Addiction To Death: The Trial Of Jonathan Wayne Nobles

One Sunday morning, a group of men gave their testimonies about their life without God. Many were rebels and suffered throughout life because of the hard troubles. Because of the program through the church, those men will no longer have to live in defeat. A similar story under the same circumstances is the trial of Jonathan Wayne Nobles. He was a criminal that was charged with a double-homicide and was sentenced to death. Rehabilitation is proven to happen with anyone if they set their mind to it. From being a drug addict, Nobles struggled but eventually gained strength to seek God; his faith enabled him to express regret by trying to forgive himself and make mends. Growing up, Jonathan Nobles became addicted to drugs at age 8 (Blanco). He said that he turned to drugs and alcohol because of the physical abuse he endured while raised in a foster home (Lubbock). Drugs play a huge role in the mind set of people; it can influence a person 's behavior and thoughts without having any real knowledge or any concept of what is actually happening. Nobles, controlled by the effect of the drugs, was found guilty in 1986, at age 25, of the stabbing of Mitzi Johnson-Nalley, Kelly Farquhar, and Ron Ross, who survived but costed his right eye. Steve Earle, a friend of Nobles, wrote, “When Jon arrived at Ellis he quickly alienated all of the guards and most of the inmates” (Earle 75). Nobles was sentenced to death by lethal injection and was killed on October 7, 1998. (Lubbock) As the years passed by before he was put to death, Jonathan Nobles showed several signs of being a changed man; he knew of his flaws and setbacks. It was the drugs and the terrible childhood that set him on the path of failure. Nobles had seeked help and was truly rehabilitated. In the Huntsville prison in Texas, Nobles entered the church and converted to Catholicism. For eight years, he set an example for the other prisoners, especially the ones on death row with the same circumstances. He brought good news and was the leader, who changed the lives of many prisoner that had no hope anymore. (Cernui) Nobles planned to have a Catholic bishop as one of his witnesses during the execution (Lubbock). It was because of God that he was able to …show more content…
He sincerely did not see himself as the same person as he was then. He learned to deal with his situation better, but he never forgot about what he did. Nobles did not expect society to be able to punish him legally, the same way he punished those victims illegally. Even though he was prepared to die, Nobles tried to be positive and do something good for once. (Lubbock). Earle wrote, “The only action pending in the courts on Jon 's behalf is an unprecedented petition to have Jon 's vital organs harvested and donated for transplant before his execution. The supposedly 'non-violent ' lethal injection process literally destroys the lungs and render all the other organs too toxic for transplantation” (Earle 73). If a person did not actually change, then they would not have tried to others above and beyond to express a sincere apology. Nobles knew that he would never be excused of what he did, but he tried to do everything he could to help mend himself and others for all the pain he has caused