When Steven Judy was executed for rape and murder in 1981, he was little more to the public than a monster. To Traci and Randy Carr, he was something else: a hero and a protector. After all, he was their foster brother. For The Guardian, Masha Hamilton—who covered the Judy trial as a young reporter more than 45 years ago—returns to Indiana to meet the Carrs, and to take the measure of the hole rent in their lives by Judy’s actions and disappearance.
Her mother has begun appearing again in her sleep: Mary holding her, comforting. Almost as if speaking aloud what had been buried for decades had called her mother back.
“Everyone hated Steve, and we were told we should too,” Traci says. “For a long time, I thought we did something wrong, and I was ashamed. People treated us like we had raised a murderer. It’s still how people remember us. I don’t think Mom ever got to grieve properly. I don’t think any of us did.”
More stories that grapple with capital punishment
Why Is Florida Executing So Many Prisoners?
“In most of the country, executions are a thing of the past. But one state has been carrying them out at a record pace.”
The Last Face Death Row Inmates See
“The Rev. Jeff Hood has made a career of fighting to save men the state wants to kill — and it doesn’t matter if they’re innocent.”
The Human Cost of Jeff Landry’s Drive to Resume Executions
“Chris Duncan’s death sentence—built on the testimony of two discredited doctors—illustrates just how faulty the system can be.”
The Nuns Trying to Save the Women on Texas’s Death Row
“Sisters from a convent outside Waco have repeatedly visited the prisoners—and even made them affiliates of their order. The story of a powerful spiritual alliance.”
Will Speer Found Hope Enough to Share on Texas’s Death Row
“He’s one of the first faith-based coordinators for Texas inmates facing the death penalty. He’s scheduled to be executed this week.”
When Wizards and Orcs Came to Death Row
“’I’m in,’ Wardlow said. And so Arthaxx, his character, opened his eyes.”
