Letters to death row: Ines Aubert reveals why she writes

Letters to death row: Ines Aubert reveals why she writes to prisoners like Robert Pruett
28.09.14 10:16
Lifestyle
news.com.au | lifestyle
Letters to death row: Ines Aubert reveals why
she writes to prisoners like Robert Pruett
BY: DEBRA KILLALEA
FROM: NEWS.COM.AU
22 HOURS AGO SEPTEMBER 27, 2014 7:51PM
Ines Aubert and death row pen pal Robert Pruett during a 2010 visit. Source: Supplied
HIS story inspired a hit documentary and won him a raft of supporters.
But long before Life and Death Row made him famous, convicted murderer Robert Pruett already had an anti-death
penalty campaigner on his side — Ines Aubert.
The Swiss mother-of-three, who began writing to the 35-year-old more than 12 years ago, said no-one deserved the
death penalty, and everyone needed human contact.
The pair have met several times and Mrs Aubert is an avid anti-death penalty campaigner who has also written to
three other inmates and even met their victims.
Mrs Aubert, who has met Pruett several times, became his pen pal after becoming involved with Swiss organisation
Lifespark which arranges pen pal-ships to US inmates on death row.
The special needs teacher told news.com.au that she became involved in the organisation not only because she is
against the death penalty but because she felt she wanted to give back to those who were so much worse off than
herself.
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/letters-to-death-row-in…rites-to-prisoners-like-robert-pruett/story-fnixwvgh-1227072624274
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Letters to death row: Ines Aubert reveals why she writes to prisoners like Robert Pruett
28.09.14 10:16
The 53-year-old also said she wanted a challenge when she began writing to Pruett and her focus wasn’t just on the
offenders, but in the best case and if possible, also meeting their victims and helping them heal.
“Robert is very dear to me,” she said.
“His story is not unique as far as his bad childhood goes. There are so many who seem to never have had a real
chance to succeed in life. Robert could easily have gone unnoticed by the world like most death row prisoners do.
They live and die without anyone noticing it.”
Pruett was originally sentenced to life in prison, or 99 years, when he was just 15 years old, over the murder of
neighbour Ray Yarborough, who was killed by his father.
The then teenager was said to be present at the killing, but his father testified that he had no part in the killing, The
Express reported.
The gurney where death row prisoners are strapped down for lethal injection in Hunstville, Texas. Source: Supplied
But it was the killing of prison guard Daniel Nagle in 1999 - attributed to Robert - that saw him given the death penalty,
which was set for May last year.
University student Kelly Hickman tried to get him a stay of execution as part of her volunteering work at the University
of Houston’s death row clinic, and it was her story which formed the basis of the BBC documentary.
His supporters claim there is a lack of evidence.
Mrs Aubert doesn’t believe he deserves to die, and not only maintains a website for him, but passes on letters and
emails, and is his window to the world.
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Letters to death row: Ines Aubert reveals why she writes to prisoners like Robert Pruett
28.09.14 10:16
She said she’s always had a strong interest in humanity, having volunteered with organisations for disabled people,
and other causes since her teenage years.
It was this interest which saw her get involved in Lifespark.
“I feel very grateful for everything that worked out well in my life and for the gifts I was given,” she said.
“I grew up in a safe country and in a safe environment and family. I didn’t meet most of the difficult situations our pen
pals on death row tell us about,” she said, adding she felt a lot of solidarity with those who weren’t so lucky.
But it hasn’t always been rosy with her pen pal.
“When I got to know him, Robert had some racial ideologies that I actually found disgusting,” she said.
“So, I considered it a challenge to deal with a young man with opinions so different from mine.
“Robert was 22 years old when I got to know him. He had just arrived on death row and so I could watch him grow into
the man he is today. We had a lot of ups and downs, but we never stopped writing, very often and very regularly.”
Pruett as he appears in Life and Death Row. Picture: Screengrab/BBC Source: Supplied
She also visits his father who is also in prison, and sometimes his mother and brother Steven, who has a life sentence
like his father, too.
Mrs Aubert remains committed to the Lifespark project which she said was so important.
“Our pen pals confirm every day how precious the pen pal-ships are to them,” she said.
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Letters to death row: Ines Aubert reveals why she writes to prisoners like Robert Pruett
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“The analogy “window to the world” is often used. Through our letters we bring the world into their cells. Also, by
recognising them as human beings and as worthy to be considered a friend we give them back some humanity.”
And she also realises if Pruett was in the real world, the pair wouldn’t be friends and would have a very different
relationship.
“People can feel very close only through exchanging letters but I’m very aware that the relationship is not ‘street-proof’
meaning it will never have to pass the test in the free world,” she said.
“Would the inmates really choose us as their friends if they had a choice? I doubt it.”
She said forgiveness remains important and she has even met Pruett’s victims, who while they don’t agree with her,
they remained constructive.
“In the case of another pen pal of mine — he died of cancer four years ago — I met a woman who he had kidnapped
and raped when she was a girl. She was happy to hear that he had friends like myself and that he had matured a lot
and found peace,” she said.
Mrs Aubert said while she never agreed with the death penalty she did agree with prison but that there should always
remain the option of rehabilitation and growth, something she said Pruett has developed.
“To me, life is a row of lessons and its purpose is that we grow and mature. This happens through self-examination
and through the exchange with other people, books, programs etc,” she said.
“Even those in prison can continue to grow and mature like the example of Robert shows.”
To find out more about Lifespark, click here.
SOURCE: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/letters-to-death-row-ines-aubert-reveals-why-she-writes-to-prisoners-like-robert-pruett/story-fnixwvgh1227072624274
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