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Moira Monteith has been corresponding with 'John' since 1990. He was awaiting execution on Death Row in Trinidad.
Moira |
Moira was given John's name in 1990 by Amnesty International. They were looking for people to write to prisoners on death row in the Caribbean. Initially, all she received was a name and "condemned prisoner, care of death row".
Finding subjects to correspond about was a problem. They didn't have much in common so found themselves writing to each other about their childhood memories.
Receiving the first letter from Moira was clearly a positive experience for John because he continually refers back it. She says, "It was something that he treasured".
Myra |
Myra is a friend of Moira and went to visit John in prison in Trinidad. Myra found it fairly easy to make conversation with him because they talked about Moira.
John has subsequently been retried and the case was found to be "not proven". He is now free and working as a cane cutter.
Corresponding with John has given Moira an insight into how other people live. She knows many people who have gone on holiday to Trinidad and see it as beautiful, friendly place. But corresponding with John has made her realise that many people who live there exist under circumstances of fear and violence.
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