Edward Earl Johnson was a man
who made a great deal of difference by sharing his last 14 days
with a TV crew (Fourteen Days in May). The TV crew accompanied him until shortly before
his execution in the gas chamber on May 20, 1987...
I
saw this documentary on TV in the early 1990s and was deeply
affected by Edward Earl Johnson, how he was willing to share his
hope, his suffering, his fears and and to set a sign against
this inhuman death machinery. At the end of the report, when
the TV crew said goodbye to him just before they killed him, I
burst into tears.... I couldn't stop crying.... Some
impulse made me go to my recording studio, pick up a guitar and
write my song "Freund (friend)". The lyrics of this song are
about a friendship and the feeling to do everything to save the
friend, to see him again.
This song has been with me for decades now.... and
ultimately led me to my commitment against the death penalty and
the founding of IHfL.
Edward Earl Johnson, you did not
die in vain !
Edward Earl Johnson, thank you for opening
my eyes.