A letter to the Parole Board

Honorable Parole Board,
I am writing on behalf of my family and myself, as we are coming to the sixth year we have been without our Brother, Uncle, Father and Friend, Mark S. Burton. And I can tell you that the pain of loosing him does not diminish, it grows. Sadly, you get numb to it. Every time we gather as a family the giant void in the celebration is apparent to all of us. Often I cry when I think that my 4 year old son will never know the Uncle Marko I knew. Hell never get to hug him or laugh at him. Nor will I or anyone else who knew and loved him. Ever again. I don't know if you have ever had anyone so selfishly robbed from you, so I am doing my best to demonstrate how it feels, to me and my entire family. To my Grandpa and Grandma who were robbed of their son, to his Daughters who were robbed of a Dad, to my Uncles Jeff, Rob, Eddie and Philip who were robbed of their Brother, and my Father who was robbed of his Brother. To the all of his nieces and nephews who miss him so bad that it literally hurts and to his countless friends who miss him. Six years seems like a long time, but it's not. It still seems like it was yesterday that I answered my phone early on Sunday morning and it was my sobbing Mother telling me that my Uncle Marko was gone. She told me how some man had entered his work and shot him dead. My ears heard, but my heart and mind didn't. I asked her " is he alright, which hospital is he at". " No, honey", my Mom said "he's gone". At this point what my Mom told me hit me and all I could do was scream. That is still what I feel like, I want to scream. When I think of the possibility that the man who meticulously plotted and planned to take Mark from us may one day walk free. That brings me to the purpose of my letter to you. I am pleading with you to make sure this never happens. (Inmate A397305) must never be allowed to leave his prison. He is and I believe will always be a detriment to society, as he demonstrated by his malicious and calculated murder of Mark Steven Burton. He demonstrated his inability to control his anger, and he demonstrated his ability to plan and with his own hands take the life of another human being. He was not remorseful, in fact stated that he would gladly do it again. He meant that. I believe that he would do it again. He reveled in the joy it gave him to take a knife and slice away part of my Uncles hair and scalp and take it with him. He bragged that he knew just how and where on Marks body that he could shoot him so that he would live long enough to see himself scalped. That is why he should never be paroled. That is on the societal side. On the moral side, why should he be free when his actions caused a prison of sorts for my family and me. A prison of helpless anger, sorrow and longing. We will never be free to hold our lost family member. We will never again laugh with Mark, celebrate Christmas with Mark, or birthdays, or graduations, or new babies. We will never be able to be angry with him or say sorry. We can never tell him we love him. These are things (Inmate A397305) took from us, things we can't have back after 23 years. Mark Burton doesn't get to come back to his family in September of 2023, nor should the man who resolutely killed him. Our sentence is life, for real. Please make his sentence at the very least equal to ours.


Very Sincerely,

Shelby on behalf of myself, The Burton Family, and all of Mark S. Burtons friends: (signatures to follow)




This is the actual letter I submitted to the Parole board on behalf of my family, my Uncle Marko and his countless friends who miss him very much. This is my ritual on every anniversary of my Uncle Marko's death. He was taken from us on August 5, 2000. It still hurts like it was yesterday. I removed the murderer's name from this post as he thinks he is some kind of local celeb. The truth is, no one remembers his name, he's just "the guy" who killed Marko, and nothing more. On the other hand Marko is remembered, and missed EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I miss you Uncle Marko

Bye Bye Baby Sis!

My old/new best friend left on Friday, to start her new life. Her Happy life. Her not being afraid anymore life. No more constantly looking over your shoulder, no more pulling all the weight, now you have someone who will share the load with you. No more crouching in the corner for fear of being hit again. No more depression. Just sunshine and the great big smile on your beautiful face. I can hear your laugh and I laugh too. That is a wonderful sound. A sound I've not heard in too long. It echos in my ears and I can't help but smile. I am so happy to have you back. Although you now live further from me than ever, you are closer to me. For too long you were so far away, but only accross town. He kept you to himself for fear you would open your eyes. You opened them anyway, and I am proud. Mom cried that we just got you back and now you're leaving, but you haven't gone, and we still have you. I've got you in your renewed spot in my heart and that will never change, no matter where you are. So go little one and make your new life. Pursue happiness with all the passion and intensity that I know is inside you. Know with everything you are that you deserve every prized minute of it! I am glad for the time we had and the times to come. I love you and I am so proud of you. Thank you for breaking the cycle, for having the courage to know that you are a diamond. For overcoming incredible darkness and striving for the light. And pulling yourself right into the middle of it and screaming "I'm not leaving!" And really staying there. It's easy to remain complacent, It's easy to settle and just reserve yourself to the facts of your life, it's easy to just go along, not making any waves. You showed everyone that you are so strong, you said "no more" and meant it. You transformed before my eyes from a frightened little girl to a strong, young woman with passion and conviction. And you aren't going to ever settle, and I am happy for that. So, bye bye little sis, see you at Christmas! :)

My boys in Iraq

Gettin' a little worried....I haven't heard from Sgt. Crouch and his 12 boys in Iraq in way too long. I usually hear from them at least once a week. I think it's been more than 10 days. I hate when it goes that long. I pray that they are all safe. I can't wait to click on my inbox and see an e-mail from them, then I know they are all ok. I can't wait to hear that they got the package I sent them and that they loved my Dad's hot pepper sauce. Can't wait to hear how they smothered their MRE's with it to give them some taste...any taste. Can't wait to hear that they each loved their new toothbrushes, the potato chips and the new issues of Maxim I sent. I just can't wait...to know that they are alive and kickin'. (SOME BUTT!) 

