Imagine being tried for a crime you did notcommit. Now imagine not only being tried, but being charged and being put on death row for
it. If you have seen the 1996 HBO documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood
Hills then you know that for Damien Echols this wasn’t a hypothetical, this was his reality at the
age of 18. For 18 years, Damien sat on death row for the murder of three young boys and not
only managed to survive, but to grow as a human being in the process. In his book, “Life After
Death”, he chronicles his time on death row and gives amazing insight into life on death row
and what it took for him to get through it. During his time there, he practiced Qi Gung and
Reiki using the different meditations to maintain his sanity through the brutal sentence, 10
years of which were served in solitary confinement.
Since his release in 2011, Damien has been inspiring people with his story as well as with his
motivational tweets, among which two of my favorites are:
“An even greater reward awaits those who stay faithful to their dreams in the darkest hours.”
and
“Forget what lies behind. Strain toward what lies ahead.”
His attitude of never giving up, even when it seems like there is no hope, evokes a true sense
of admiration which is only further enhanced when one takes into account that not only does
he preach it, but he has and continues to live it. Earlier this year, Damien opened his very own
meditation center, the Hermetic Reiki Center, in Salem Massachusetts, where he now resides
with his wife. He has definitely become a motivating force in my life.
You can check out more about Damien on his site:
As well as follow him on Twitter at:
Roz in Focus 
Haven’t seen the movie but I know who he is. I read about him in a book on heavy metal, and it was at a time where metalheads etc. were ostracized and persecuted. the book focused on how heavy music drove him to murder and all the usual crap. I find this quite inspiring – makes me realize that, while we all have problems, for most of us it could be a hell of a lot worse – ask this guy. I couldn’t imagine being on death row, especially knowing I was innocent. Thanks for posting 🙂
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