shirley dicks

Female

United States

Profile Information:

Hometown:
Originally from Concord NH...living in TN now
About Me:
I moved to Tn when my oldest son was wrongly convicted and sent to death row. I started writing at this time and wrote our story and then went on to write other books. My life story was the third one published after Death Row, and Victims by New Horizon Press called, They're Going To Kill My Son.

Then I wrote From Vietnam To Hell, Congregation of the Condemned, Young Blood, Road Angels, Long Journey Home, The Choice Is Yours and finally redid my life story, brought it up to date the past twenty years, and changed the title to A Mothers Torment and published it myself. www.amotherstorment.com

I wrote articles that were published in magazines and was on Geraldo, Maury, Sally, Jerry Springer, Rolonda and The Shirley SHow in Canada. The BBC then did a documentary on my life that was play ed overseas.

My youngest son Trevor Dicks and I spoke out on the Journey of Hope each year in a different state. www.trevordicks.com That's two weeks of speaking out against the death penalty and more violence, creating more victims.

Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking also speaks out on the Journey as does Sam Shepperd who is the son of Dr Sam Shepherd convicted of killing his mother and sentenced to die. Sam has spent his whole life trying to prove his innocence. The movie, THe Fugitive is based on his story.

I also went on TN death row and five of the guys came out to do a DVD called The Choice Is Yours where they talk to the kids about the dangers of doing drugs, alcohol and hanging in gangs, and with the wrong kind of people. The video I take to schools and speak to the kids to try and stop them before they end up in prison, or death row. www.thechoiceisyours.org

When my oldest son Jeff Dicks was killed in 99, due to medical neglect, I started the Jeff Dicks Coalition, www.jeffdicks.org to save prisoners from medical neglect, and to stop the murdering of these prisoners by being denied their medication.

Trevor and I fought for over twenty years to prove Jeff's innocence to no avail. I have a letter from a minister who says that he knew Jeff was innocent because Strouth told him so, and that he did the crime, but he called it privilege information and said he could not tell anyone and would let Jeff die unless Strouth were to die first and then he could tell the truth.

This is so wrong, but I knew of a case in Texas where an attorney did the same thing. Let an innocent man be executed when he knew the man's brother killed the officer. This should not be allowed to happen if someone's life is in danger.

Last year I lost my youngest and only son left, and since then I haven't been able to speak out. I'm hoping soon I'll be able to do so again.

In the meantime I'm writing a fun book about ladies fifty and older. Anyone who fits in this category and would like to be included, contact me at sdicks@blomand.net. It's called, There IS Life After Fifty.
I Am A:
Writer
Website:
http://www.shirleydicks.org
Books And Authors I Like:
I like many different books, true crime, romance, true stories, humor and westerns. I like Ann Rule, Nora Roberts and many others.
Movies And TV Shows I Like:
I don't watch many, but like stories on Lifetime which are mostly true, Lost, Dallas when it was on, Survivor. Movies I like humorous and true stories.

Comment Wall:

  • Jordan Dane

    Hey Shirley--Thanks for adding me. Your books sound very compelling and heartfelt. Welcome to Crimespace.

    May 6, 2007

  • shirley dicks

    great to meet you both. I wasn't going to join as I don't normally write crime stories, but someone asked me to twice so I thought I would. I love to read true crime and mysteries when they aren't too violent and would love to write a crime one other than my life story. My sister and I have written a few romances but they aren't published yet.....we may publish them one day. The cost of publishing them is so high that I don't think you could make much and the price would have to be high...with the cost of printing.....but you never know....I have access to many true crime stories from my work with death row inmates so it probably wouldn't be too hard .....just finding the time...

    May 7, 2007

  • Matthew Ogborn

    Thanks for the add, Shirley. You appear to be someone who is truly passionate about a range of things, obviously fuelled by the dramatic events in your own life. I applaud you for voicing your opinion loudly and trying to set it straight.

