FELICIA DRAUGHON

"I was 16 when it happened... The last time I touched my brother I happened to just brush his back where he was sitting during the trial... I was a character witness at his sentencing... That'll probably be the last time I touch my brother before he's executed.... It's been almost 12 years now, its just now sinking in... I've just now started to have the nightmares... I woke up crying because I was dreaming of my brother's execution.. I'm paying his funeral payment right now each month, you know, its pretty sick and depressing..."

- Felicia Draughon, interview with Amnesty International, Dallas, June 1998.

She was 16 when she testified for her brother Martin's life. He remains on death row in Texas.

A small group of Journey Members spoke at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, Tennessee. Felicia Draughon was the youngest of the group and spoke the language of the students. "Do you know what it’s like to have a brother on Death Row? It sucks!" Felecia told how her older brother had been raised in an abusive home, gotten involved in drugs, started robbing stores for drug money, shot a clerk in the course of the robbery, and was now on Death Row in Texas. One of the students asks how she explains her brother going so bad and her turning out okay, when they were both raised in the same abusive environment. "I was lucky, someone reached me. Kids need mentors, someone to reach out to them, like in Big Brothers Big Sisters. But some kids just get skipped over, like my brother. If you really want to make a difference in this world, reach out to a kid who needs attention, whether through an organization like Big Brothers Big Sisters or on your own."