THE LAST REQUEST OF A CONDEMNED MAN:
IT’S A GOOD THING
By
Dortell Williams
(Approx. 250 words non-fiction)

The era was the 1940s. The scene, California’s death row; the actors: Carl Dobbins, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Jordon and thousands of faceless helping hands.

Dobbins had been convicted of shooting three women while in the haze of a drug and alcohol binge. Two of the women died. He was sentenced to death.

During a visit, before his execution, Dobbins asked Mr. Pacesetters, Ms. Jordon expressed her desire to give hope to the hopeless because “hope is the oxygen for the soul.”

She estimates that there are 65,000 to 100,000 homeless who need such hope; and defines homelessness as having no shelter, no security and no safety – “owning nothing or having nothing.” She also says 40 percent of the homeless are women and children, a growing trend, and a good number of the homeless are mentally ill and/or suffering from drug addiction.

Ms. Jordon is motivated by, among other things, the secret sweet satisfaction one gets from giving to others and the biblical mandate in Isaiah 58:7: “Feed the hungry, provide for the homeless [and] clothe the naked…”

To learn more about these “prisoners of penury” and how you can get involved, please contact the Fred Jordon Mission and help rescue a needy soul; experience that secret sweet satisfaction of helping others that Ms. Jordon told us about.

www.fjm.org

Sources:
Ray Gonzales, Pacesetters, KTLA-5, November 19, 2006
www.fjm.org

Date: November 2006