A charity single released on Bandcamp November 1st., Ruben’ is a charity single with a difference.
‘Ruben’ was written, arranged, performed, mixed and mastered by Plymouth, UK born Gozer Goodspeed. This came about after being asked by UK based singer-songwriter and podcaster Elijah Wolf if he would like to write a song for the project ‘Last Words’ for The Dead Innocents collective.
Elijah’s podcast (https://songwritingforsongwriters.bandcamp.com) is about songwriting for songwriters, and he approached leading Human Rights Lawyer Clive Stafford Smith OBE about the possibility of collaborating on this project to highlight those innocent prisoners who had been put to death on Death Row in the US, as part of the upcoming Last Words project. The haunting lyrics that Gozer has written were inspired by Death Row inmate Ruben Cantu, who was arrested and imprisoned at 17 and executed in 1993 at the age of 26. The Dead Innocents/Last Words project will fund Clive Stafford Smith’s work of Human Rights through the UK based Justice League organisation.
Gozer has tackled this track as he has cleverly got into the mind of Ruben, placing himself in the unthinkable mindset of a young man about to die, who had protested his innocence right to the end. Gozer sings with a sad bluesy passion, of being lost, a cry for help without hope of being heard. A hugely emotional track which pulls the heartstrings and is very poignant as ‘Ruben’ is sadly a true story.
On August 24, 1993, at 22 minutes after midnight, at the age of 26, Cantu died by lethal injection, becoming the fifth juvenile offender to be executed by Texas. His final request was for a piece of bubble gum, which was denied. Ruben prayed as he got down on the floor and as confirmed by his pastor said ”I am not innocent of sin, but I am innocent of this crime”.
A decade after the shooting (in Texas), those that were involved with the case i.e. the surviving victim, the co-defendant, the district attorney, and the jury forewoman made public statements that cast doubt on Ruben Cantu’s guilty verdict.
One must ask – over the years of the death sentence around the world, how many prisoners have been executed then found innocent?
Clive Stafford Smith says of the song: “I am very grateful to Gozer Goodspeed for working to create this song about Ruben Cantu. Indeed, Texas did not want to hear the details about his innocence, and given that 5 out of the 16 people executed in 2024 have, once again, had powerful claims that they were not guilty, this project is all the more urgent………”
Please support this project and enjoy the track, that can only be found exclusively on the Songwriting for Songwriters Bandcamp page, from November 1st, 2024.
A story and song that must be heard.
Jean Camp
Artist’s website: www.gozergoodspeed.co.uk
(The track is embargoed until November 1st.)
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