An Interview with April Moore, Author of Folsom's 93: The Lives and Crimes of Folsom Prison's Executed Men

A year or so ago, I came across April Moore's blog about the 93 men that were executed at Folsom Prison. With my own connections to two executed men and to Folsom Prison, where my brother served thirteen years, I was intrigued.  This past week, I read April's book, Folsom's 93: The Lives and Crimes of Folsom Prison's Executed Men. If you are a fan of true crime or just a history buff, you will love this book. I did.  And the book's genesis is totally cool. April's Aunt Betty had this box filled with the mugshots of these men and a history of Folsom. Being more curious than a five-year-old kid on Christmas eve, I wanted to know more about Aunt Betty and Uncle Tom and how they acquired these historical treasures.  

The book is about each of the 93 men, their crime and details from their execution.  It also includes details about California history, as well as Folsom's history.  All of the executions took place before 1937 and the amount of time from crime to execution date is incredibly brief. A lot of research went into the writing of this book!

I asked April if she would answer a few of my questions and she graciously accepted my offer.

DW:  As a reader, I wanted to know more about your family and how they acquired these records. Have you ever written about that?

April Moore:  I wrote a blog post last year that had a little more detail than the introduction does, about how my great-great uncle acquired the records. You can read about it here. I kick myself for not asking my aunt more questions about it before she passed away several years ago, but at that time, I never imagined writing a book about them. I suppose some things are meant to remain a mystery.

DW:  What was the most difficult aspect of writing Folsom’s 93?

April Moore:  I'd have to say, that cross referencing information was the toughest part. Obviously, I didn't want to get any facts wrong, but locating collaborating sources was a struggle sometimes, given that many documents and sources no longer existed, or were just unavailable.Of course, coming across conflicting information was also a headache, so I spent a good deal of time deciphering fact from fiction. I will add that the other difficult aspect was knowing when to stop researching and just write the damn book!

DW:  Before writing this book, did you have an opinion on the death penalty? If so, did it change?

April Moore:  Great question. I have to admit, I didn't really have a strong opinion before, so this project really forced me to examine the issue and decide for myself. To begin with, from a financial standpoint, capital punishment is much more costly to states and tax payers than keeping offenders locked up for life without parole. Currently, California spends roughly $137 million per year to keep inmates on death row, but without it, the cost could drop to $11.5 million. Instead, states could allocate that money for education, crime prevention, and rebuilding crime-ridden neighborhoods, just to name a few. I understand that it may bring closure to the victim's family, but it only creates another grieving family--the inmate's; the grief cycle continues. It's also been shown that the death penalty does not deter criminals from committing a capital offense. Lastly, I believe the system is incredibly flawed. Too many innocent people have been put to death. I get that executions has rid the world of some pretty heinous individuals, but it has come at a great cost. The Innocence Project has exonerated 18 people from death row, but there were countless others who were not saved in time. It makes me wonder if all of the 3100+ inmates currently on death row in the United States are truly guilty.

DW:  After doing your research, did you feel that any of these men were innocent?

April Moore:  Yes, absolutely. Several of the 93, particularly the minorities, weren't necessarily given fair treatment or even a fair trial. Oftentimes, it appeared they were doomed from the moment of arrest. During the turn of the twentieth century, investigation practices and methods were shoddy--at best. Investigators routinely mishandled evidenced, were prejudiced against minorities, or were simply overzealous about landing a conviction. It broke my heart to see some of these men be convicted when serious doubts about their guilt existed. If it's that easy to be wrongly accused today--given all of our technology and crime collection methods--think how easy it was to be wrongly accused back then.

DW:  Which man did you find the most fascinating?

April Moore:  Probably #28, Jacob Oppenheimer. For a man who spent most of his adult life in solitary confinement, he had this incredible insight into the human psyche and the outside world. He wrote such poignant and thoughtful essays, stories and letters that made me think, that given the opportunity, he could have been one of America's more revered authors. On the flip side, the man was a killer, although it's hard not to argue that the prison and their treatment of him, contributed a great deal to that.

