Tower Topics ~ Fall 2000

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Compassion for the condemned

Brother Jeremiah Tuttle and his fellow monks wake each morning acknowledging that their existence on earth is only temporary, that a better life awaits.

Gregg Braun, too, woke each day with death before him. But unlike his friend Brother Jeremiah, Braun knew the exact day it would come.

Braun, who 11 years ago murdered five people in a five-day killing spree, was executed July 20 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

In this issue of Tower Topics, Brother Jeremiah recounts his friendship with Braun (see Facing death...). He tells of their yearlong correspondence. He recalls visiting Braun two weeks before the execution. And he explains why he so firmly believes that, despite Braun’s heinous past, the state of Oklahoma killed a good man.

It is a tale of compassion, redemption and deep pain.

Gregg Braun approached his life on death row like a monk. He read monastic history. He devoured spiritual writing. And he prayed. He prayed for his victims. He prayed for his family. He prayed for the world. In fact, it was his fascination with monastic life that drew Braun and Brother Jeremiah together.

Cynics will sneer. Jailhouse conversions are a dime a dozen. It’s a scam to draw sympathy for his appeals.

Would Braun have made such a dramatic transformation had he not been captured and shoved face to face with death? Perhaps not.

But does it really matter? The fact is, and Brother Jeremiah will attest vehemently to it, Braun did change. He knew excruciating remorse and wavered between self-loathing and hope. As the deadly poisons entered his blood stream, he chanted the names of his victims and said he was sorry.

Befriending a man condemned to death would seem to many a no-win situation. Brother Jeremiah was bound to end up hurt and angry. But what Brother Jeremiah did, despite his own fears, was espouse the teachings of the Church he serves. Both the pope and the American bishops have repeatedly called for an end to capital punishment. Yet what Brother Jeremiah did was so much more. He showed a man who believed that he was beyond mercy and forgiveness that God truly loves him.

Brother Jeremiah is mourning now. And he is angry. But he is also joyous.

The psalms sung at daily prayer are more beautiful, he says. He has a deeper appreciation for the life he’s chosen. And, undoubtedly, he finds new meaning in those words from Chapter 4 of the Rule of St. Benedict.



Dan Madden
Director of Communications

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