Popular Woodworking 2000-04 № 114, страница 24

During the last two years, we've been

corresponding with two Death Row inmates in Kentucky and Texas about their construction methods, their projects and woodworking in general. Though the crimes these men have been convicted of are terrible to think about, they talk about woodworking with the same passion as a home hobbyist. And the way they go about their craft is a fascinating study in the extremes people will go to in order to enjoy woodworking.

Inside Death Row

There's a light rain falling on the Kentucky State Penitentiary at Eddyville, Ky., a small town in the western tip of the state. The prison's towers are only a few hundred feet from scenic Lake Barkley, so when you climb

the small road between the prison and lake you can't help but be overcome by both the beauty and the dread around you.

The Penitentiary holds many of Kentucky's toughest prisoners, but it's best known for being home to the state's Death Row facility. Getting inside the prison is easy. Guards quickly and politely search our bags and photo equipment and within a few minutes we're in Warden Phil Parker's office staring at a scale replica of Sparky, the state's electric chair.

About six years ago, employees at the prison were permitted to purchase items made by inmates. Parker bought the model of the electric chair for about $10 from a death row inmate named Parramore Sanborn.

"He didn't make it for me specifically,"

Inmates on Death Row made these clamps by laminating thin strips of wood.The clamps are tightened by rubber bands (above).

Ohio's electric chair. Charles Justice built it, and he was later electrocuted in it (left).

Parker says. "It was just another item in the (display case)." But there it sits in Parker's office near another craft item: a fake gun made and used by a prisoner in an escape attempt. Right outside Parker's office is a display case filled with other items confiscated from crafty inmates: knives fitted with the familiar red handle you see on F-clamps in every woodshop. Tattoo machines made from radio parts. Shanks made from files.

It's an apt time for a visit since Parker has just decided to stop all woodworking and other crafts on Death Row because prison officials got a tip that some inmates were plotting a jailbreak.

"The arts and crafts program was very therapeutic," Parker says. "They would spend hours in their cells working. But if one of these individuals escaped, there would be no excuse. I feel very justified in my decision. I cannot afford to take chances with that sort of population."

Ralph Baze and HisTools

Death Row in Kentucky is located deep inside the Penitentiary, surrounded by the building's castle-like walls. From the outside, Kentucky's Death Row looks almost like a modern school. Inside, cells surround a large common area where inmates are hanging out. Someone above us drips water on our heads. At least, we hope it's water.

This is where inmate Ralph Baze lives and works. Baze was convicted in 1994 of murdering the Powell County sheriff and a deputy in 1992 who were trying to arrest him on an outstanding warrant. Baze's attorney argued Baze shot in self-defense after one of the officers shot him in the leg as he tried to surrender.

Until recently, Baze was a hard-core woodworker on Death Row. However, he's never used a router for his craft, or even a chisel. Because security is tight on Death Row, inmates were allowed only a few items to practice their craft.

The few tools that were allowed limited what was possible to build. However, inmates are ingenious. Just ask the guards. There's a saying among the staff at the penitentiary that goes like this. Say you've got