I think this article was really important for someone that has never been in jail before to read. Whenever people look at jail from the outside they typically assume everybody hates each other and the employees are rude and nasty to the inmates. You do not ever think that the inmates would start thinking of their fellow people as family. It is comforting in a way to know that if a person is forced to spend the rest of their life in one place, that they are able to form bonds with others if they want. Not that it makes it easier to spend the rest of your life in jail, but it has to be slightly less painful if there is someone close to you that is going through the same thing and can relate to those feelings. I have to imagine it would also help if there are people working there that are able to make the inmates feel loved and cared about. It is impressive that so many people keep in touch with someone they know that has been in jail for that long. I sometimes have trouble constantly keeping in touch with my friends at home when I am away at college. It motivates me to be more grateful for my friends that I cannot be with everyday, and to try to keep in touch with them more. I think this article is really important to teach people to appreciate the time you have with loved ones, and to understand that when your freedom is taken away you really miss out on a lot. I am happy that the inmates can form their own family in jail so they have people to turn to in times of need, which I am sure are very frequent when being in prison for life. It seems very mature that the inmates can get along with some of the prison employees so well, and I think it can be very inspirational for new inmates sentenced to life to receive this encouragement. It may just make the rest of their time a little better as well.

I think that being a college student is a way in which I was able to relate to this. I think that most people in my generation have it all wrong. In college, especially a large university, there are many people lacking morals. If you want to have friends that like to party and have a good time, they generally also like to have sex with random people and maybe do drugs as well. I am obviously generalizing, and not all college students are like this. I know a lot of people that are proud of getting laid last weekend, and guys obviously brag about it all the time. My boyfriend’s friends will come home and talk about a girl that was trying to get with him, and he will talk about her like she is worthless. It makes me upset to hear things like this. I know my boyfriend realizes that it offends me and makes me feel bad for these girls, and tries to limit the amount of time I have to listen to stupid guy talk, but I still hear things I do not like. My boyfriend has learned over time what it takes to really be a good guy for me, and I think every guy can be capable of realizing it is not all like the music videos if taught be someone whose opinion matters to them. Sometimes guys get sick of their mom saying to always open doors for girls and everything, and they look at it as something that is not “cool.” When they get older, I think guys learn. With maturity comes respect. Respect for women, and respect for who they want to be in a relationship with. Most men that have the mentality that we all want sex and money probably is not in a marriage, or at least not a happy one. I was happy to read this because it made me see that guys eventually do learn. They finally realize what it takes to be a stand up guy, and that is the only way to get that wonderful girl to stand up next to you.

This story was more meaningful to me than a lot of the blogs I have read in the past. I actually admire the strength that is displayed through the words of this story. I no longer see a selfish coward, but I surprisingly see a mature, well-spoken citizen. I do not typically feel that people whom are involved in serious crimes deserve a second chance. I am not saying the author of this blog deserves a second chance. I am; however, admitting that I can see a changed man. This is not the fourteen-year-old boy that hid in the hallway and cried as the crime was being committed downstairs. This is a person filled with regret and remorse. This is a person that actually feels for the victim and his family rather than worrying about himself and looking good to try to be free again. I admire that he knows he deserves to be where he is because it was his actions that caused it. A weak person would say they do not deserve to spend their life in prison because they did not kill anybody. A strong person can recognize to the best of their abilities that they were involved in a horrible event, and they have to be punished for their actions. I understand it has taken a long time to get to a point of acceptance in this situation, but I admire that he has done so. I think he should be paying for that night by being in prison, but I truly admire him making the best out of the situation that he possibly can. If he is religious I will pray that he keeps this attitude for the rest of the sentence because he deserves somebody to support him for how he is handling the situation. I know the family of the victims must feel very strongly towards him, but I think if they read this blog they will better understand his perspective and maybe attempt to see it from his side. He was young, he was immature, and he was scared. It is not an excuse, but it is still a reason.

