Watson Gray
Photograph of.Watson Gray, obtained from The Exoneration Project, by way of the Chicago Tribune.
Watson Gray was a unique individual who deeply touched and impacted the lives of all those who formed parts of his community. A man of many ventures and talents, Watson was a former businessman, previously owned a carpet store and received a degree in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin in his lifetime. While incarcerated, he continued to devote his energy to a wide range of efforts and projects working as a barber, teacher and paralegal, among other things, and was noted for the positive influence he had - the footprint which will mark his legacy.
Tragically, on November 6, 2020, aged 73 and incarcerated at Dixon Correctional Center in Illinois, Watson died of complications related to COVID-19. His passing came one day after his lawyer had made a final plea for mercy, citing Watson’s advanced age and poor health. Gray is one of at least 60 incarcerated people who have died after becoming infected with COVID-19 in Illinois’ custody, a death toll that has doubled since November. Speaking on behalf of Watson, his lawyer noted that he “wasn’t really asking for another chance [...] he just wanted to die with dignity outside of prison, at home with his family.” Sadly, this wish wasn’t granted for a man who spent over half of his life incarcerated.
Watson distinguished himself through his leadership and dedication to self-improvement. Beyond the various work roles he took on, Watson invested in his community by mentoring younger men and running and serving as president of a prison chapter of the Jaycees service organization, a leadership training and civic organization for young adults, as well as other prison programs. Previously the chapter had been dormant but was revitalised by Watson and his peers Ford “Mick” Ranson and Marty Norpell in the 1970s, bringing the group to a position of eminence and privilege. Watson’s work with the Jaycees program was hugely significant not just within the prison but outside as well, thanks to the leadership Watson fostered and displayed.
Watson notably entered the limelight when he authored a proposal to let incarcerated people pay for their own college and vocational training after state budget cuts eliminated funding for such programs. This unprecedented idea strongly challenged the era’s beliefs that people incarcerated lived a cosy lifestyle at the taxpayer’s expense and proposed a platform for them to create and experience their own autonomy. Autonomy was an integral principle of Watson’s, who remarked that “the worst thing a[n] [incarcerated person] loses when he comes in is his autonomy [...] You have someone else thinking for you. That's why gangs have such a pull over here. The only things that compete are the positive programs. It's the only way to get a positive status in the community.”
Watson’s dedication to his roles not only earned him respect and authority within his community but also created a wider positive platform for all incarcerated people, with prison administrator Gary Vilsoet noting that the Jaycees “provide leadership” among those incarcerated there.
Watson was tragically denied the mercy of dying in some comfort due to mismanagement of COVID-19 in Illinois prisons, a preventable tragedy that too many have faced. He will continue to live on through the positive culture he instilled in many, the spirit of autonomy he propagated and his mentorship. We, along with the communities he touched, dearly mourn his loss.
This memorial was written by MOL team member Cecile Ramin with information from reporting by Christy Gutowski of the Chicago Tribune and Christi Parsons of the Chicago Tribune.