“The circle widens”
a true story of loss,
and hope
by Karen Baxter
I wish I had met Brandon and his parents at a backyard BBQ thru mutual friends and that the story I am about to share never happened but neither is true. I was humming along with my own life when Brandon Hein (with his still young face after serving so many years in prison) landed in front of me and refused to be ignored. Sometimes fate slaps us in the face literally. This happened to me and I can tell you there is no going back, no time out –no, not sure I want to do this.
It all happened innocently enough and was backed with simple maternal primal motivation. I saw a tiny newspaper clipping in the local paper announcing a documentary screening at a local university. The headline read “Agoura Hills Crime Recounted.” That alone did not trigger me but the next line did. “The father of a man serving a life sentence for first-degree murder in the death of an Agoura Hills teen,” did. I read on.... a teenage brawl in a backyard for, one teenager used a pocketknife, there was a fatality and all four boys were sent to prison for life. First slap. I thought to myself - this is important for my teenage son to see – maybe it will frighten him up a bit. He had been pushing the furthest parameters of my motherly fears for more than a year now. I was tired and a little scared. I had two brothers and now have two sons of my own and know well the vulnerability of that dangerous window of 16-20 years for boys. They have the highest fatality rate, are prone to take a lot of uncalculated risks and they make choices that affect themselves and sometimes carve deep lines into their future.
We went to the screening and after listened to a panel of lawyers and experts discuss the harsh edges of this case and we even met Brandon Hein‘s parents (one of the young men who had been sentenced at 18 and had now served 14 years of his young life). Brandon had no prior record but had no real focus or direction either and was wasting days and partying instead of attending school. Other than that, just a typical teenager. But on that day in 1995 he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and neither he nor his parents had a hint of the nightmare that their lives would soon become.
My teenagers and I left that evening with a boat load of anger and a reality check that landed on my shoulders and refused to fall off. I had never known anyone in jail or prison and did not really understand fully how badly our justice system operates both in California and as a nation. Our addiction to incarceration is not as much about justice as the powers that be would have you believe. It is BIG business and it’s not pretty to look at up close which I began to see for myself. The politics of prison guards and prison development are powerful and have literally taken the oxygen out of our justice system.
The next few months after seeing the screening I decided I was going to do something, - what? I was not sure yet but do something and do it now was my mantra. The crushing weight of knowing Brandon’s fate and current status was almost immobilizing at first but I immersed myself daily reading and researching all that I could on his case, his supporters, his enemies and our justice and prison systems. The deeper I got, the scarier things looked and the harder it was to sit idle. It opened up a part of myself that had previously been immersed in making sure my kids got to soccer practice and school, to a new place where I was grappling with this enormous injustice. A problem I could set aside for others but somehow I knew in my gut I needed to queue up my energy and my focus like a soldier going into battle. Sometimes fate slaps you in the face – not because you deserve it but because you happen to be in a certain place at a certain time and destiny pulls your name.
I have grown close to Brandon and his family and love them all dearly. My hope is that each and every person who reads this will take the ten minutes out of their very full lives and do for Brandon what only each individual can do. Write to the Governor of California and let him know your hopes and dreams for Brandon’s future and tell him that Brandon deserves to come home. Ask the Governor to commute his sentence and grant him full clemency - he has the power to do this. Please help Brandon Hein and his family by writing the Governor today – change occurs thru the power and passion of individuals. Use your voice to give this young man another chance - feeling bad for him is not enough, you must take action today. It is my heartfelt wish that all of us together will create a wave of love directed at the Governor in the name of Brandon Hein; creating an energetic tipping point that will set Brandon free. I believe we can do this together.
Thank you for your love and support. -
please address your letter:
The Honorable Governor Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Legal Affairs / Re: Brandon Hein
Sacramento, CA 95814
