A column I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the revived plan to establish a museum at Sing Sing Prison inspired a great deal of reaction, and much of it has appeared online or in The Journal News.
Jay Taylor, 47, who was has been an inmate at Sing Sing since 1987 when he was convicted of second degree murder in Kings County, also has an opinion on the matter which he expressed to me in a rather strange letter. He refers to his victim only as a three-year-old named, “Kenneth.”
Anyway, here’s a couple of excerpts from his letter:

“I am writing in response to your article—’Sing Sing tourism could put public in danger’. With all sincerity. It is with deep passion that I share these sentiments herein, all of which agrees with your view for opposing Ossining’s museum project. I have had many sleepless, deeply introspective nights, considering the circumstances surrounding my crime and the negative chain of events that led me into the belly of this Big House beast….
“If a tourist museum was on the grounds of Sing Sing Correctional Facility, it would devastate me. It is appalling ot think that Kenneth’s death would become a sensational profit.”

Taylor goes on to say that he is visited by a nun every month and that she “encourages me to look to the Lord for the strength that is necessary for sustainment.”

All very interesting. Question: Is Taylor’s opinion representative of te 1,700-inmate population at Sing Sing?