Johnathan Wayne Nobles was arrested in 1986 for the murders of two young women and the stabbing of a young man. He was sentenced to death for his crimes; he spent 12 years in prison before his death of lethal injection. During that time he sobered up, found religion, made friends, and expressed remorse for his crimes. So, was Nobles truly rehabilitated before his execution? Demonstrating those attributes proves he was rehabilitated. When Nobles first arrived in prison he admitted to being on marijuana, methamphetamines, cocaine, and alcohol since the age of eight. All of these were found in his system at the time of his arrest "Johnathan." When he first arrived at prison he acted out. Steve Earle mentioned in an essay "A Death In Texas," "… …show more content…
He stopped creating problems and even began to help others.When Nobles' sobered up, he found Catholicism. He was involved in the Dominican Order of Preachers. He even stood in as a God Father for another prisoner's baptism (Earle, 76). He also offered to help his good friend get his son to stop using marijuana by bringing him to Ellis (Earle, 76). Nobles' new attitude enables him to make friends within and outside of prison. Earle stated, "The greatest evidence of this fact is the way that Jon is treated by everyone he encounters, inmates and prison officials alike. A prison clerk, displaying obvious, genuine regret, interrupts our visit (Earle, 77)." Nobles was also able to make a friend in Steve Earle through letters "...ten years we have corresponded... (Earle, 74)" The result of the behavior changes were dramatic. Nobles expressed his remorse and apologized to all the families involved: "In a lengthy final statement, Nobles expressed love for the survivors of his victims, including a man wounded in the attack, and sorrow for his actions (Johnathan)." Nobles also stated, "I don't think I am a terrible person today. I don't think I'm the monster who perpetrated these terrible acts. Nothing I can do can relieve me of my responsibility