Every weekday morning, Lenwood Buchanan, known to his friends as Lenny, travels from Quincy, Massachusetts to Boston, where he works as a general service assistant at Boston Medical Center. Even though he doesn’t clock in until 7:00 AM, he hits the road by 4:30 to avoid rush hour traffic. He comes home every night to his loving wife, Lisa. The couple also owns a cleaning business they operate in their spare time. On the weekends, Lenny goes to church, visits family, and likes to go out to eat. He regrettably admits he doesn’t work out as much as he used to, but would like to get back to the gym. To the unsuspecting outsider, Lenny leads a traditional American life.
But on July 26, 1989, a jury in Raleigh, North Carolina, was asked to decide whether 21-year-old Lenny deserved to live, and they unanimously said no. They found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to death. They were presented with a young man who had had a troubled childhood, became addicted to drugs, and made poor decisions that led to unimaginable harm. The jury was unaware of the person he would become: How he would develop a close relationship with God, an understanding that his life had purpose, and a love for reading the Bible. How he would rekindle familial connections and marry a lifelong friend. How he would be mentored by an older inmate who persuaded him to pursue all the educational and vocational opportunities in prison that he could. How he would tackle his drug addiction and allow his remorse to be a guide moving forward rather than a weight holding him back.
Thankfully, that jury in 1989 did not get the last say. There was a significant error in the sentencing proceeding, and Lenny was resentenced in 1992, this time to life. This second jury didn’t have the benefit of foresight either, but they believed in his humanity and had compassion. They refused to resort to the eye-for-an-eye type of justice that continues the cycle of violence and cuts lives like Lenny’s far too short.
CDPL’s former Executive Director, Gretchen Engel, assisted with Lenny’s resentencing hearing. She located witnesses who knew Lenny as a child and young man. These witnesses gave the jury a fuller picture of the man whose life lay in their hands. Decades later, she would assist Lenny in his battle for parole, writing letters and eventually speaking on his behalf at his last parole hearing, finally helping secure his release in September 2020. A couple years after he was paroled and began to rebuild his life outside of the prison walls, Gretchen would advocate for early termination of his parole, which was successfully terminated in 2023. At each stage of Lenny’s case, Gretchen was able to speak credibly to Lenny’s growth because Gretchen always maintained a relationship with Lenny, often through letters, but also in-person visits.
I had the chance to see Lenny a couple weeks ago at an event celebrating Gretchen’s retirement. He and Lisa drove more than 700 miles from Massachusetts for the event, proudly declaring that he would “go to the moon and back” for his dear friend. In a follow-up conversation, Lenny told me the incredible impact Gretchen has had on his life since he first met her. Not only did she help him secure a life sentence, then parole, and finally termination of his parole, but, over the course of the last thirty years, Gretchen has been a constant source of wisdom, encouragement, and much-needed comradery. Lenny knows that Gretchen hasn’t treated him differently than other clients, but that this is just the type of attorney and person that Gretchen is. In fact, he nicknamed Gretchen “the Legend” because she is widely known among the death row community as the attentive and effective advocate he came to know and love.
During Gretchen’s tenure at CDPL, she always embodied client-centered, holistic representation. She treated her clients with dignity, valuing them as individuals and caring about them as fellow human beings. And she did everything within her control to get the powers that be to see her clients through a similar lens. Because if the people in power could see her clients’ whole selves, Gretchen knew that mercy would follow.
The attorneys, mitigation specialists, and support staff at CDPL work every day to further the legacy Gretchen has left behind. In addition to meticulously preparing and litigating cases, CDPL takes an interest in who our clients are as people and how we can best support them. In doing so, we have learned that Lenny, though exceptional, is not the exception. There are many individuals on death row who have grown into remarkable human beings. People often change when given stability, mental health care, drug treatment, counseling, and/or the time to outgrow adolescence. Individuals on death row are grandparents, parents, siblings, children, uncles, aunts, friends, and mentors. They are thoughtful, talented, and well-read. They have strong faith and sincere regrets. They enjoy music, sports, and politics.
Many of our clients, though having committed great harm, are strong assets to their communities, both inside and outside prison walls. Yet, assuming the state has its way, we will spend countless taxpayer dollars to violently end these lives that have positive value to so many. Lenny is a living testament to the possibilities that await us if we are wise enough to abolish the death penalty and a reminder of the loss that awaits us if we don’t. We invite you to join CDPL and our partners as we advocate for those who, like Lenny, deserve the opportunity to live, love, work, learn, grow, and heal without the constant threat of execution casting a dark shadow over every breath.