I wake up, roll out of bed, and find this video (link at the end of this blog) of a man who did apparently overcome addiction, who did pass through the correction system and was rehabilitated. Having blogged on this yesterday, I listened to the video intently, hoping to pick up clues as to what led him to overcome his addition, and what role the correction system played. A case study, then.
The video seems to be pieced together, edited down, so I become unsure of the full chronology. But, there are some things that are clear:
(1) He spent five years in prison for two burglaries committed to support his heroin addiction, only to get out and within days be back drinking and smoking pot and soon to be back into trouble. On at least that occasion, the correction system had failed to correct him.
(2) All told, he spent nine years in prison. The second four years might have come after he had seen the error of his ways. Perhaps those four years provided a separation period, helping him put time between him and his errors and solidifying his thoughts not to go back. If so, for those four years, the correction system served him well, helping to correct him.
(3) He was loved into correction. He speaks of feeling the Lord was reaching out to him. He notes he wondered why the Lord would want to help him, a convict, an addict, and an alcoholic. "Why would you want to help me?" he asked the Lord. "Mark, it's because I love you," came the answer. Having heard this part of the story, I remain convinced of what I said yesterday, that loving the prisoner is a key. I remain convinced that if we hired prison keepers who are loving and thoughtful towards prisoners, it would help.
(4) He did not overcome his addiction and reform his life until after he realized and confessed the wrong he had done. He speaks of hiding in the bushes from the cops after a robbery, thinking of the man he just robbed, thinking of the fear he had seen in his eyes, and saying, "How could I have done that to another human being?" I conclude as I watch this on the video that perhaps the most important thing that can occur while in prison is that the prisoner recognizes his fault. If that step is already taken care of before entering prison, it is not so needful. But, if the convict went through the court proceedings without realizing and confessing his wrong, then part of his care while in jail should be to get him to realize that wrong. Reviewing the crime, going over it and recalling other incidents -- not just the crime he got caught for -- is essential. Were judges to realize how important this is, they might should even make it part of the sentencing. With or without it being part of the sentencing, though, the corrections officers at the prison should be aware of the confession history of the criminal and should be working with him to get that confession, not a forced confession, for that would be meaningless, but a heartfelt, sincere realization of fault.
http://web.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/mail?view=msg&id=3180
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