-Monique, Correctional Facility in St. Gabriel, LA
No one told Drake that his life would be interrupted by a thirty year prison sentence. Drake was the same as any young guy who had great potential. However, things changed drastically when he begins to get off track.
Drake was born and raised in Southwest Louisiana in a city called Lake Charles. This is on the Northside, which everyone knows as Goo Sport for the hood terminologies. Drake lost his dad at the age of fourteen. So, his only father figure and the only man he knew was taken from him too soon.
Drake still had his mother but his father passing away caused his mother to work harder to make ends meet. Let’s be real. It’s hard for a single parent who happens to have four children. Drake was not the only child, but the youngest of four. His other siblings seem to have their own lives. He begins to seek out the street life on his own, despite his mother’s long talks about how education is important, and that he needs to go to school.
Drake begins to take advice of his own, which would not be of any value. He begins to hang out with guys who really did not have any guidance. No one could tell Drake about these guys because loyalty has always been Drake’s motto. He continued to hang out with the only guys he knew as friends.
One night Drake received a phone call from one of his close friends DJ The two of them has always been click tight. In fact, Drake trusts him the most so without question he meets him at the corner store when asked. Drake had no idea that DJplan to rob the corner store. So, he is surprised when DJ walks up to the man behind the counter, pulls out his gun and says, “Give me all the cash.”
Things happened so quickly. Drake could not even speak. Drake did not know what would happen next. Maybe because what happened next, happened too fast. The guy behind the register also had a gun which causes DJ to shoot without even asking any questions. Although DJ fires a shot, so did the man behind the register. DJ and the men both collapsed. Drake did not want to leave his friend. DJ was still breathing, but sadly he took his last breath right in front of Drake.
Drake, out of fear, tried to leave in a hurry. Of course, Drake did what any fourteen-year-old would do out of fear. Unfortunately, Drake did not have the time to run because as he tried to escape the police awaited him outside of the store. Guns held toward Drake.
He placed his hands up in a surrender just as his father taught him to do as a black American when encountering the police. Drake never thought he would have to actually experience this kind of encounter with law enforcement. The officers rushed to Drake, placing his hands behind his back and begin reading his rights to him.
Drake was booked into the detention center for youth. He never got to tell his story. No one believes that he had no idea DJ was about to rob the corner store. Drake sat patiently with uncertainty of what his life would be now. He sat in his single cell and cried. He cried because no one believed him, but his mom. He cried for his father and wanted him back so badly.
He cried for DJ although he was extremely upset with DJ and wished he would have said something before deciding to do something so stupid. Drake sat in the detention where he awaits trial for first degree robbery and murder. The courts decided to do a speedy trial since the store happens to have cameras. On that dreadful day, a jury actually found Drake guilty and sentences him to thirty years. Drake’s mom and siblings cried as they watched Drake as he was sent away.
How many Drakes do we have in the prison setting? How many Drakes are sitting in prison because they decided to meet up with a friend? Since when is meeting up with a friend a crime? Drake was guilty of being a loyal friend, not a crime of robbery or murder.
This is a short story to shine light on mass incarceration and how people like Drake are deserving of a second chance. This story is an example of the many who are incarcerated.
If you agree, how many Drakes are there?