I feel very strongly about incarcerating juveniles for life. I do not think it is appropriate, and it makes me upset that it even happens in our society. Children do not have the developed brain to fully grasp the concept of a crime they commit. I understand they still need to be punished, but jail for life is taking it entirely too far. A child can be rehabilitated. If they have the ability to change a criminal mind when it is that young a fragile, then the child could one day be a very successful member of our society. I did an internship last summer in a juvenile detention center. Yes, there are children that know they act up and are happy about it. They are going to outgrow that. There are also children that have no idea what they did and do not understand why it made everybody so upset. That is what breaks my heart. They cannot see the consequences of their actions before they do them, and therefore they cannot see why they should stop. Sometimes they do intentionally commit a crime, but is a mistake made at age 13 really deserving of the rest of their life in prison? No, it is not. They will easily be able to later in life see the repercussions of their actions and improve their lifestyle. If they kill someone, they will mature and realize how badly they hurt the family of the victim. They will spend the rest of their life carrying the burden of what they did. I think that is enough grief to deal with after a mistake made as a child. They will never forget what they did, but one mistake from a child’s mind should not ruin the rest of their life. They need to improve the way they live by being punished until they are old enough to realize the intensity of their actions. Then they will be able to become productive and successful one day. If they are unable to change, we will know before they are released back into society. Then they will be punished for as long as necessary.

I often have heard things about how winning the lottery can be a curse as opposed to a blessing. I never thought of it in terms of myself. It is said to be quite the transition when winning the lottery as anyone can imagine, and it cannot be an easy one. Just because somebody has money does not mean they are able to live life as the rich do. A class change that extravagant can really set them back in society. I was watching a TV show a couple weeks ago about people that won the lottery. They were able to purchase a large gorgeous house, but of course they filled it with junk. They were not accepted into their neighborhood, and as a result they became depressed with lack of socialization. It is impossible to change a person by changing their bank account. Another thing I saw on the show that typically happens is people that do not have a large amount of money do not know how to save. A lot of people win all this money and then throw it away on large purchases right away. Instead of using it for something useful like their child’s education, they spend it on a yacht. The money disappears and the people end up worse off than they were to begin with. It is not always a positive thing to give people that are not well off a large amount of money with no guidance. These people are typically not able to handle such a drastic change in lifestyle, and maybe it is not a good idea to subject people to this. More often than not they end up in a bad place unable to be happy with their lives. They become shallow and materialistic, and this could have been avoided without receiving a large amount of money all of a sudden. It can ruin peoples’ lives as well as help them immensely. I think if they use it towards something they really need it can be a very positive experience, but if not it can get bad very quickly.

I never think of fear in a sense of being scared of such simple things in life. I always think, I fear being alone, being in the dark, and spiders. Those seem insignificant when someone has so much to fear. It seems as if he has to fear every little thing in life, but it is admirable that he is able to look at it in a positive way, as well as a negative. He understands that these are not normal fears for a person not facing life in prison, but he is able to get something positive out of it as well. It always amazes me when I read these blogs and the person is able to find a little positivity in a bad situation. This seems like a situation I would have a very hard time finding the positive in, and I am always a very positive person. This is teaching me that when put in a situation like this, people are able to find a something that makes it seem a little better. I am beginning to see that this is the only way they are able to cope with how they ended up in life. The end of this blog really made me feel empowered. The fact that this man is able to conquer each of his fears while dealing with his life sentence blew me away. I am not sure I would be that strong and able to handle something like this. It is an interesting way to perceive life through fear. It is not that he just feels fearful all the time. He is able to overcome so much through his life while in jail. It is really impressive that he is so strong in this circumstance. He is able to deal with these fears as if he is living a free life and able to overcome all obstacles. Sometimes being so strong and communicating with the outside world will assist youth in seeing how fearful jail can be. It is an important lesson to teach people on the outside that do not know what they are going through.

