Why I Care So Much
Posted by Chris Meeks
August 28, 2021
I had someone ask me….
“Why do you care so much about incarcerated people? They did something BAD and deserve the punishment. Shouldn’t you be focusing on good people that need help instead?”
It’s a FAIR question and I’m sure others have the same thoughts, So here’s my response:
As humans…we all mess up. If you’ve ever had a couple beers or cocktails and drove, you were one chance away from prison yourself. One guy KILLED his own brother driving back from the bar when a deer jumped out in front of them and he got double digits in years in prison and the anguish of killing his brother.
I believe there are people that ABSOLUTELY belong in prison. They have some serious mental illness concerns and may never be a good candidate to be in society. But that’s honestly a small percentage of folks incarcerated.
I’m advocating for…
-People to have the ability to find WORK after paying their debt to society instead of being blacklisted for life
-People to have the ability to LIVE somewhere after paying their debt to society instead of being blacklisted for life
-Being FAIR TO ALL without discrimination based on gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.
-Reevaluation of unfair, lengthy sentences (One guy, with a drug addiction, got 32 dollars for telling a store clerk he had a gun in his pocket and wanted cash in the drawer. He got 30 years)
-A humane environment and treatment for other humans while they are doing their sentence. (With every industry, there are those corrupt and power crazy workers.)
-Some individuals don’t have support, money, or a voice to tell anyone about unjust treatment.
-Some individuals are truly innocent and it comes out many years later
-Some individuals are barely adults where their brain is still developing and they do something stupid with their friends and will spend most of their life locked up.
-Drug addiction and childhood trauma is real. Putting money into programs, therapy, and incentives should be at the forefront instead of just throwing people in a box and hoping they’ll change when released.
I value our justice system and process. I value our cops, attorneys on both sides, and our prison system.
It’s never going to be a perfect system. But change and reform in the search for a better system is always the goal.
I also don’t think people are bad because they are in or went to prison. They just made a poor choice. It’s what’s done after that that defines them.