In November 2014 I got introduced to The World Bible School and Mr. Doelas Landes who was a study helper, by a fellow inmate, Mr. Joe White. Joe praised Mr. Doelas and his wonderful wife Rebecca. At that time, I was once again lost and beat down. It was the moment Dr. Peter Stephens, Dr. Plunkett and Mr. Pizer had passed away. Virtually my entire Legal Team was gone. What took me years to cultivate was no longer there. To compound matters, the lady that I was married to left to be engaged to another man. Mr. Doelas had no idea that God was using him as an olive branch of edification. Those lessons came and came while other students tossed the paperwork, I completed each and every lesson. It’s strange how God blesses even when there is a loss, you have to look through the hurt and pain to see it. When I say I was severely depressed, you have to believe me, it showed. I showered but it was half done. My living area was basically a dump and I did not care. I would reach out and no one would reach back. There were moments before the storm when the world was at my feet. Everyone had seen the movie script MUD online represented by Walter Fredericks Entertainment. As well, everyone figured that I would be exonerated. When both situations dissolved to nothing, people vanished. Between Shapheka, my wonderful daughter and Mr. Doelas, I managed to continue on.
As I picked myself up and God carried me I felt like the guy in a painting I had seen. The guy was barely moving with his head drooped, there was a ghostly figure of Jesus carrying him. My Jesus was Mr. Doelas. With every lesson, he would make comments and compliment my thoughts. I would sit there for long moments and look around at the madness of prison life and fight through the pain. Mr. Doelas seemed to voice the right words at the right moment to slowly but surely break away the pain. I slowly started back fighting. I shared my turmoil with Mr. Doelas, all my inner turmoil. He walked me through it. Then he went to work. You have to understand how far Arkansas is from Lufkin, Texas and Beaumont, Texas. You also have to understand that Mr. and Mrs. Landes are in their eighties! Mr. Doelas started digging into the case. He called all lawyers involved, paid out of his own pocket to get important actual innocent documents that I could never get. He made endless calls, sometimes to the same people. He, this southern strict disciple of Christ that attends a congregation of the church of Christ and white, knew that I was absolutely framed.
I stumbled or God dropped another blessing in my lap. John Green, a fellow inmate who at times shared food, jokes and encouragement, offered to pay for a lawyer. He dropped eight thousand dollars on an appeal attorney. The attorney also requested another thousand dollars for travel expenses that I could not pay. As a result he returned the eight thousand and dropped me as a client. Green then offered to pay for one of my books to be published. That way I could use the money to pay for a lawyer in the future the entire amount due. Then after making the payment, he backed up. I understood, I thanked him and started working diligently to get one of my books in working order. I needed an editor but I had nothing. The self-publisher had one but at an additional cost. Once again, I was right back where I started. That’s when Mr. Doelas entered the picture. He never told me to this day what the total cost was. He contacted Midnight Express Books, they have a strict policy about everything, even discouraging family members from contacting them. To my luck, Mr. Doelas won those guys over. He picked up the pieces and even though the book is without professional editing, it was published. MUD would not have made it without Mr. Doelas and his wife Rebecca.
God places people in our lives for a reason. This family has never laid one eye on me but has given to my cause over and over again. As things continue to evolve, these wonderful people are right there again, cheering and helping me on. It was wonderful to hear this very country man get on the air/radio and defend my cause and pronounce my innocence to the world. There’s wonderful and there’s wonderful quality Christians like Mr. Doelas and Rebecca Landes that makes my world rotate on its axis.
This is a thank you from me.
Derrick L. Griffin, 01-09-2021
