by Shon Pernice
Your walk through the justice system, whether as a juvenile or as an adult, is an opportunity for you to reflect: Why am I here? What did I do? Who did I hurt? People mess up; we fail. What matters is learning from your mistakes and repairing the bonds broken by destructive behavior. As a community and a country, our prison population is at an all time high. People returning to prison is astonishing considering how unpleasant prison atmosphere and living situations are. Incarceration should be a time for restoration of yourself and restitution.
When I first entered the legal system, I looked for any way to beat my case, cheat the system, and get out early. Id take any class to look good for the parole board. I did not gain anything from those classes because I only wanted the certificate. I justified crime, minimized the severity, and blamed my victim. I did not care about anyone but my own needs and took no accountability. What I failed to do, all the way up to the eighth year of my 15-year sentence for manslaughter, was to take responsibility for what I had done.
Restoration – when you get into a vehicle accident, your car is towed away or driven to a shop to get fixed. It is locked away in a garage to be worked on, and in most cases your car comes out better than when it went in. The same should apply with yourself: find the problem, fix the damage, and make yourself a better person. You can’t totally depend on the system to do it for you. Reach out. Learn what you can about life skills, finances, relationships, parenting, job trades, and current events. Go to your facility’s library, pick up a newspaper, and ask a staff member for resources. Write to and correspond with the outside. Not every letter will be answered, but those that do are golden. There are outside organizations and churches that want to help, but they have no idea who you are until you contact them.
Restitution involves making amends to those you have hurt, let down, and had to spend money due to your actions. This process can start with an “I’m sorry”. Next, you need to come up with a plan for how you will make things right. This may involve repayment of money or volunteering your time. To give back to your community, there are plenty of options: mow grass, pick up trash, shovel snow, run errands, walk someone’s dog, make repairs, and volunteer your time. Giving back to your community not only improves yourself, it helps rebuild trust.
If you can break the law, you can perform a random act of kindness.
The justice system should be used as a learning experience. It is not a pleasant one. I would have preferred college to this, but finally I “got it” and now I am growing in body, mind, and spirit. I am finding meaning and a sense of purpose. Good habits get built up with practice and affirmation. Incarceration can be time well spent, or time wasted. That choice is for you decide.