The Foreign Service Journal, April 2008

48 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / A P R I L 2 0 0 8 not admitted into evidence. “Equatorial Guinea is not on trial,” Judge Lewis said, “and will not be.” He accordingly refused to permit any information about the country or its madness to be introduced. Tempo- rary insanity usually implies certain inciting conditions; however, my father’s jury heard about none. Ultimately, the jury rendered a ver- dict of manslaughter. My father’s lawyer was Aubrey M. Daniel III, who had previously found fame as the My Lai Massacre prosecutor and later became a partner at an elite Washing- ton law firm. Daniel told me many years later that he considered my father’s conviction and subsequent denial of appeal to be the “single worst” miscarriage of justice he had ever witnessed. The horrors of Equatorial Guinea during the 1970s have often been com- pared to those committed by the regime of Pol Pot. At some point, Pres. Macias began setting up crosses and crucifying people. He did it along the airport road, so that diplomats and for- eigners would see. Firing squads exe- cuted masses of victims at the newly constructed “Freedom Stadium,” while playing American music over the loudspeakers. When the natives on Fernando Po began fleeing, Macias ordered every boat on the island burned. Many who depended on fish- ing for their sustenance starved to death. Between one-third and one-half of the country’s population either fled or were killed during Macias’ tenure. He was finally overthrown by a relative in 1979. Oil was discovered offshore, and contracts with American petroleum companies followed. The country that was once called the “Auschwitz of Africa” soon became known as the “Kuwait of Africa.” After Father’s evacuation, the embassy was closed. It was reopened briefly in 1981, only to close again in 1995 when a host government official insulted an American diplomat. In 2003 it was opened once more. Today, the country is very friendly toward the United States. My parents separated soon after the trial. In prison, Father went through extensive psychological ther- apy and counseling. After several years, he applied for parole and the board, considering his record of ser- vice and positive psychological evalu- ations, granted it. He retired quietly to San Diego, where he attended church regularly and spent time with a small circle of friends. He met a lady, and they were planning to marry, but he died of a heart attack before it happened. I remember her. She was very nice.