The inauguration of our Innocence Commission coincided with a denial of a motion for appropriate relief for Elrico Fowler who is on Death Row. For more than 10 years, Fowler has maintained his innocence. I was there when the judge ruled against him. He stood and asked to be allowed to speak.

He said, "I am not speaking from anger. I did not commit this murder. I was not allowed to speak for myself nine years ago. The court is afraid of me because I am a black man."

And as he was saying this, the guards in court were calling for backup, and his young male cousins were being removed and locked out of the courtroom, though the only words they spoke were whispered to me. They were asking where his mother had gone, so that they could find and bring her back for this conclusion of four days of painful testimony and hope.

Fowler spoke with a calm that comes from years of self-transformation and wisdom-gathering, but it is a calm that I find hard to reach. I want to thank those who have made this Innocence Commission a reality, and I pray that much truth will be brought forth. And soon.

Patricia Black
Greensboro