I always find it interesting when an inmate turns to God in his time of need. Sometimes I wonder if it is because that is all he has. When your family no longer supports you, who else will? God. I sometimes feel that being a Catholic and attending church my whole life, what will God forgive me for. We know he forgives all sins if you ask. He always accepts people that did not follow him their whole lives the second they turn to him. Chances are these inmates would never have found God outside of their jail cell. I am glad they are finally able to turn to Him, but it makes me sad that it takes murdering another person to get to that point. Regardless, I think it is inspiring that these people are able to call on someone bigger than themselves. It is a good feeling knowing that when all else fails, there is always somebody you can turn to no matter what. I wish more people were able to see that when they are feeling really low. It should not take something like a serious crime to make a man appreciate God, but it if that is what it takes then it is a good thing. I think religion can really change a person when they turn to it at a bad time. I am not sure if it is enough to change them to be safe back in society, but I think that people should really consider this. If a person turns to religion and commits to it in jail, would they go back to their old ways if they were released? It is unfortunate that people getting life without parole can never test this theory. The only way to really figure it out would be to change someone’s last appeal and offer parole. Which they do not do obviously. I think it would be an interesting experiment to conduct. Nobody knows what can fully change a person that made a deathly mistake. It is sometimes a circumstance they would never again put themselves in. But they will never have a chance to know that.

First of all, I have to say I was extremely impressed with the sophisticated form of writing displayed by this prisoner. When the introduction said he did not graduate high school I was expecting to read something written with a very low level of intelligence. I find it very interesting that a man who clearly possesses intense knowledge and understanding of the world is forced to spend the rest of his life in a prison cell. It seems like a waste to me, and I think it is a shame that he put himself in this position. With that said, I am amazed at his outlook on the situation of compassion between people. I never take a step back to realize that people I may have serious problems with could one day be who I need to turn to for help. It makes me not want to take anybody for granted because you never know who will step up when it is necessary. I started reading the story not even thinking about how this man was in jail, and I was thinking it was something that happened before he got locked up. Once I read that the situation happened in the jail I was very surprised. It is really encouraging to know that people are in a place for something terrible that they did, yet they still feel compassion and emotion towards others. It would be easy to just become a zombie knowing you would never get out of jail again, but this shows that it is not always the case. People are people no matter what life throws at them. It is almost impossible by human nature to not console someone when they are in need. It is a part of being human, and I am glad to see this is not lost on the prisoners. I think it is important for them to still do their best to live life to the fullest and do everything they can to make the best of the situation they got themselves into. Hopefully everyone will understand this and really not take their freedom for granted.

I never really take time to think about how terrible it would be to have my freedom taken from me. I have never read a letter from someone that has received a life sentence, and I think this gave me a small idea of how badly I would miss everything. I always think how much I would hate to lose my ability to go out with my friends, or go to college, or see my family. It was the little things like getting up to check the fridge, and driving a car that really get me thinking. It’s fascinating how many things he named that I never would have even given a second thought to. I think it is so important that we do not take our freedom for granted, and this does assist me in appreciating what I have. I think as far as the prisoners go, it is important to remember they still have the freedom of their mind. It is their choice to get in a fight while in jail and ruin their chance of parole, if offered. I think this prisoner has a positive outlook for the situation he is currently in. It is amazing to me that after all he is enduring, he still appreciates the tiny bit of freedom that he does have in his mind. It is inspiring that he is able to stay positive, and I hope everybody else sees that this is an opportunity for us to appreciate our lives as well. Things may be going bad for the moment, but you will always have the freedom of your mind and nobody can ever take that away from you no matter what. It is important to live every free day that we have, and to not take it for granted. Prisoners all over the place lay in their cell all day thinking about how much they hate where they are. It is encouraging that someone is able to take this opportunity to get one positive thought out of it. I hope this will inspire more prisoners to feel the same way, and helps citizens to better themselves.