We are stronger than you..

They say that God doesn't give you
more than you can handle.
Sometimes I wonder...
I've been so angry lately
so angry that I feel like I'm gonna blow
Then I get a grip.
This is the kind of helpless anger
you literally feel like your head could explode.
I hate helpless anger
anger that you can't do anything about.
Well I could do plenty about it
but being a "grown-up" with responsibility
I do the right thing.
I hate sitting indolently
watching the people I love being hurt.
Watching my Momma cry at the hands
of a soulless, spineless coward.
When she was the only one
to give him the benefit of a doubt.
She was the only one....
believe me.
Hearing that my Dad was threatened again.
The anger fills my head
I want to scream.
Six years it's been
now we're forced to live it again
Re-hashed through the words
of an emotionless black hole
Molded and twisted to suit his purpose
he tells a half truth of a man
he never did see
Who was a million times
the man he'll ever be.
Right before that
he mentioned the whore
and how she left him
Not of how he punched her in the face
not how he slammed her
head into a post.
How many staples did the hospital give her?
Not how she worked
and bought him a car, a truck, a bike, a house
and someone to cut the grass
while he slept till 4
No thanks for the clothes on his back
or the 1000's of dollars worth of shoes.
Only the best for him!
For her depressions and bruise.
"Be nice," he'd say
and I'll let you take a day off
Leave all of this,
was she out of her mind?
Sadly, it was only that she was blind.
No more of that she's opened her eyes.
She deserves better
so she says "goodbye".
But he just can't take
the hit to his pride.
He'll make her pay one way or another
He'll hurt her Dad, her sister
her Mother
He'll kill all of those birds with one stone
He'll chase them, he'll follow them
he won't leave them alone.
That's when he'll dig up their long murdered brother
and write his sick, happy version
 of how his end came to be
He'll drag them all through his murder again
They'll laugh, and make light
of your loved one that's gone.
Only we know the whole truth
that he'll never know
We have each other and
we've been through worse
Our family will survive you
because we are strong
because we stick together
because we love more than just ourselves....
I take comfort in karma,
although sometimes it works slowly....
it always shows up.
Remember the circle
what goes around, comes around....

you pay for what you do..
actions AND words..

Is this Seattle?

Wow, the Sun finally decided to show it's face to Ohio today! I was starting to think the entire earth had shifted and the Northeast had become the Northwest. (not that there is a HUGE difference between the two) Or maybe it was time to build a boat and start collecting animals....hee hee. Rain, rain, go away! I've got weeds to pull and a kid that if, I am sure doesn't get to ride his bike soon, is going to EXPLODE! I have a bunch of black eyed susans that I stole from my cousin's yard that need to be planted. I'm not completely certain, but I may need a hay baler to mow my back yard with. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining...........it's not winter. Can't wait to get the back yard in order and have a huge summer party and cook-out! If  I could, I'd have one every weekend! Maybe someday.....any way..gotta get outside and get something done, I think it's gonna rain the rest of the week!

Somethin' I forgot........

I forgot to mention this yesterday.............each day I receive an e-mail from Sgt. Crouch and his 12 boys in Iraq, I thank the stars, as that tells me that they made it through another day in hell and that they are all still breathing the hot, heavy, dusty, sand-filled air.......and they are thankful to be.

Our Soldiers

I received an e-mail from my soldiers today..Sgt. Crouch and his 12 boys in Iraq. They are my heros. I am getting a box ready to send to them this weekend..gonna send them some food that actually tastes good and some other things they need. Though I can't send them what they really want, their families, a guarantee that they will remain safe or orders to report home immediately, wish I could.  I hope that even if  folks do not agree with "why" they are there that they can at least appreciate their amazing selflessness and their incredible bravery. We cannot imagine the things they have to go through and see on a daily basis. And they are selfless cause they are risking everything. I am very proud of each and every one of them and hope for each of them that they will make it home, to their families, safe & happy. I have a kinship with these soldiers as both of my Grandpa's are WWII veterans, my Uncle Roger is a Vietnam veteran who is now the VFW's Commander for the State of Ohio, my cousin Larry is a Marine and my Dad is a Vietnam/ Desert Storm veteran. I am very proud and in awe of all of them. Someone who can walk headlong into a situation that they know very well that they may not return from is brave beyond my comprehension. Think about that, you're leaving... you kiss & hug your most beloved family and as you turn to walk away from them...letting go of their hand...knowing in the back of your mind that where you are going, there's a great chance that you won't return. Never see you wife or husband again, your kids, your mom & dad. Your best buddy will never look at football & beer on Sunday afternoon's the same again. Do you think you could do it, do you think you could leave everything you love and cherish with that knowlege, with that ache in your heart? I don't. All of this for someone you don't even know, someone you might never see. Next time you see a soldier, thank them. And damnit, at least appreciate their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their families.