Recent Correspondence

April 15, 2002 (Monday)

Dear Elias,

Hello, it's me again. I am in receipt of the letter most recently sent which arrived here on 4/10. It was written on the back of hotel stationery from the New World Renaissance Hotel in Makati City, Philippines. I see that you'd been there from 1/27-2/25, and the rate had been $57.39 per day, so it was quite a bill at the end of your stay, huh? Company priviledges :)

Yes, while I'd been deployed onboard the USS New Orleans, we had ports of call at Subic Bay Naval Station, and Manila. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to have found a girlfriend loyal enough to meet me when we embarked on the journey to Manila. :) She was living in Subic Bay, and I'd met her in one of the clubs that were along Magsaysay Drive in Subic Bay. That was the main drag, and the center of the city as far as the servicemen were concerned.

Yes, now the U.S. bases are a thing of the past since our gov't pulled out. The contract was up. I remember when the volcano erupted, and it forced all of the personnel from Clark AFB to flee the area. This was after I'd been over there in 1977, but I'd seen documentaries on PBS about the eruption. There was volcanic ash and soot everywhere, like a bomb had exploded. Similar to the soot and ashes from when the WTC towers collapsed.

It will be a high near 85 today, with a chance of afternoon showers, but it is sunny now at 9:49am. We had continuous rains between Wed-Sat., but yesterday the rains seemed to let up. We definitely need the rains due to drought conditions. The effects of El Nino are expected to be felt by July, when the water in the central, and tropical Pacific get warmer. The changed jet streams disrupt the normal patterns of weater, which could make the Southwest drier than normal this summer. If El Nino does grow intense enough, it could reduce the number of hurricanes this summer and fall. The warmer waters energize strong thunderstorms, which change the jet streams that blow toward the states. I remember the monsoon season while I'd been on Okinawa.

I am in the best possible health and overall spirits, so I have been keeping my head up under the circumstances. All executiongs here in FL., have been on hold since late Jan., due to a ruling expected by the U.S. Supreme Court this month. Jeb Bush even went so far as to grant one of 3 guys expecting to be executed on Feb. 7, an indefinite stay until the case before the high court gets resolved. It centers around a 2000 Arizona case, which has the potential to effect hundreds of death cases in 9 of the 38 states with capital punishment on the books. Of course, it will all depend on exactly how the 9 justices word their opinion, and how broad a scope it is. It might only impact the guy in AZ., or it could have a more broad impact. The case deals with sentencing procedures in a NON-capital case, but it has the potential to effect cases here in FL.

Yes, I do hope that you'll be able to get me some stamps through USPS.com :) I can:t believe that my last letter still had the green IRC attached to the envelope over the stamp beneath it! They are supposed to remove the IRC and put a stamp in its place, but obviously they did not, huh? I see that you still have the webpage up? Does it get very many hits, or does it get obscured by the many others? Can I ask you to do me a favor? I AM allowed to receive paperback books sent to me via the publisher. So, is there any way that you'd be able to use BarnesNoble.com or some other website to have 4 books sent to me? I read mysteries for the most part, but any sort of fiction will do, okay? If possible, try to find the latest books by Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs, or maybe Lilian Jackson Braun. They are 3 authors that I enjoy. :) I don't believe that I've ever mentioned being able to get books sent in, have I? Feel free to do so, Elias. :)

I don't have any new pictures or stories to share on the website, so go ahead and use the content of this letter if you wish, okay? The TEN-year mark of my being on death row is fast approaching, but my case is only in the early stages of post-conviction appeal. My 3.850 petition was recently filed by the attorneys at CCRC-South on Fri., March 15, 2002. The original motion had been filed on Oct 3, 1995, so it had been over SIX-years since it was filed, but the judge has been moving at a snail's pace.

My direct review had been ruled on VERY fast by the 7 justices of the FL Supreme Court on March 17, 1994, and I had until Oct. 3rd, 1995 to have my post-conviction appelate motion filed in the lower circuit court in the 20th Judicial Court. Keep in mind that I'd gotten to death row on May 28, 1992. Most play is given in the process of the direct review, but if not, it might come somewhere down the line in one of the federal venues. I've seen quite a number of guys get their death sentences overturned on direct review, so it has been a disappointing decade for me. As if I am being left behind, which diminishes what little hope that I have.

The main problem is that i am indigent, and cannot afford the services of a "real" attorney. Keep in mind, I am represented by court-appointed counsel. Their main focus is to get someone a life sentence, as opposed to say a lesser charge, or possibly time served. They are a state-funded agency, which is not a good thing, especially when their paychecks come from Tallahassee. So, they don't like to go out of their way to represent a death row inmate, the way that a private attorney might represent me. See my point? I guess being represented by CCRC is better than not having any representation at all...

On that note, let me finish up here and get this put in the envelope to be sent out tomorrow. Be well, and do take care of yourself, Elias. Peace, Anton