by P, San Mateo If I could get rid of any rule or law I would ban life sentences and get rid of the death row. Why? Incarceration is already too hard on a person and the government would rather have convicts rot in prison than rehabilitate individuals. I personally have not been affected by this law, nor do I know someone serving a life sentence. But if this consequence was to be banned, I think many families would be more complete. Just maybe the nepotism of incarceration would cease to exist. I currently reside in Daly City. As you
Continue ReadingMonth: September 2020
Dear Young Self
by A, Sacramento You will face a lot of challenges in your life and let me be the first to tell you that life is not easy. So many unfair and things no human deserves will happen to you but I promise you will get through it. You are resilient and you are beautiful inside and out. You are worthy of love and don’t let anyone tell you different. Your journey is going to have a lot of obstacles but you cannot give up, giving up is the easy way out. God gave you this life because he knew you
Continue ReadingNothing Is As Bad As It Seems
by Christopher Walton, Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in Milton, Florida Whenever I hear about someone committing suicide, like most people I imagine, the first question I often ask is what pushed the person to take such a drastic route? What was so bad about his or her life that they felt it would be better to cut it short? The thing I wish I could tell these individuals beforehand is that there’s almost nothing you can experience on this plane of existence that can’t be overcome. Even through issues such as heartbreak, financial ruin, embarrassing episodes, and failure can cause
Continue ReadingPath To Transformation
by Dortell Wiliams, California State Prison, Los Angeles County Clad in a carrot-orange, one-piece jumpsuit and karate shoes three sizes too big, a pair of beefy correctional officers escorted me through a labyrinth of walkways and other fate-sealing gates until we reached the prison yard. When the prison gate slammed behind me, rudely shattering the a.m. silence that stills the night, there was a finality of tone with it that was unique from my previous three years of pre-trial detainment in the infamous Los Angeles County jail. Green grass carpeted sections of the small stadium-sized yard, dotted with obstinate dirt
Continue ReadingSacramento to Louisiana and Back
by KA, Sacramento My name is KA. I am seventeen years old and I have five brothers and no sisters. Growing up I didn’t have what you call an easy life. I was born in Kaiser Hospital in South Sacramento, CA. I don’t know exactly where I went after I was born but I know when I was real young my mom was having trouble financially and that led to my mom, brother, and I being homeless for a while. We were sleeping basically anywhere we could. Sometimes we would try to sleep at relatives’ houses, cars and basically anywhere
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