I’ve been without a telephone for the last couple days, so I haven’t had the chance to write any posts (or read anything to inspire any). So, instead, here’s a link that I’ve been meaning to share.

From a quick read of some random posts, I think Chris Clarke and I have little in common politically, but you must read his post titled “Life and Death“, about Chris’ relationship with a serial killer. He’s a great writer, and it’s a powerful piece.

It’s chilling from the very beginning:

One morning twenty years ago this month, I opened the front section of the Washington Post and read that my friend Stephen Peter Morin had been executed by the state of Texas for capital murder.

There are two reasons that that sentence, while accurate, felt awkward to write.

First reason: it has been a long time since I thought of Morin as a friend. He was a twisted, manipulative and malevolent person, and if I hate anyone in the world or out of it I hate him.

Second reason: I knew him as Ray Constantine.

Because of a mention Chris makes about Morin’s supposed deathbed conversion to Christianity, the comment section eventually devolves into an argument about Christianity, but the comments are still worth reading at least down to Chris’ mom’s comments.