'Help free my pen pal on Death Row' - Gloucestershire man's campaign
BEFRIENDING a death row prisoner led Gloucestershire man Swithin Fry halfway across the world – and on a crusade to free him.
The 63-year-old visited inmate Timothy Coleman, who was sentenced to death for aggravated murder 16 years ago, in the US after becoming his pen pal.
Timothy is said to have killed a prosecution witness in a drugs case against him.
Playwright Swithin started writing to the 43-year-old after answering an advert in The Big Issue magazine.
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After six months of writing letters, Swithin visited his jailed friend at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution, in Ohio.
Now Swithin, a retired Cirencester College teacher, is launching a campaign to free him. He said: "In Tim's very first letter he had told me about being innocent.
"I was very green behind the ears and I felt squeamish when it came to talking about murder.
"But six months later, I was visiting the US with my wife and I decided I would visit him. I was with him for a whole day.
"I felt 80 per cent convinced that he is innocent. Now I'm 100 per cent.
"Most of his family have stopped visiting but I think my letters give him hope.
"I was nervous about going into the prison. You have seen it in the movies where they are behind a glass partition but it wasn't like that. It was more like a prison block out of Porridge.
"We were face to face and we were able to hug although he was chained to the table which was screwed into the floor.
"He was so relaxed and has a real stoicism about him. He's such an inspiration. It would drive me mad to be in there."
Timothy is still allowed to appeal one more time and there are hopes that new evidence will help to win his case.
Swithin is planning to collect signatures calling for his release. He has also penned a monologue about it which was performed at the Everyman Theatre, in Cheltenham.
He is not the first Gloucestershire resident to befriend a death row prisoner.
Human rights campaigner Maureen Timmins, from Parkend, near Lydney, has written to many death row prisoners.
She said: "They get a lot of comfort from the letters. They've got nothing else.
"One guy even shared his last phone call with me before his execution. He just wanted to say goodbye."
Swithin has a blog about Timothy's plight at http://deathrowtim.tumblr.com.
33 Comments
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by CaptCX
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 1:59PM
“You know, I don't think I'll bother with the blog - if it's anything like the comments on this article, he'll just repeat everything he says 5 times over.”
by swithin
Saturday, March 16 2013, 9:02AM
“I would like to thank all your readers who took the time to comment here, and can I persuade them to give more time and read the moving story of Bud Welch - in 1995 his 23-year-old daughter was killed in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.”
by swithin
Saturday, March 16 2013, 9:02AM
“I would like to thank all your readers who took the time to comment here, and can I persuade them to give more time and read the moving story of Bud Welch - in 1995 his 23-year-old daughter was killed in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The full story is on the 'Forgiveness Project' website - http://tinyurl.com/d68nqwr
Swithin Fry”
by swithin
Saturday, March 16 2013, 8:52AM
“I would like to thank all your readers who took the time to comment here, and can I persuade them to give more time and read the moving story of Bud Welch - in 1995 his 23-year-old daughter was killed in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The full story is on the 'Forgiveness Project' website - this comment box doesn't seem to take web links, sorry.
Swithin Fry”
by swithin
Saturday, March 16 2013, 8:51AM
“I would like to thank all your readers who took the time to comment here, and can I persuade them to give more time and read the moving story of Bud Welch - in 1995 his 23-year-old daughter was killed in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The full story is on the 'Forgiveness Project' website - this comment box doesn't seem to take web links, sorry.
Swithin Fry”
by swithin
Saturday, March 16 2013, 8:51AM
“I would like to thank all your readers who took the time to comment here, and can I persuade them to give more time and read the moving story of Bud Welch - in 1995 his 23-year-old daughter was killed in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The full story is on the 'Forgiveness Project' website - this comment box doesn't seem to take web links, sorry.
Swithin Fry”
by swithin
Saturday, March 16 2013, 8:41AM
“I would like to thank all your readers who have taken the time to make comments, and I urge them to also read this story: April 1995, Bud Welch's 23-year-old daughter, Julie Marie, was killed in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. In the months after her death, Bud changed from supporting the death penalty for Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols to taking a public stand against it. In 2001 Timothy McVeigh was executed for his part in the bombing.
http://tinyurl.com/d68nqwr”
by Zindafud
Friday, March 15 2013, 6:36AM
“Fry says.... "He's such an inspiration".
I'm glad this idiot isn't teaching our kids anymore, if this is where he draws his inspiration from.
Fool.”
by Farmers_Boy
Thursday, March 14 2013, 8:33PM
“He's been tried end of.”
by yumtum20
Thursday, March 14 2013, 4:49PM
“So, Swithin Fry thinks he is an inspiration huh? Wonder if the family of victim have the same thoughts about the man who took their loved one from them! The sooner he is dealt with, the better.”