    May 7, 2007

  • Penny Rudolph

    Shirley, you certainly are a madel for how to survive tragedy. Best of luck!

    May 8, 2007

  • shirley dicks

    thanks. I do write the books that I do because of what happened in my life....and my work with prisoners and with the teens on anti violence is because of that. If by telling my story at the schools will stop other kids from going down the wrong path in life, then it's worth spending my time doing. My youngest son trevor used to speak with me until he was killed last year. He was a great speaker, and reached the kids because they related to him, to what he'd gone though himself....and now he's in heaven with his big brother.

    May 8, 2007

  • Larry W. Chavis

    Hello Shirley,
    Thanks for the invitation.

    What a heart-wrenching experience you've had. You know, I grew up in an environment of unquestioning support for the death penalty, and imbibed it along with the rest. In recent years, though, a number of factors have coalesced to disturb me about capital punishment, at least as we practice it in this country. While I have not, as yet, moved all the way to a complete abolitionist stance, stories such as you've told here - especially the Texas case you mentioned; innocent human life should not be sacrificed to attorney/client privilege - have caused me to believe that, if we practice it at all, the death penalty should be reserved for only the most heinous crimes, and then no stone should be left unturned to make as sure as it is possible to be that it is warranted.

    At any rate, I'll be looking for your books. Thanks again for the invite.

    May 8, 2007

  • Lee Lofland

    Hi Shirley. Thanks for the invitation. I commend you for having the strength to tell the story of your family's ordeal. I also commend you for not giving up.

    May 8, 2007

  • Yang-May Ooi

    Thanks for adding me. You have shown extraordinary courage and resilience through terrible tragedies. Best wishes to you.

    May 8, 2007

  • CT

    Hello Shirley. I know you from another webgroup. It's really good to see you here, you are a courageous woman, and I hope that things are going easier for you now.
    Caroline / jarramali

    May 8, 2007

  • shirley dicks

    Good to know you all in cyberspace. I'm wondering if anyone knows how I could get this book published in other countries. I noticed that we have a lot of members here who are from countries other than the US. I self published A Mothers Torment, www.amotherstorment.com this time around. It was published back in 93 by New Horizon Press and was called, They're Going To Kill My Son. A movie company took an option to make it into a movie because of the things I did to try and save Jeff. But they finally backed out since there wasn't an ending to the story.

    After that I read the book that had been published and noticed that the publishing company had changed names, and taken out things that had happened. Since I wanted the whole story told, with real names and everything that had happened, detectives lying on the stand and more, that I decided to publish it myself. The publishing company still had the old one out as they woudl not give me back my rights and they've said in the past ten years they've not sold one book. They feel a movie will be made sooner or later and are hanging on to it.

    At any rate, there is an ending now. I've brought it up to date the past twenty years and used real names and all this time around. I don't care if they sue me. I don't have anything left they can take from me. They system took my most prized possessions, my two sons.

    I'd like to get it published in other countries while I try to run down movie producers to see about getting it make into a movie now. Thanks for any help. My email is sdicks@blomand.net

    May 9, 2007

  • Jannie Balliett

    Thank you Shirley for being a new friend and I commend you for your courage and wish you the best in your efforts to get your tradegy to the public forum.

    May 9, 2007

  • shirley dicks

    thanks Jannie, I'm sure I will get it out there. And if I can find any publishers in other countries that will make it better. I can only speak english though, so not sure if the publishing houses speak other languages other than their own...

    May 9, 2007

  • Amanda Stevens

    Shirley, thanks so much for the add. Your profile is just amazing and touching and I couldn't stop reading. I look forward to getting to know you better.

