The Weight of Truth

The day before Clarance Goode’s life was turned upside down, he was just trying to keep his head down and avoid trouble. Michelle had her own problems: her brother had been exposing her, and DHS was scheduled to inspect her house. None of that had anything to do with Clarance. He had his own family to support. His immediate focus was on his plans to visit his younger brother in prison the next morning, while staying as far as possible from the chaos that always seemed to surround Michelle and her family.

By that time, he had been clean of any drugs, prescription or otherwise, for years. He still sold a little marijuana, nothing that would even be considered illegal today. No meth. No crack. No cocaine. Just weed to a few familiar faces. It was not some massive operation.

Ronald Thompson, Michelle’s cousin, known as “Bunny,” was another story. The night of the murders, Clarance was with Ronald and Kenneth at first, picking Ronald up from work at Walmart. Kenneth then took Clarance to his parents’ home and dropped him off. His phone records proved that they could not have been together at the time the crime took place. According to those records, Kenneth called Clarance after the murders had already occurred, seeking help with a passed-out Ronald who could not give directions back to Michelle’s house.

And that, Clarance would later say, was how he got pulled into the nightmare of his life. Not through malice. Not through planning. Through the ordinary human instinct of answering the phone when someone you know calls and needs help.

Clarance as a baby.

Clarance as a boy.

Clarance, back, with his parents and his younger brother.

Clarance, second from right, with his father and his brothers.

Clarance before his arrest.

Clarance and La Kendra.

Clarance and La Kendra, visiting room, Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Clarance with his daughter, visiting room, Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Clarance with his grandson, visiting room, Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Clarance with his granddaughter, visiting room, Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Clarance with his granddaughter, visiting room, Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Clarance with his daughter, visiting room, Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

That was the extent of his involvement.