Not Guilty
From https://kathleen-carlin.blogspot.com/ :
I am also astonished and disheartened at the general public's response to the incarcerated-"they deserve bad food and to be treated badly", "they should not have gotten themselves in there", "they should have made better choices" and on and on. God forbid that anyone of them ever made a mistake or a bad choice. Believe me everyone is a bad choice away from being incarcerated with all the laws we have today.
I agree that inmates do not deserve abuse.
However, when I read the last sentence, I started to spiral into shame and guilt. As I took a bath, I meditated on how privileged I was to have all the soap I needed to be clean, since inmates only receive a hotel-sized bar of soap every 90 days. I began to think I did not deserve it, since I was no better than the inmates and was privileged to not be in jail.
Before the ridiculousness got any further, I remembered that I have the power to make choices - good and bad. If I am ever incarcerated, it will be because I did something very bad and got caught. Ms. Carlin's daughter is serving a 20-year sentence for kidnapping. The daughter, Sadie, also had a felony DUI from driving drunk with her child in the car. I can't see any situation where I would ever kidnap anyone, and I have never driven drunk in my life. I am a law-abiding citizen. My freedom is not a privilege.
I am also astonished and disheartened at the general public's response to the incarcerated-"they deserve bad food and to be treated badly", "they should not have gotten themselves in there", "they should have made better choices" and on and on. God forbid that anyone of them ever made a mistake or a bad choice. Believe me everyone is a bad choice away from being incarcerated with all the laws we have today.
I agree that inmates do not deserve abuse.
However, when I read the last sentence, I started to spiral into shame and guilt. As I took a bath, I meditated on how privileged I was to have all the soap I needed to be clean, since inmates only receive a hotel-sized bar of soap every 90 days. I began to think I did not deserve it, since I was no better than the inmates and was privileged to not be in jail.
Before the ridiculousness got any further, I remembered that I have the power to make choices - good and bad. If I am ever incarcerated, it will be because I did something very bad and got caught. Ms. Carlin's daughter is serving a 20-year sentence for kidnapping. The daughter, Sadie, also had a felony DUI from driving drunk with her child in the car. I can't see any situation where I would ever kidnap anyone, and I have never driven drunk in my life. I am a law-abiding citizen. My freedom is not a privilege.