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| Tenn. Man Cites 'Emotional' Bond with Girlfriend in State Prison |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 01/02/2003 |
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When Timothy Bernard McDonald looks at his girlfriend, he doesn't see someone convicted in one of the grisliest killings in Carroll County history. Instead, he sees the woman he plans to marry. Teresa Deion Smith Harris, 32, is serving life without parole at the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville for the 1993 slaying and dismemberment of a 19-year-old man. McDonald, a retired airline captain originally from Seattle, met Harris through his work in the prison system and eventually became convinced that she was not guilty of first-degree murder. The two fell in love. ''We agreed that this involvement will go along for a long time whether she's in prison for life or not,'' McDonald said. ''And we decided to get married. I'm comfortable with this. I'm plainly and simply in love with her.'' McDonald, 47, is involved in a business that employs people who have been in trouble but are good workers. Harris was one inmate with whom he corresponded. Traveling from Seattle to New Orleans in early 2000, McDonald said, he made a stopover, on a whim, in Henry County to attend a hearing in which Harris testified regarding her case. ''I sat in the courthouse and watched her as she testified. I knew immediately that there was something there,'' said McDonald, adding that he met Harris' parents that day. Though McDonald is convinced of Harris' innocence, her conviction has been upheld on appeal and post-conviction relief denied. Two others also received life sentences in the slaying. Police say Harris flagged down Dennis Brooks Jr. as he was driving his pickup truck to his Huntingdon home in July 1993. When he stopped, he was jumped by Harris, Tracey Ramsey and Walter S. Smothers, who robbed, kidnapped and shot him before mutilating his body and setting fire to the vehicle. ''Her lawyers put on absolutely no defense,'' McDonald said. ''In the legal justice system, there is a prejudice against clients. She was a drug- and alcohol-abused woman at the age of 22 years. She was just an innocent bystander when the crime was committed.'' Prison officials confirmed that McDonald and Harris submitted a letter in September requesting permission from the warden and chaplain to marry. The prison has not yet granted approval, but McDonald is hopeful the ceremony can go forward early next year after the couple goes through required counseling. Contact between McDonald and Harris is limited to letters and occasional face-to-face visits under strict supervision. In addition, Tennessee does not permit conjugal visits, limiting physical contact to hand-holding and what McDonald describes as an ''airport hug'' at the beginning and end of authorized visits. But that doesn't faze McDonald. ''There's an emotional and spiritual bond that goes beyond a physical touch,'' he said. ''Both of us, by getting married, will never again be lonely.'' |
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