There Was Once A Governor Of Pennsylvania Who ...  PRO

There was once a Governor of Pennsylvania who was known as a hard man when it came to offering pardons to people on death row. He had never granted a stay of execution and had never pardoned anyone. One day, a woman came to his office and was able to persuade the secretary to let her in to see the governor. She pleaded with the Governor to allow her son, who was scheduled to die in the electric chair later that same week, a pardon. She explained that he was a good boy and didn’t mean to hurt anybody. He was all that she had and she couldn’t bear to live life without him, even if he remained in prison. The Governor was firm. He denied her request, but she continued her pleading. Eventually, the Governor conceded. He said to the woman, “I will go see your son today. We’ll see what happens.” The woman was overjoyed and, after praising the Governor and thanking him for his kindness, hurriedly exited his office and went home. The Governor scheduled a visit with the young man, although this was most unheard of—governors never met with felons. At the meeting inside the prison interview room, the Governor sat directly across from the boy. The boy stared hard and cold over the right shoulder of the Governor, not making any eye contact or offering a handshake or welcome of any kind. The Governor spoke, “Son, do you feel any remorse for the crime you’ve committed?” The young man continued his cold stare off into the corner of the room and remained silent. “Young man, are you sorry for what you’ve done? Will you just say you’re sorry.” Silence. The Governor positioned himself so that the young man would look him in the eyes, but the man averted his eyes further away from him. The Governor looked hard at the boy for what seemed an eternity, neither saying a word. Finally, the Governor pushed his chair back across the cold concrete floor and then stood. Without saying a word, the Governor turned and was escorted from the dark interview room. About 30 seconds after the...

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