This memorial was written by MOL team member Shirley Anne McCulley with information from reporting by David Brand of the Queens Daily Eagle and Noah Goldberg of the New York Daily News. Transcribed by Sarah Laufenberg.
Reflecting on learning and writing about Leonard Carter’s life, Shirley says:
Although I never met Mr. Carter, I felt an immediate connection upon receiving the news reports. I’ve also got a life sentence. My deceased, trying-to-be-my-hero boyfriend was named Leonard. He was set to be released on my deceased sister’s birthday. When we are incarcerated our families suffer so much for us and with us. It breaks my heart for his loved ones to have been cheated out of the joy of his homecoming.
Life in Quarantine: Witnessing Global Pandemic is an initiative sponsored by the Poetic Media Lab and the Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis at Stanford University.