Sylvie Poncet: “Every time I went through difficult times, I knew he would open his heart.”
Tears 4 2 Sranger/Angels
As the tears roll down my face
i feel such sadness, and i know that
my life isn’t a total waste.
As the tears roll so softly down
my cheek, the thought of 2 little
boys’ pain & suffering touches me so
deep
As I let my tears flow for someone
i don’t even know but wish i did, because
i Remember when i was a kid
I guess this is what it feels
like to have a heart, Something i’ve
been trying to let people know that
i had from the start.
— Quintin Jones, 2005
Sylvie lives in Switzerland and has been writing to Quin since 2002. She talks about what a comfort Quin was to her when her son recently committed suicide.
My feeling about Quintin is that he is a very courageous, honest, sensitive, open-minded, thoughtful, empathetic and generous man. Rereading his letters, I can see how he matured and developed a beautiful personality despite a very unfavorable and hostile environment.
Our exchange of letters is very rich. Quintin is eager to learn and his writing had impressively improved over time.
Each time I went through difficult times in my life, I felt at ease to tell him what I was facing, how I was reacting, and all the questions I was asking myself. I knew he would not judge me, but open his heart and help me with his human experience, wisdom and empathy. For example, after my son died from suicide last year, he wrote:
“It isn’t hard for me to understand him personally only because I’ve tried to commit suicide before, when I was in the world (twice) and since I’ve been on death row (once). … One tries to convince themselves (sic) that there is something better on the other side or whatever, compared to whatever it is that you’re struggling with inside your own heart, mind, life, you feel me? … like I’ve shared with you before already, the mind or brain is a strange thing; once you start allowing certain feelings and emotions to get the best of you, then it’s just a matter of time before it ends up getting the best of you. And like I found out 5 years ago, you’ve got to dig down deep inside of yourself in order to get past that feeling of wanting to die, Soul Godmother, and trust me that isn’t an easy thing to accomplish either.”
In my opinion, Quintin is the living proof that a human being who once killed someone under the influence of drugs can reform himself, flourish and illuminate the world around him, if given the opportunity and if considered as a human being!