October 2024:
Bringing Ben Home by Barbara Bradley Hagerty
“Because this is a story of a man who was locked away in prison I chose to again use the storytelling prison art style for this drawing, with each image holding special meaning. At the bottom we see the back of a man in prison, hands on the bars trying to make sense of what’s happening to him. Why is he in prison for something he didn’t do? Above him is the row of prison cells as they appear in solitary confinement with the correction officer’s silhouette at the far end.
The clock and the hourglass represent the being incarcerated doing the time that separates you from what you love most - your loved ones, your freedom. The love of your life is show in the portrait of a beautiful lady in the traditional Mexican Charra (cowgirl) style. The roses are also used to represent the beauty of life being free.
The prison guard tower, fence and razor wire are used in this drawing to represent what keeps the prisoner apart from what he longs for the most.
At the top of the drawing is the Dallas, TX skyline, where Ben called home and the numbered calendars represent the decades it took him to finally get back home. And the ribbon with the title of the book connects this piece to Ben’s story.”
For the month of October we have the privilege to join with the TCADP book club and read, "Bringing Ben Home" by Barbra Bradley Hagerty. BBH is that breathtaking account of wrongfully convicted Benjamin Spencer and the fight to win his freedom. I'm grateful to say that Ben's fight to clear his name ends with a victory. Benjamin Spencer was exonerated on August 29, 2024.
Ben spent 34 years in prison for a crime that he is innocent of. His story is so similar to mine that it would take a week to tell you about it. We have many of the same defense and appeal attorneys, prosecutors, appeal courts, judges, polygraph experts that its hard to believe. We also share the same unshakable faith in God.
I remember a lifetime ago, when I was first sent to Texas DR, having a visit with my beloved parents. I was still in shock about being convicted of a crime I'm innocent of. It must have shown on my face because my father reminded me that the Lord was bigger than all of this. Bigger than the prosecutors, bigger than the judge or appeal courts and He is In charge of what was going on. Dad urged me to put my trust and faith in God and in the end the truth would prevail.
I find myself thinking about that more and more as I grow older and what it means now. For me having faith in God is freeing because I know that what my father shared with me is true. God is bigger than all of this and because I have faith and believe in Him, I don't have to live in fear, and attempt to control the uncontrollable in my life. I can live my life to the fullest knowing that the Lord is in control and what is to be is His will and I'm at peace with it. That is freeing in my situation.
Ben understood this too. He lived 34 years in prison for a crime that he was innocent of, he experienced the same kind of losses that I've experienced. He, at times, would be knocked down and would ask, "when can I get a break?" And when he was low, flirting with despair and thinking, "You know, there seems to be no justice for some." In this regard, we lived the same kind of life.
I often wonder why it takes so long for the miracle to manifest in our lives? Why did it take 34 years for Ben to catch a break and be freed? Why am I still here on D R after 25 years? I believe the eternal everlasting Lord Almighty does not experience time as we do. Our entire lifetime is but a moment in time for Him, if that. I also believe that everything happens for a reason and as long as we're breathing God is not done with us yet.
There are specific things that Ben needs to do in his life and I'm excited to hear about them. Likewise, there are things that I need to do in my life, including sharing story of the miracle the Lord has worked in my life with the world. Whatever happens, I'm am peace with it and may God's will be done.
Reading BBH touched me in many ways but what was most significant was Ben's unshakable faith in God. His faith inspires me and helps to continue, hoping and believing that better days lay just beyond the horizon and my miracle is almost home. Thank you Ben for being a light in this world and giving me courage to face what's to come in my life. God bless you.
“But even as I noted these changes, I recognized that Spencer was not giving up. Rather, he was anchoring his hope over and beyond the prison walls of his human life, into the eternal, time beyond death. He no longer counted on witness recantations or biological evidence, the fickle stuff of humanity, but looked to the evidence of things not seen, which is, after all, the New Testaments definition of faith.
And so, he still believed in God. He still prayed. ‘I just kind of embraced the fact that I might be here the rest of my life. What I believe and what matters most is that I know I have faith in God. What anyone else thought or believed doesn’t matter anymore.’”