Thursday, February 11, 1999
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PAGE ONE | NEWS | SPORTS | BUSINESS | LEISURE NATION/WORLD Question to lawyyers: What about a suit challenging the death penalty on the grounds of the damage the threat of it has done to the lives of Porters family?
The poor man was doing better in jail.
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FOR PORTER, FREEDOM BRINGS A HARSH REALITY
By Monica Davey Tribune Staff Writer February 11, 1999 As the death penalty was being debated from City Hall to Springfield, the man who brought the issue to center stage sat quietly on his mother's couch, resting his chin in one hand and looking out an open window at the world he had been away from for more than 16 years.
For Anthony Porter, 44, who was released from Death Row last week after another man admitted committing the crime for which he was convicted, the thrill of leaving prison has faded.
By Wednesday, living free in a reality of troubled neighborhoods with no job skills, and of friendships long gone, was weighing on Porter.
"There's a life after coming home," he said, staring outside the Washington Park area building where a group of men stood around near a vacant lot and an "L" train clattered overhead. After five days here, Porter can't stop thinking about moving away.
He said he wants to get his family away from the gangs, the Frisbee-size hole in the ceiling of his mother's apartment, the peeling paint, the furniture salvaged from an alley.
"I thank God that I'm still alive. I thank God every day for that," he said. "If God would let me get away from around here, my mind would open up. Here, it's like you're trapped. You can't think."
Porter, whose execution was delayed at one point because tests revealed his IQ was 51, or about half the normal score, is struggling to figure out what happens next. He has six grown children, seven grandchildren and aging parents. But he has no job and lacks reading and writing skills, said his lawyer, Terri Marroquin.
"He's in a state of limbo," Marroquin said. "He's pretty depressed. We're trying to get him on food stamps, but he has no Social Security number."
In the meantime, a handful of callers have offered small donations, and his lawyers are working to arrange a trust account for Porter, Marroquin said. One company offered him a construction job, but required a Social Security number or other proof of his U.S. citizenship, she said. Organizations, including members of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, have asked him to appear as a speaker at events-- in Rogers Park Thursday night and in Hyde Park on Wednesday night.
There, before a crowd of about 50 and in a speech that lasted about five minutes, Porter pleaded for an end to the death penalty, then asked point-blank for help.
"Everybody keeps talking about a job. A job is all right but they took 17 years out of my life. What kind of job am I going to do?
"I want you all to help me. I ain't got nothing but one pair of pants. One shirt. I need help."
The group did not pay Porter to speak but took a collection in a coffee can when he was done.
Porter's days have fallen into a routine. On Wednesday, he awoke around 9 a.m. He prayed, put back on his overalls and plaid shirt, then ate a hot dog for breakfast.
He stays inside, mostly. "I ain't got no friends. Not after 17 years," he said.
Porter blames himself for his parents' health problems, including his father's stroke. The stress of his ordeal ran them down and he feels he owes them.
"I want to take them somewhere nice. I want to go live in a place where a neighbor would come and greet you and wave," he said. "I've seen it happen on TV."
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