“We have a choice. We can embrace our humanness, which means embracing our broken natures and the compassion that remains our best hope for healing. Or we can deny our brokenness, forswear compassion, and, as a result, deny our own humanity.”
―Bryan Stevenson
Letter from the Founder
Dear Readers,
My name is Shayla Hale, and I’m the founder and host of Crime & Compassion.
You’ll learn all about the podcast below, but to kick off the very first newsletter, I’d like for you to get to know me. (Yes, even my author clients who knew me as Shayla Raquel. Read on.)
How Did You Start Working with the Incarcerated?
I became a volunteer chaplain in 2018 through Oklahoma Jail & Prison Ministry. I went to the Oklahoma County Jail on the 6th floor every Friday until late March 2020. I sat knee to knee in a teeny tiny cubicle with women who were charged with murder, drug trafficking, child abuse, theft, possession, and even sex trafficking. Among those many knees were innocent women as well.
And I loved it. I was so sad when we had to shut down due to COVID. I missed being there and helping the women I had grown to care about. It didn’t matter to me what they were accused of: I simply wanted them to know that at least one person cared about them, prayed for them, and wanted them to have a beautiful life.
Though I first started working with the incarcerated at age 29, I had seen the love and compassion my dad had for the incarcerated since I was a young adult. He preached in a federal prison for a whole decade. He showed me that it’s important to reach out to the captives, to show them Christ, and to love them.
What Are You Doing Now to Help the Incarcerated?
In March 2023, I became a volunteer for Poetic Justice. I am so grateful to my friend Amy Lutes for telling me about this incredible nonprofit. After a background check and interviews and plenty of training, I started at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center —a women’s prison in McLoud, Oklahoma.
I get to work with these women on their poetry and stories and art. It’s truly been one of the biggest blessings of my life. Every other Tuesday, I go to class with other volunteers and we sit in a classroom in the chapel on the yard, where we cry and laugh and smile and write and work and create.
I have such deep love for these women. I do not care what they did (or in many cases, did not do!)—I will show them unconditional love and compassion because that is what I am called to do.
The incredible Ellen Stackable is the founder of Poetic Justice, and if you’ve ever asked yourself, “Can one person really change the world?” I believe I have the answer: Yes, and her name is Ellen Stackable.
What Can We Expect from Crime & Compassion?
A lot. I like to think of Crime & Compassion as an umbrella, and underneath it are many facets:
Podcast: Crime & Compassion started in my mind as an interview-style podcast first and foremost. The podcast serves as a safe space for the formerly incarcerated, currently incarcerated, their families and loved ones, and those who work with men and women in US jails and prisons.
Newsletter: I wanted the newsletter to be a deep dive for C&C fans. Yes, the newsletter will always have the podcast episodes, but the newsletter will offer incarceration-centric news, cases I obsess over, poetry & writings from the incarcerated, recipes from prison, books, nonprofit events, and just a billion other things as I grow.
Website: Yes, C&C has a website, but it’s not live yet. I’m most excited about the Books section of the website. It’ll be the first of its kind: a complete and evolving list of books written by, for, and about the incarcerated. It’ll be its own shop!
Resources: The resources I’ll include through the umbrella of C&C will target those who want to help the incarcerated; those who have a stereotypical viewpoint of the incarcerated but are looking to expand their minds; those who are re-entering the world after release; families and loved ones who have someone in prison or jail.
And more: The future of C&C is so bright, you guys. This is just the beginning.
How Can I Support You?
Subscribing to the newsletter is an awesome start, so thank you! You can become a paid subscriber or a founding subscriber:
You can also share the newsletter:
And you know I have to ask:
Thank you so much for reading.
Your Bleeding Heart,
Shayla Hale
Founder & Host of Crime & Compassion
Podcast Release Date & Info
The first podcast episode of season 1 will release on Tuesday, March 5.
(Wow. That was scary to type. Can I really do this? Can I pull this off? I hope so! Ah!)
In May 2023, I interviewed 8 people for the podcast. What I didn’t account for was my husband and I moving to a different city in July! We had a ton of renovating to do, and then the holidays hit. But I believe timing is everything! I’m excited for a March release!
How Do We Listen to the Podcast?
The podcast will be available on every channel I can put it on: Apple, Spotify, Google, etc. If you have a specific platform you want to listen on, and you’re worried I might not know about that platform, tell me via info@crimeandcompassion.com (or if you’re a paid member, go to our chat)! I want to ensure this podcast reaches the masses.
How Do We Watch the Podcast/Show?
When I interviewed everyone, I used Riverside, which allowed audio and video. Some people love listening to podcasts; some people love watching the podcast on YouTube. I opted to reach both sides of the fence!
