with Kim Varner, Sr
Imagine being across from the electric chair – in the death chamber, picking a grey suit to be buried in, your last meal that you will surely not be able to eat – knowing in 14-hours you will be executed in front a gallery of people. This is the Calvin Thomas story, one part of it at least. He didn’t die that day, in fact, Calvin has survived!
Calvin Thomas was 17 years old when he was sentenced to death row in Jacksonville, Florida. One of twelve children born to a single mother in 1942, Calvin had an eighth-grade education and a thriving moonshine business with two buddies when he was arrested in 1960.