Judge spends Christmas with inmates, shares message of hope

FARMINGTON — "Today, I'm just Tom Kay."

For 16 years, 2nd District Court Judge Thomas Kay has visited inmates at the Davis County Jail on Christmas Day to read a growing set of poems he has written about the birth of Jesus Christ. They recount a number of perspectives from the scriptural account of Jesus' birth, from Mary and Joseph to the animals in the stable.

"Isn't that amazing?" Kay pauses to ask, describing a choir of angels singing to shepherds in a field.

"Yes," some of the women in the crowd answer aloud, as others smile or nod their heads.

Kay began the tradition after he asked what kinds of Christmas programs were offered at the jail. Other than a meal, there wasn't one, he was told. The judge has been visiting ever since.

This year, about 30 female inmates came to the Christmas program, including some who had first seen Kay seated behind the judge's bench. They offered spontaneous applause between some of the poems and laughed at the judge's jokes. At other moments they wept, wiping quiet tears as they listened.

"Sometimes their eyes are down and they just don't look like they have any hope. Others, you see their eyes and they're really following you," Kay said.

The oldest poem in Kay's collection, which he has titled "One silent, holy night," dates back 21 years. This year he wrote four, bringing the total to 46. As he adds a few poems to the collection each year, the judge begins thinking about his visit to the jail and what he will share, his wife, Kathy Kay, said.

The program is voluntary, inviting those who want to participate to gather in the simple cinderblock room that serves as the jail's chapel following their holiday meal. They're all low-level offenders, Thomas Kay says, mostly facing charges of drugs or theft. By next year, a whole new group will be there.

When the Kays' children were young, they would ask their father why he continued the tradition each year. The answer, he told them was in the Bible, Matthew 25:36.

"I was in prison, and ye came unto me," it reads.

"I tried to teach that to our kids," Thomas Kay said. "No one is thinking of these people on Christmas. I did help put some of these people in jail, it's a good thing to come and share some of my time with them."

Kathy Kay, who has accompanied her husband for the past four years, joined in reading "A Christmas dress for Ellen," pausing occasionally to hold up the book so that the women could see the pictures.

Afterward, one of the inmates, Destiny Morgan, hurried forward to give the judge's wife a quick hug and thank her for the visit.

"It was nice of her to come up and say that we had made a difference in her day, that's what he were hoping to do," Kathy Kay said. "I imagine it's pretty hard to be away from the family, I could see one lady who was having a really hard time, and I could just picture her thinking of her family at home.

Morgan said as she listened to Kathy Kay read the story about kind strangers rallying around an impoverished family, her mind turned to another Christmas. Two years ago, when Morgan couldn't afford much for her children, someone had anonymously left the family a ham and some gifts.

"This really helped my day, I had just been feeling bad for myself, and now I'm happy and I can take that back to the pod," Morgan said. "It can be hard to be positive around here, there's so much negativity in our lives."

Each year when the inmates walk in, they seem hardened and distant, Thomas Kay says. By the time they leave, they are smiling, friendly, and wishing everyone a merry Christmas.

"This was probably the most responsive (group)," he said, smiling, following rousing choruses of "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." They grow still again as they sing along to "Silent Night."

"This is hard for them, this is not where they planned to spend Christmas."

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