    May 11, 2007

  • shirley dicks

    Hi Amanda thanks. I see you write kind of horror.....I couldn't hear the trailer you have on your page as my computer won't do it for some reason.... I've never read horror as I'd have nightmares. I have read true crime and some of those are horror enough.... My sister and I have written a couple of romance books but haven't gotten them published as of yet. She'd sent them to Harlequin but I can see where they wouldn't fit in as they are mainstream and written from the viewpoint of two or three characters.. All of mine so far are non fiction but I enjoy writing fiction as well...maybe one day we'll get one of them published.

    May 12, 2007

  • Debbie Behrens

    Hi, Shirley, Thanks for the invite!

    May 12, 2007

  • Kevin Burton Smith

    The death penalty is a punishment meted out by fewer and fewer countries each year, and for good reason. It's barbaric, impossible to correct and there has never been any proof that it's any sort of deterrent.

    Most of the countries that still hold on to it are arrogant, violent Axis of Evil-type nations, dictatorships and the like. If it actually was some sort of deterrent to violent crime, the U.S. wouldn't have one of the highest murder rates on the planet.

    This asshole cowboy eye-for-an-eye evil has got to end. I'm going to have to check out your book.

    May 14, 2007

  • shirley dicks

    thanks Kevin, One of my first books is still used in some colleges called, Congregation of the Condemned and in it I intervnewed many experts on the subject, plus I had families of the condemned and families who lost someone to murder to tell what it did to their families....it's out of date now as so much has happened since I wrote it.

    My life story, A Mothers Torment is my newest one, www.amotherstorment.com My first one was published by NEw Horizon back in the early 90's but they changed names, left out things I wanted left in there as it's all true and so now I brought it up date, left all the real names of everyone in it and published it myself. That way I know when people read it, they will know who did what, how they changed the testimony at my son's trial to get him convicted, and how testimony is not allowed that would show the jurors he was not guilty....

    I was so naive when it all happened about the system and I thought during trials that all evidence was allowed to be said in front of the jury, but that's not the way the system works and evidence that may show someone to be innocent is often not allowed...

    All my books are on my writers site at www.shirleydicks.net

    May 15, 2007

  • shirley dicks

    Hi Kathy, what a beautiful kitty...is it yours. My brother has four cats and I'm allergic although they always love me and want to rub up against me for their loving. I'm a dog person myself and have two Australian Shepherds.....good to have you here. I agree the whole system needs an overhauling...

    May 16, 2007

  • Maryann Miller

    Thanks for the invite to join your circle. What an amazing story you have lived. I knew an inmate in Nebraska who was wrongly convicted. He was not on death row, but did serve 25 years for murders he didn't commit. His lawyer and the Innocence Project couldn't get the conviction overturned. We tried to do a true crime book about it, but it would not sell since the legal efforts kept failing. I still correspond with the man, and I believe he will be out on parole within a year or two.

    May 22, 2007

  • Penny Rudolph

    Hi Shirley,
    I laughed out loud at your comments about New Mexico. I haven't yet had to carry a rifle to hang out clothes, nor do I have a pig, but I do have a tree growing in the house. A palm tree. For some reason it's quite the rage here and it came with the house. Actually, we've gotten almost too civilized in NM lately. Quite cosmopolitan, growing too fast. We've even got smog although most people deny it. I wish I'd heard about rifle-snakes-pig when I was writing the historical mystery set here during the Civil War. What a scene!

    May 22, 2007

  • shirley dicks

    Hi Penny, yes it was funny. We had to move south because of my fathers health so we drove out there, four cars with campers, my parents, my husband, and four kids, my brother and his family and my sister. We thought we'd settle down there but as soon as my father and me saw what it looked like and then my cousin had that huge pig, must have weighed a thousand pounds, and I saw her carrying a rifle like nothing was out of place, I said no way. So after a short visit, my husband and I drove back on insterstate 40 to we got to Knoxville where we rented a house and drove back to get the rest of the family. We settled there for a year and then my older brother got a job in Ashville NC and we all followed. They are all still there...and I of course had to move to the nashville area to be with my son jeff....it was quite an experience....

    May 23, 2007