The War Gate by Chris Stevenson

final verdict, pronouncing her guilty of capital murder. Then the penalty phase came later—death by lethal injection. Man, the protests flew hot from everyone. There were letter campaigns to the attorney general, the mayor, governor, even the Supreme Court. Nothing worked. Even the appeals. A second lawyer was appointed, but he couldn’t pull any rabbits out of the hat. In fact, he was worse than the first one. She never got a retrial.”
    “Then it all came down to the end fourteen years later.”
    “Yeah, just over fourteen years. They found out she was pregnant while they were strapping her to the gurney. What a train wreck. They had to lay down a major cover up to keep it from the press. The two doctors assigned to her got canned for incompetence a year later. Nobody could figure out how Avalon got pregnant. They ran all kinds of tests, trying to find out who the father was. The prison reps didn’t have any comments for the media, who were all over the story because they thought it was a botched execution. They never did find a DNA match. All the gals in the prison said that it was the Ghost Lover that came in to do the deed.”
    “Ghost Lover?”
    “Yep.” He handed her a another clipping. “They did interviews with some of the inmates who spent time with Avalon. One of them wrote that poem. I can recite it by heart.”
    Avy began to read the poem.
    “Who goes there in the night?
    When all is deathly dark
    'Cause time stands still for all of us
    When all are filled with fright
    Oh, take me, ghostly lover
    Take me far away
    Wrap your arms around me
    Tell me that you’ll stay
    A shadow stalks and whispers
    It speaks a loveless ruse
    He’s come to do his bidding
    With all the little sisters.
    Oh, take me, ghostly lover
    Take me far away
    Wrap your arms around me
    Tell me that you’ll stay
    Rake my body, make it shiver
    Plunge your soul in mine
    Give it to me nasty bad
    You death-watch nightly giver
    Oh, take me, ghostly lover
    Take me far away
    Wrap your arms around me
    Tell me that you’ll stay”
    Chubby handed her the large binder after she finished reading the poem. He opened it to a certain page, pointing to an article. He was the subject of the interview this time.
    Long time Raleigh prison guard, Raymond Hammersmith, has been championing the innocence of Avalon Labrador for more than fourteen years. His outspoken opinions about the trial have garnered media attention and public support, yet controversy from his superiors. He offered his closing thoughts on the aftermath of the trial, sentencing, and death of his longtime friend. Hammersmith said, “Avalon was never a cold-blooded killer or a black widow like some people have been saying. She was incapable of harming another person. I know that killer instinct. I’m telling you, she didn’t have it.”
    Hammersmith went on to say that the trial was a “mockery, a rush to judgment” He also disagreed with the sentence that she received. He has taken great offense to the way things were handled. He challenged the authority that would execute a woman who had been distressed during the last days of her life. Hammersmith said, “In the first place, you don’t even think about executing someone who’s suffering a mental breakdown—that’s the real crime.” He added, “I believe that the stress in those last days caused a delivery that ended in her death.” Asked what clinical proof he had of her unstable nature, he said, “Avalon said she had nightmares of divine visitations from angels. She saw a priest with long flowing hair.”
    Avy clenched her fists when she read over the “priest with long flowing hair” remark three more times. Angels. Ghost lovers . It seemed like the whole prison was in on it. Either her mother was a full-tilt whacko, or something very strange had happened in the women’s main prison. Whatever it was, it had resulted in a massive cover-up. The inmates were convinced of paranormal activity. The claims might have worked