by RomanoUnlimited
This is the fifth and final story in the Project Unlimited series titled: “Why do people wind up in prison?” Inmates at Tomoka Correctional Institution wrote these stories, not to justify or excuse behaviors, but for the purpose of educating and increasing awareness. You’re welcomed and encouraged to send questions for consideration for the Unlimited men to answer throughout this series. To learn more about Project Unlimited click here.
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Hollywood portrays immediate consequences of incarceration as bad food, horrible living conditions, inadequate healthcare, isolation, sexual abuse, and violence—all true. Yet, according to the Florida Department of Corrections, Florida’s recidivism rate is 22.5 percent for men and 11.9 percent for women
The Florida Department of Corrections defines recidivism as “a return to prison, as the result of either a new conviction or a violation of post-prison supervision, within three years of their prison release date. The follow-up periods are calculated from prison release date to the date of readmission to prison.”
Prison is Not Disney
If prison is not Disney, then why do people wind up in prison and then just can’t stay out?
Although I’m not a psychiatrist, psychologist, criminologist, or anything else that ends in “ist,” I believe that the reason people commit crimes is ignorance. Not ignorance of the law, nor ignorance of the difference between right and wrong actions; but rather, ignorance of the full scope of our actions.
Ignorance of the damage we do to ourselves.
Ignorance of the damage we cause to our families and friends.
Ignorance of the damage we inflict on victims and society.
Now, I want to be absolutely clear. Ignorance is not a golden ticket to wrongdoing. I’m not justifying my crimes, nor anyone else’s. I’m not diminishing my actions, nor the ones of others. In fact, with the exception of few individuals, criminals (myself included) understand immediate consequences of our actions. What we do not know however, is the actual cost of criminal behavior. Most of us don’t understand it at first and some have to experience it more than once.
When we commit crimes, we don’t just cause pain and suffering to our victims or make society feel unsafe. We hurt our families, friends, and ourselves. What sane person willingly harms themselves? Their mother? Siblings? Yet criminals do so every day. Prison visitation lines testify to the pain.
Why Do We Cause So Much Pain?
We sell drugs because we need the money, now. We have to have our fix, now. We need instant gratification. Now… now…now. Instead of being in control and weighing the consequences properly, our bad emotions and impulses rule us. Maybe it’s because we experienced too many traumas growing up. Maybe it’s our environment. Maybe it’s because of some other influence we haven’t discovered yet.
All I know is as long as we remain ignorant to the source of crime and incarceration, they will continue to haunt our society.
It’s time we get smarter about ignorance.
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If you missed the first stories in this series, find the links below. A whole-hearted “thank you” to Jonathan for serving as copy editor and Jacob as master typist.
- “I Didn’t Know How to Ask for Help” by JacobUnlimited
- “Edmund, a story about drinking” by MichaelUnlimited
- “I Should Have Just Been a Kid” by KennethUnlimited
- “It’s Not Hard to Wind Up in Prison” by RobertUnlimited
- “What is Prison?” by BrianUnlimited