' column in the Guardian for some years and been impressed, as I was seeing him last year, with his intelligence, wisdom and humility. There are many who would have wanted this man executed: I think such a view is wrong, but part of James' own daily pain today should remind us to remember his victims at a deeper level than intellectual abstraction. Such exa...

Erwin James had met and become friends with John Healy a few years before. He led a conversation after Healy had read extracts from 'The Grass Arena', that extraordinary chronicle of a man who, like James, spent many years in a personal Hell but 'recovered'. I do recommend that book if you are unfamiliar with it. I had been following James' column in the Guardian for some years and been impressed, as I was seeing him last year, with his intelligence, wisdom and humility. There are many who would have wanted this man executed: I think such a view is wrong, but part of James' own daily pain today should remind us to remember his victims at a deeper level than intellectual abstraction. Such examples as Healy and James nourish our views about crime and punishment, and the conclusions we reach will tell us much about our own inner life.

I must admit that Erwin's story intrigues me more and more. Yesterday it was the first time I ever heard about him on BBC4:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mpn0n/Food_For_Thought_Making_Porridge_with_Erwin_James/

(I hope you can access it) and what amazed me more was the sound of his voice, the balance and confidence. I truly believe (well, another belief) that if there's something people can't fake (ok, only the most versatile ones ) is the voice, i mean the quality of voice, what the sound of it communicates without words. And he seemed to me so sincere, and it showed me a man looking for well - the word is 'meaning of life' ....things I do not usually associate with ex offende...

I must admit that Erwin's story intrigues me more and more. Yesterday it was the first time I ever heard about him on BBC4:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mpn0n/Food_For_Thought_Making_Porridge_with_Erwin_James/

(I hope you can access it) and what amazed me more was the sound of his voice, the balance and confidence. I truly believe (well, another belief) that if there's something people can't fake (ok, only the most versatile ones ) is the voice, i mean the quality of voice, what the sound of it communicates without words. And he seemed to me so sincere, and it showed me a man looking for well - the word is 'meaning of life' ....things I do not usually associate with ex offenders. It will be so very difficult from now on for me just to condemn (and this was so easy before).
Thank you for sharing some more about him. I'll check soon for his Guardian articles
Thanks again, Mia