DW:  I’d read that you went on a tour of Folsom. What did you think of the prison?

April Moore:  Oh my gosh, that was quite an experience! Such a formidable presence; if only those gray walls could talk. It was fantastic to finally see the place that I had spent so much time researching. The history nerd in me was going crazy with excitement! I really didn't know what to expect, but I certainly didn't think I'd be walking through the cell blocks and through crowds of inmates in the yard. The highlight of course, was seeing the original condemned row; walking the steps to the trap door, and standing where so many men took their final breaths. Creepy, but surreal. It's impossible to not have tremendous awe and respect for the prison, as well as the staff who risk their lives everyday working there. As incredible as it was, I'm not anxious to tour it again any time soon. The view from the outside is enough for now.

DW:  What is in store for you now? More historical nonfiction?

April Moore:  After five years of research and writing Folsom's 93, I'm headed back to fiction for a little while. Years ago, I wrote a novel and set it aside, so I might revive that, but I've recently started an urban fantasy that I'm having a lot of fun with. It's nice to get back into the fiction realm, but I'm sure it won't be long before the history geek in me starts itching for a new project.

Thanks April!  I'm going to leave my readers with a song.

Write Club

If you regularly check out this blog, you may have noticed the little bar of soap in the upper left hand corner.  You may have asked yourself, what is that?  Is it some kind of write to the death competition?  I mean, this is the deathwriter blog, right?  Well, let me tell you.  Write Club, unlike Fight Club, is a battle of words that begins next month.  Don't worry.  Nobody dies.  Just their words if they're voted out.   Click on that link to check out the rules and throw your hat in the ring.  Only three more days to do so!

I participated last year and it was fun to read the critiques of my writing.  It's all anonymous, so when someone gave me a compliment, it felt genuine. Last year I submitted a true story, but this year I've ventured into fiction.  We'll see if I can land a punch with a made up story.

Speaking of punches, I've been taking a cardio kick boxing class at the gym and I'm totally loving it.  In class, we don't hit each other or even a punching bag.  We just stare at ourselves in the mirror and try to jab our nose, hook our cheek or uppercut our jaw as loud music plays and the instructor yells commands.

I hope you're having a happy Thursday! To get you in the fighting spirit for Write Club, I'm going to leave you with a song by Pat Benatar.

Death, Dying and Dessert

I was in the midst of talking with my mom about hospice for her sister when I came across Susan Lieberman on the web.  Because I'm suffering from summer brain, I can't remember how I found her.  I get emails and notifications all the time when something is death related. I guess it doesn't matter, but I'm so glad I found her book, "Death, Dying and Dessert: Reflections on 20 Questions about Dying."  I have a TON of books on death, but I found her book to be a very helpful guide for those who are just starting to think about it and what things they should be getting in order.  I think it would be a great gift book.

And here she is!  Like me, she's lived in a lot of other places before settling in the Lone Star State.

So, let's get started...

DW:  What made you want to write a book about death?

Susan Lieberman:  When my 92-year-old mother slid from independence into decline and ultimately death, I realized how little I knew about illness and all the decisions that come in a healthcare crisis. And I also realized that when she died, I would be next up. I didn’t want my children to face the same anxiety and stress, the chaos, both internal and external, that I experienced. So I began to study death and dying.

As part of the learning process, I asked some women friends if they wanted to come to dinner one night to talk about death and dying. As you can imagine, I didn’t get many takers but five of us sat down together. That was over three years ago. Now there are 20 women in the group. Every eight weeks or so we take on a different topic related to death, dying and aging, triggered by a conversation question.

I suppose it sounds odd to say we have loved talking about dying, but it has been a really positive experience for all of us. We have all become less anxious, better informed, less afraid. I wanted to bring our dinner conversations to those who couldn’t show up at the table.

I’m a writer. I’ve done seven other books so writing a book isn’t unusual for me. I seem to write the books I need to read. Writing is my own kind of therapy; it helps me find clarity. Many of my books addressed earlier developmental stages. This seems to be where I am headed next so it made sense to want to think about it.

