A Death In Texas Summary

Does Rehabilitation Exist in Prison?
People that go to prison live life in a very different world than the people outside of the walls of the prison. Most of the time they have nothing to do and all they think about is the way to get out. In an Essay by Steve Earle called "A Death in Texas," he writes about a man he believes may be rehabilitated. Earle was a drug user himself and prison reformer, so he probably wanted the best for everyone because he had been in that same place. Earle writes about a man named Jonathan Nobles, a convicted and executed murder, and Earle believes that Nobles might have changed his ways. Earle wrote back and forth and spent time with the murderer before coming to this conclusion. Many people just want to be out

Earle wanted to believe that Nobles was rehabilitated because he had been in that position before and tried to make himself feel a little better too. The religion Nobles had claimed was Catholic and he thought he was doing good. When they gave Nobles a death row interview, he said "I don't think I'm a terrible person today, Nobles said in a recent death row interview. I don't think I'm the monster who perpetrated these terrible acts. Nothing I can do for a thousand years can relieve me of my responsibility." What kind of person says they aren't a terrible person after killing people? I believe Nobles don't reach rehabilitation for all the things he said to try to get out of prison. With that statement, all he was trying to do is to get people to think about it which buys more time. Nobles believed that if he could say the right things and act decent enough people would say he was a changed man. People knew better than that back then and punishments were still a little harsh. He wasn't in his right mind in the first place when Nobles killed the people, but Earle wanted to believe so badly that Nobles had changed from his ways and could be

They don't care about anyone else as long as they make themselves feel good, even if they ruined someone's life. This is what Nobles does to make himself feel better at the end of Steve Earle story. The families that were affected by the people that Nobles killed didn't want to hear anything from Nobles, yet he still talks to them. Nobles said "I know some of you won't believe me, but I am truly sorry for what I have done. I wish that I could undo what happened back then and bring back your loved ones, but I can't." If Nobles rehabilitated himself, he wouldn't have said a word just like the parents had told him they didn't want to hear it. Instead, he does it anyway to make himself feel better before he dies because he doesn't want to accept he messed up and needs to suffer the