JAY SMITH was an American High School Principal found guilty of the 1979 murder of an English teacher at his school. Smith spent six years in prison before his conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

This is an excerpt from the book PRINCIPAL SUSPECT, written by Smith’s lawyer William Costopoulos. It describes the former Principal’s time on death row.

The cell had just a little light coming into it from the food slot in the steel door. He had no idea whether it was night or day, let alone what time it was – not that it mattered. He wasn’t going anywhere.

Smith’s naked body was dripping with sweat. His death row cell – of two-feet thick concrete walls with no windows or ventilation – got unbearably hot in the summer with temperatures that rose to over 110 degrees. It was sweltering in there, especially in July.

Jay looked at the dark, slime-green concrete walls that seemed to be moving in on him, closer and closer with each passing day. He wasn’t even allowed to put a religious picture on them to help him get through his living hell.

Jay wondered how much more he could take and believed he was dying. He prayed he was not. Jay had gone from 220 pounds to 165 and looked like he had cancer, even though he worked out every day.

His teeth had completely rotted out. His hair was thinner and had turned white. His eyes were weakening, too, but at least he could still read and write with his strong glasses.

Despair and depression plagued him day and night. Sometimes he sat on the edge of his bed for hours, unable to move. His body would become rigid, and his eyes fixed into a blank stare, seeing nothing. Once a guard reported him dead.

“Jay!” a guard yelled, pounding on his steel door, startling him and causing his heart to race.”Your Greek lawyer called and left word for you to call him. He said it’s an emergency!”

“When can I call him back?” Jay asked, shouting to make sure he was heard. “Your next scheduled phone call is in two weeks,” the guard answered.