DW:  What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book?

Susan Lieberman:  The hardest part was getting started. I began thinking seriously about this book a year before anything worthwhile appeared on the computer. Three times I sat down to begin…and nothing happened. It just didn’t come in any way that felt authentic. Then, in October of 2012, I sat down again and it just appeared. By December, I had a complete draft. The book went to the layout person the end of March.

What makes a good book a better book is the editing of what you already have. I wanted so much for this book to be easily readable and to give lots of value to anyone who bought it. Making sure I did my best to deliver on that by editing the draft was a challenge. I worked at it intensely.

DW:  As you say in your book, most people believe they will die; they just don't expect it to happen in their lifetime. Why do you think that is?

Susan Lieberman:  We come factory-ready to focus on living. Although we are dying from the moment we are born, it’s not, of course, where our attention goes. To think about leaving this delicious world is not attractive to most of us.

Our ego wants to be in control, and there is no controlling death, but by imaging we are going beat it, we feel we have some control. Second, our culture hides death. We tuck it away most often in hospitals and when we have to watch that, it can be painful to see. It scares us. Denial is a sensible strategy to escape thinking about our own demise. Doesn’t it sometimes seem that we regard aging and dying as failures. Look at the language in obituaries...”she battled courageously…he fought a long and valiant fight..” It’s the language of war and in war, there are winners and losers so when we die, we are losers. But you don’t wage war against yourself. Death is another stage of development that each of us comes to in our own time. We don’t yet talk about it that way.

So many people have told me that dying scares them. Who wants to be scared? But if we can figure out what we scared of and what we can do to make it easier, then maybe we can find our way to think about, talk about and prepare for the inevitable.

DW:  On your website, it says you are an "end of life consultant." What does that involve?

Susan Lieberman:  I talk with healthy people about end-of-life issues. Sometimes I meet with individuals who are not healthy or those whose loved ones are facing death, but mainly I talk with groups of people who are in the fullness of life. My first interest is in getting people to think about dying, just for a little bit, while it is abstract and less personal and to understand what they need to do to make things easier when it gets very personal.

I am certified by the Association of Death Education and Counseling as a thanatologist. I joke that this means I have a skull and crossbones tattooed on my left thigh.

DW:  You discuss having a "death, dying and dessert" group. Is your group open to the public, or do you keep it going with the same group of people?

Susan Lieberman:  My Death, Dying and Dessert group grows out of larger women’s group, and all its members come from that group. We were all women over 50 moving from our mainstream lives to What’s Next. When new women join the larger group, they are welcome to join in our conversations, but no, it’s not open to the public generally.

Just this week, the New York Times had a front page article about Death Cafes springing up around the country. These are open groups that meet generally in coffee shops to talk about the same sorts of things we have been discussing. I’ve included the questions we have used over the years in Appendix I of the book, and any group could form and use or adapt our list.

DW:  What has been the topic that has caused the greatest debate within your group?

Susan Lieberman:  Pamela, I don’t have an answer for this question. I cannot think of any topic, even euthanasia, that provoked great debate. One of the things that makes this group work so well is that nobody feels compelled to convince others of her opinions. The conversation just puts things out there, and people take home what they want. Of course, we see things differently, and there is no “rule” about disagreeing. I’m not sure why it doesn’t cause debate, but it doesn’t. Yes, sometimes people will say, “Gee, that’s not my experience,” or “I never thought of it in those terms,” but I don’t think one person in the group believe there is a single set of right answers that everyone should adopt. Our focus is figuring out what each of us thinks is right for her.

Maybe the topic that we have struggled with the most has to do with how we will be able to ask for and receive help if and when we need it. We have talked about the loss of independence. This seems to provoke more fear than dying.

Oddly, one of the least good conversations we had was about the role of God in our thinking about death and dying. People were very candid about what they thought, but it didn’t generate any sparked conversation. I think each one of us wanted so much to be respectful of other’s views that there was more listening than talking.