I met Howard Atkins in 2016 during a Kairos (Christian ministry) weekend at Northeast Correctional Complex near Mountain City, Tennessee. Later, when I began teaching creative writing at the same facility, Howard quickly became one of the most entertaining writers in the group, his wit and plot twists reflecting a sharp mind.

I observed him closely for two years. You learn to be cautious around convicts; they have to earn your trust because you hear that big metal door clank shut as you enter. It’s just you and them in a small space, and many of them are in for homicide.

Every Tuesday, I’d drive an hour east and watch him interact with other Kairos graduates—prisoners who had dedicated the rest of their lives to Christ—and Howard possessed an exceptionally mild temperament.

He belonged to the “Lifer’s Club” and sent what little money he had—Tennessee prison wages are between 17 and 75 cents per hour—to provide backpacks and food for school kids.

Kind. Considerate. Always reaching out to help others—especially the elderly, who are often victims of gangs.

He sang lead in the prison band, and when they played a song out of his vocal range, he’d ask them to change the key. But the band lacked that ability, so he just cracked out the song and smiled the best he could.

After two years of writing and praying together, Howard and I had a conversation.

Can you answer a question? I asked.

Sure, he said.

Why are you here? I’m confused. You look like Jesus with your long hair and calm demeanor. You speak softly. You treat everyone with kindness. You taught yourself botany and horticulture and have worked hard to make this prison yard bloom with lovely plants and flowers. You love to work hard and help others every chance you get. What brings you to this prison?

I killed my stepfather, he said.

(Long pause)

Why? I asked.

Well, he abused my mother for years. She veered into mental health issues after all the physical and mental abuse added up. He physically and emotionally abused me as well.

I had just returned home from a weekend with my dad. My stepfather was outside, and I could hear my mom inside crying. They had just returned from going out of town and had a knockdown-dragout fight. 

My mom had said she wanted a divorce, and my stepfather said:  Nobody’s leaving this house.

We were going to go stay with my grandmother, but my mom changed her mind. I realized it was never going to end, and something finally broke. So I ended it. I killed my stepfather with a baseball bat. When I came to myself, I realized what I had done and called 911 to turn myself in.

I felt horrible, but at the time it felt like the only way to save my mom’s life. In prison, I was depressed and ballooned up to over 300 pounds. My health was a wreck.

I eventually turned my physical health around through moderation and exercise when I read a quote in a Guideposts magazine: “Tomorrow is now.” I had procrastinated, but God made me see that the food would be there but I might not be.

My spiritual journey was a roller coaster over the years, but at the Kairos Walk I became full of the Holy Spirit once again. It also amazed me that the men of Kairos were all of different denominations but still came together to serve the Lord.

At the time I killed my stepfather, I had given up on God. I prayed for His deliverance, but seeming to find only silence, I had no use for religion at that point in my life. What kind of a God would allow this? But I realized God had never left me when I heard about my stepfather’s autopsy results.

What do you mean? I asked.

He had advanced heart disease. The doctor who performed the autopsy said he had so much blockage, he was amazed my stepfather had still been alive! Not that his death would have been a good thing, but if I had just held on a little longer and not taken matters into my own hands, God would have delivered us after all.

And now I’ve spent most of my life in prison for no reason. Or maybe God turned my failure to help juveniles and this is where he wants me to work?

Howard is still being abused, but now the horror is delivered by the State of Tennessee.

Howard was recently, on September 5th, 2024, sent to the worst prison in the state – Trousdale – as retribution for his positive work in legal practice, giving juveniles and others a second chance.

Atkins is one of more than 122 people serving life sentences in Tennessee prisons who now have a shot at parole following the state Supreme Court ruling in the case of Tyshon Booker.

Howard will be eligible for parole next fall because of this case.

On November 18, 2022, the Tennessee Supreme Court declared the state’s mandatory life sentence for juvenile homicide offenders unconstitutional, ruling it as cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. The Court upheld Tyshon Booker’s life sentence but granted him a parole hearing after he serves 25 to 36 years, allowing his age and other circumstances to be considered.

Booker, convicted in 2018 at age 16 of first-degree felony murder and aggravated robbery, had originally received a mandatory life sentence requiring at least 51 years in prison. The Court pointed out that Tennessee was the only state mandating such a lengthy sentence for juvenile offenders, with most states allowing parole eligibility in 25 to 35 years. The ruling, limited to juvenile offenders, aimed to balance the state’s interest in finality with juveniles’ constitutional rights.

Justice Holly Kirby emphasized that Tennessee stood alone in imposing such harsh penalties, while Justices Jeff Bivins and Roger Page dissented, arguing that the decision exceeded U.S. Supreme Court precedent. The full opinion, including concurring and dissenting views, was made available on the Tennessee Courts’ website.

Following his conviction, Howard leveraged his determination, research skills, and writing ability and worked tirelessly on juvenile reform to great success.

After counsel was unsuccessful through several levels of appeals, Howard initially represented himself on a federal habeas corpus filing. He raised a number of issues regarding his counsel’s ineffectiveness, including but not limited to: 1) that his appellate counsel failed to raise a retroactive change in the law that corrected a statute allowing the state to convict him without actually proving that he intended to kill; and 2) the fact that his trial counsel didn’t even call his mother to testify at the trial. After the case of *Miller v. Alabama* determined that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles is unconstitutional, Howard amended his habeas filing with a claim that Tennessee’s minimum 51-year life sentence for first degree murder also violated this ruling, and he voluntarily dismissed all his other claims to make sure the issue was heard.

After over a decade of litigation on the case, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ chief justice agreed that Howard’s sentence was unconstitutional, but stated the court’s hands were tied because of restrictions put in place on the federal courts by the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. However, Howard believes that this ruling may have prompted the Tennessee Supreme Court to hear the Booker case.

Since that time, Howard has litigated diligently for other reforms, including against errors in the way T.D.O.C. calculates the life sentences of all offenders.

His reward for helping juveniles and others regain their lives?

Being shipped to a private for-profit prison deemed one of the worst in the nation.

Tennessee only allows a limit of one for-profit prison to be operated within the state.

However, CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America), which is headquartered in Tennessee, currently manages four. This is accomplished through a loophole in the law. The only private “prison” in the state is South Central. The other three (Hardeman County, Whiteville, and Trousdale-Turner) are classified as “county jails,” and the county contracts out to the state to house state prisoners.

They take the money, then simply hand it back to Core-Civic.  That’s how they get around the “One For-Profit-Prison Rule”.

All of these facilities have been subject to significant criticism and scrutiny due to issues like inadequate staffing, gang violence, poor conditions, and other safety concerns.

For example, the Trousdale-Turner Correctional Center is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for alleged civil rights violations and has the highest homicide rate of any prison in the country.

Conclusion: A Glimmer of Hope for Howard Atkins

For Howard Atkins, the possibility of parole offers hope after decades of uncertainty. While he still awaits final decisions regarding his clemency application, the Tennessee Supreme Court’s ruling has opened a door to freedom—not just for him, but for many others who were sentenced as juveniles under the old law.

As the justice system continues to evolve, Howard Atkins’ story serves as a powerful reminder that even those who have committed serious offenses in their youth deserve the chance for redemption and a second chance at life.

Governor Bill Lee has declared he’s a Christian, and he’s certainly good at making “Christian” Proclamations.

But when it comes to the people in his state — especially juveniles — Governor Lee is nothing more than a callous money grubber who Jesus may fail to recognize when the day arrives.

Meanwhile, the needless suffering continues unabated as Tennesseans wait patiently for a real Christian to be elected to power.

Or at least someone — with integrity — who understands Christ’s teachings.