How Will We Know When It’s Out?
Oh, I’ll tell you. Trust me. It’ll be all over social media and via the newsletter, which will hit your inbox on release day.
In the News
Kenneth Eugene Smith was executed on January 25, 2024 in Alabama by means of nitrogen hypoxia, making him the first person in the world to be executed in that manner.
First Execution
Yes, there are two execution dates in this story. Originally, Smith was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on November 17, 2022, but his motion to stay his execution was pending at 7:45 p.m. But that didn’t stop Alabama. Despite the pending appeal, Smith was taken to the execution chamber. But at 7:59 p.m., the Eleventh Circuit issued a stay of execution, which of course Smith’s lawyers immediately provided to the Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC).
I can’t seem to wrap my head around this, but the DOC did not inform Smith of the stay or allow him to speak with his lawyers. They did, however, keep him strapped to a gurney in the execution chamber. At 10:00 p.m., the execution team attempted to place an IV into Smith’s arm. At 10:20 p.m., the United States Supreme Court lifted the stay of execution. Smith told a member of the execution team that they were inserting the needle into his muscle (ouch), but a team member told him that wasn’t true.
The team then moved Smith into an inverted crucifixion position and left the room, returning after a few minutes to inject him with an unknown substance, despite Smith’s objection. (I’m not sure what that substance was.) Another individual began repeatedly stabbing Smith’s collarbone with a needle, attempting to place a central IV line. (My mom is an RN, and I need to ask her about that.) The results were unsuccessful, and at approximately 11:20 p.m., Smith’s execution was called off.
He was unable to walk or lift his arms on his own; he was sweating and hyperventilating. Sad fact: This incident marked the third consecutive botched execution by the state of Alabama.
Second Execution
On January 10, 2024, a federal judge ruled that Alabama could proceed with the execution of Smith using nitrogen gas. For the first time! On January 24, 2024, the Supreme Court refused to hear Smith’s appeal and denied his request for a stay of execution. (I’m confused on this as well. Why was the stay of execution originally approved, but then the second one . . . wasn’t?)
Smith was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m. Some witnesses commented that Smith looked as if he was conscious for several minutes and "thrashed violently on the gurney," breathing heavily for several minutes before his breathing was no longer visible.
State Attorney General Steve Marshall stated that this proved that the death penalty by nitrogen gas was an "effective and humane method of execution." But another witness, Smith’s spiritual adviser Reverend Jeff Hood, said it was “the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen.” Smith convulsed when the gas was turned on, and he “popped up on the gurney” repeatedly, gasped, and heaved.
Smith’s legal team said they were “deeply saddened” by his death, adding he had “sincerely practiced his faith, had become sober and helped other inmates achieve sobriety, and had earned an associate’s degree.”
“The eyes of the world are on this impending moral apocalypse,” Smith and Hood said. “Our prayer is that people will not turn their heads. We simply cannot normalize the suffocation of each other.”
Kenneth Eugene Smiths’s last words were: “Tonight, Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards. Thank you for supporting me. Love all of you.”
5 Quick Things
I’m reading . . . a few books! Barred by Daniel S. Medwed and Good Boundaries and Goodbyes by Lysa TerKeurst and Morning Light, Quiet Nights by Lynn Wyvill.
I’m listening to . . . an audiobook called Disarming the Narcissist by Wendy T. Behary and a podcast called Court Junkie (my favorite).
I’m watching . . . the finale of True Detective, season 4. I’ve seen all the seasons! My husband says season 1 is the best, and I’ve always agreed, but man, season 4 was amazing.
I’m creating . . . designs for official C&C shirts and swag! I’m wanting T-shirts, beanies, stickers, bookmarks, coffee cups, and maybe one other wearable thing. A hoodie?
I’m remembering . . . to be kind to myself this week while I launch the newsletter. I have a neck injury that’s causing my arms and hands to fall asleep, and it’s a lot more nightmarish than it sounds. I keep waking up in the middle of the night! So, I am reminding myself to be kind and patient with myself while I juggle this.
After a 13-year career in publishing, Shayla Hale said goodbye to her authors so she could advocate for the incarcerated. Now a bleeding heart, she volunteers with Poetic Justice at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center. She also enjoyed two years as a volunteer chaplain for Oklahoma Jail & Prison Ministries at Oklahoma County Jail. Shayla is the founder and host of Crime & Compassion, a podcast that tells the stories of those who were written off. Her heart’s desires are to unconditionally love the incarcerated, to encourage their creativity and storytelling, and to fight with and for those affected by the US justice system. Forever a literature lover, Shayla is also an author and public speaker. She lives in Norman with her chef husband and three spoiled dogs.