As Florida sets a record for executions this year, a Tallahassee priest is publishing a book about his work with men in prison, including some on Death Row or in solitary confinement.
Father Dustin Feddon is the founder and executive director of Joseph House, a reentry community that opened in Tallahassee in 2018.
This week, he’ll launch his first book, “More Than Halfway Home: A Story of Accompaniment in the Shadows of Incarceration.” Feddon says his book includes the all-too-common story of men who grew up in what he calls “survival mode.”
“Who didn’t grow up thinking ‘I’m going to be a murderer’ or ‘I’m going to be a rapist’ but who themselves were likely violated at a young age repeatedly," Feddon said. "That’s the vast majority of life narratives that you hear from people who have committed such crimes.”
Feddon says he has witnessed the grief of incarcerated men over their crimes.
“Where there’s high pockets of domestic abuse, where there’s high pockets of substance use, and you hear a journey that is riddled with despair, misery, and what would kind of clearly check all the boxes of a life filled with trauma and catastrophe – and that that’s the norm,” he said.
So far 12 people in Florida have been executed this year. The next two executions have been scheduled.
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Feddon's reading will be on Wednesday, Sept. 24, at 5:30 p.m. at The Hub at Feather Oaks, 6500 Miccosukee Road.
