Bridging the Gap for True Change – Essay by Raymond E. Johnson (Oklahoma Death Row)

Raymond Eugene Johnson is scheduled to be executed today, May 14, 2026, by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A few days ago, he sent us the following text with a request to share his thoughts as widely as possible.

We live in a society where the death penalty is embraced and held onto, regardless of the data attached to it. To the core, it’s not about the data. It’s the idea and assumption that some people are not redeemable.

Instead of people seeking to absolve the death penalty altogether, I truly believe the approach should be bridging the gap.

How do we bridge the gap for true change?

What do I mean? In earlier times, 20 to life was the popular term for violent crimes. It meant if you came in, rehabilitated yourself, and stayed out of trouble, you could get paroled at the 20 years.

You had a fair shot at redemption.

If society sees the need for someone to get a death penalty, then make the sentence death to life.

To give the sentence of death, they believe the person is beyond redemption. But what if that’s not the case?

Have a format of programs and curriculum — hard, but doable — where one could complete assessed programs and curriculum and get the death sentence commuted to LWOP. And furthermore, have the same in place where the same said person can possibly get the LWOP commuted to life by continuation of assessed programs and curriculum.

This will still give them the power to give death sentences, but let one person show themselves redeemable. Let several do so.

Then the whole narrative changes.

Then you can change the subject and say if the Department of Corrections actually focuses on correcting instead of housing, then society will have the data to show that the death penalty isn’t needed — more means of actual correcting is.

You can’t make someone who’s stuck on hot water like cold, or vice versa. You have to meet in the middle with warm water. That’s negotiable.

This could bridge the gap, because to change the narrative, society has to set a standard and then see redemption completed more than once. Then the myth that some people are beyond redemption actually has statistical data to show the opposite.

Let’s genuinely start the discussion. Society, what, if anything, can be done by a death row prisoner to make you believe that they are redeemable?

Death row prisoners, what programs do you think are needed to make you truly work at changing for the betterment?

Let this be the starting point.

Death Penalty Action, American Civil Liberties Union, legislation, Congress… this needs to be genuinely pushed and pursued, because we’re running out of space to build prisons.

Sometimes all a person knows is all a person knows, so correct them and teach them something different.

I believe everyone is redeemable, if they make the choice to seek redemption vigorously.

May my idea one day be achieved. May people get the chance to show that everyone is redeemable, so society can start correcting and stop killing.

Namaste
Raymond E. Johnson
Oklahoma Death Row