William Steed Kelley

I learned the hard way that a recounting of facts doesn’t necessarily equate with The Truth. And in the face of hardcore reality, the particular facts of my background or personality don’t count for all that much. These days the only thing that really matters to me is truth – Ultimate Truth.

Someone (perhaps Bertrand Russell or Fyodor Dostoyevsky) is reputed to have said, “Nothing focuses the mind like a death sentence.” I’m convinced that if we were to face the reality that we’re born with a death sentence and come into this world with a sentence of servitude to be borne together, the hate and confusion would disappear. Can we afford to delude ourselves when the sands of the hourglass are spilling before our eyes? To do so is madness!

I consider my forced removal from this society of wolves and sheep a blessing; it was the painful calling necessary. Pain, the most effective teacher, has taught me compassion, and especially for those among us who will come and go without catching a glimpse at


Articles by William Steed Kelley

Prison and Justice Writing
Monday November 19

The Stew of Discontent

Part of the perennial problem with the Texas prison system stems from an inherent comprehension deficit. To use an idea of Alexander Solzhenitsynts, it seems we’ve lost capacity for the sense of danger one ought feel at the monstrous reality, indeed, the utter odiousness of the fact that Texas is home to 112 prisons.

Prison and Justice Writing
Thursday May 10

The Seeds of Jasper Hate

A walloping THUMP startled me. It felt like a sledge hammer crashing against the wall my bunk was bolted to. I fumbled my book and leapt to my feet, my heart racing and pounding in my throat. “You ready to rock?” a deep voice rumbled. I grabbed my shaving mirror and poked it through the