Kimberly McCarthy, pictured, was the 500th person to be executed in the State of Texas since capital punishment was resumed there in 1982. Texas has executed more prisoners than the next six states combined. In McCarthy’s case it seems there was little doubt about her guilt, in fact the likelihood was she killed at least two other old women in a similar brutal fashion to the one she was convicted for.  Her gender, and the fact that she is black, might be issues but, as those in favour of this punishment might say, a murder is a murder whoever you are. Also a fact is that in Texas, as across America, there are proportionately far more blacks and other ethnic minority groups in prison than whites.

One could argue (and many do) about the rights and wrongs of this but none of these issues were what drew me to writing a song about her. Rather, it was some of the things she said. For example: “This is not a loss. This is a win. You know where I’m going. I’m going home to Jesus. I love you all … God is great,” (Associated Press report). In my song, ‘500 Souls’, I’ve included as many of McCarty’s own words as possible. Make of them what you will.

I know where I’m going, I know where I’m bound,

Going home to Jesus before that evening sun goes down.

I know I did a bad thing, and now Lord I must pay,

By lethal injection or so – or so the law do say.

In this good old State of Texas, don’t get no second chance,

Five hundred souls together, all in a deadly dance.

Warder he informs me of my final meal request,

Steak and mashed potatoes just the same as all the rest.

All for one cup of sugar, I took my neighbours life.

Driven on by crack cocaine, I stabbed her with my knife.

I am a poor black mother convicted for my sin,

Just don’t call me a loser, for me this is a win.

No more appeals for mercy, now it is time to go,

Sick and tired of waiting – sixteen years upon death row.

Ain’t asking for your sympathy, as they turn out the light,

Only thing I wonder – is do two wrongs make a right?

PS  Incidentally, I thought it amusing why last meal requests were no longer granted. According to the Houston Chronicle the tradition of the last meal was ended after the 2011 execution of Lawrence Brewer, one of the men who participated in the racially motivated dragging murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas. Brewer didn’t hold back when placing his order for “two chicken fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, a cheese omelette, a large bowl of fried okra, three orders of fajitas, a pint of Blue Bell ice cream, and a pound of barbecue with a half loaf of white bread.” But Brewer didn’t actually eat the meal, calling for Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire (D-Houston) to demand an end to the practice of feeding convicts a special last meal before a Texas execution.

Poor bugger. When ordering the meal, presumably some days ahead of the execution, he thought it’d be some compensation to stuff his face with every kind of junk food he could think of since the consequences of unhealthy food no longer mattered. But, when it came to it, he obviously lost his appetite.