A hopeful, humanizing day in
prison
By TERESA MALCOLM
NCR Staff
The wedding took place Feb. 25 in the visiting room of a federal
prison. The bride is serving 14 months for her actions at School of the
Americas protests. The groom left two days after his wedding to defy sanctions
against Iraq, traveling with Voices in the Wilderness.
Two days before his wedding, Rick McDowell said that although his
fiancée, Mary Trotochaud, is in prison, weve chosen to go
ahead with our lives. They can take away Marys physical freedom, but they
cant take away the freedom of her spirit and her soul. Weve chosen
to say that we will go ahead with our lives and this expression of love and
commitment. It is the first marriage for each of them.
Trotochaud, 48, and McDowell, 43, met in November 1996, when
Trotochaud, then living in Atlanta, Ga., picked up a group of protesters
arriving at the airport to join a vigil at the School of the Americas in Fort
Benning, Ga. McDowell, from Akron, Ohio, was among them. The two met again the
following spring at an SOA demonstration on the steps of the U.S. capitol in
Washington.
By the time of the November 1997 SOA protest, the two were dating.
I guess you could say that the people of El Salvador and Guatemala
brought us together, McDowell told NCR.
At the Nov. 16, 1997, demonstration, both Trotochaud and McDowell
were arrested for trespassing at Fort Benning. Trotochaud faced charges for
defacing the sign at the entrance of Fort Benning Sept. 29 of that year. While
the charges against McDowell were dropped on a technicality, Trotochaud in
early 1998 received sentences of six months for trespassing and eight months
for destruction of property, followed by two years of supervised probation.
Its been an intense year, McDowell said.
Our relationship has been surrounded by the inevitability of trials and
sentencing and prisons.
Their decision to marry five months into Trotochauds prison
time at Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia was necessary if she
wished to be with McDowell during her probation period. The two are planning to
live near Amherst, Mass., Trotochaud told NCR in a telephone interview
from the prison. But the prison doesnt allow you to relocate with
anyone but a relative. Theyve taken away a certain amount of time from us
as it is. We werent willing to allow them to take away any more
time.
They were allotted 15 minutes for the wedding ceremony, held in
the visiting room of the prison, but in the end were allowed an hour.
Trotochaud had to wear her prison issue khaki -- kind of a reminder of
the military, she said. A local retired judge performed the ceremony, and
Trotochauds mother and sister were present. There were no flowers, photos
or music.
Something like a marriage is hopeful and humanizing,
McDowell said. Its my belief that [prison officials] made it
difficult because they dont want prison to seem humanizing. Its
about crushing hope, not building hope, about crushing relationships, not
building relationships.
Both said that Trotochauds experience over the past five
months has opened their eyes to the injustices of the U.S. prison system.
I am constantly amazed these women have survived the lives
theyve had, Trotochaud said. They have faced poverty, poor
education, addiction and abuse, she said, and prison does nothing but make
these conditions worse.
What does taking them out of the community for five to 10
years serve? she said. It destroys the bond with the community and
family. If you cannot deal with addiction living in the community, all the
problems still exist.
After her own release Oct. 2, which will probably be preceded by a
few months at a halfway house, both she and McDowell plan to include prison
issues in their activism work, she said.
The pair said they look forward to simply being together, alone
and uninterrupted. I think being together, embracing, sharing a meal,
maybe a glass of wine, with a little bit of candlelight, will be a tremendous
honeymoon, McDowell said.
The couple also hope to have a wedding celebration with their
families, who are Catholic, and have their marriage blessed by a priest.
Right now, though, Trotochaud said its hard to talk about
the future, to shift from prison thought to outside thought.
It really takes all your energies to live here, she
said. Plus I dont want to miss being here and being with these
women.
Its a little bit surreal and schizophrenic to be
getting married here for that reason, she added. All the women are
excited about me getting married, congratulating me and asking me if Im
excited. Im very happy to be marrying Rick, but Im not going to be
walking away into that life. Ill still be here.
The day after his wedding, McDowell noted that the search for
justice and peace doesnt come without sacrifice. Our sacrifice
pales in comparison to what the people of El Salvador and Guatemala have gone
through as a result of the School of the Americas, he said. But
its no doubt a sacrifice all the same.
Were happy to be married, he added. And
though well be sleeping in different states, well be sleeping
better.
National Catholic Reporter, March 12,
1999
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