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| Laurence Brown |
Lawrence Brown is the author of the upcoming release of the urban crime thriller, The Take, he also writes short stories and poetry. Lawrence currently studies Business Management at Ashworth College. You can follow him on Facebook at L. Brown The Writer.
Hello, my name is Lawrence Brown (L. Brown The Writer), I would like to share a wonderful experience with you.
I am currently incarcerated on federal bank robbery charges. Life in prison is exactly what one can imagine. Boring. Nothing more, nothing less. Monotonous, tedious, and again boring! After all, you are trapped inside a building 24/7. However, despite every situation life whirls you in, there still remains pros and cons. It's up to the individual to identify, weigh, and make use of what life has left you with.
With the world rapidly turning to social media, someone incarcerated can find themselves being thrown from the loop of social evolution. Communication with the outside world, including friends and family, can become scarce or even obsolete. Because of this, some understanding people began creating prison pen-pal sites.
On the prison pen-pal sites (such as writeaprisoner.com) inmates can post a picture, profile, art, poetry, and educational background for the world to see and respond to by letter, email, or both. It's a great way to new friends!
Recently, I was lucky enough to receive a response from my own personal prison penpal profile. A wonderful person name Jamie Jones took the time to write several people, and I was fortunate enough to land within that bunch.
Jamie shared her thoughts with me about writing a blog about her amazing experience to, hopefully, encourage others to become more social with inmates as well.
Jamie strongly believes that all prisoners are not bad, as typically viewed by society, and people should interact with them more rather than shun them. I couldn't agree more so, after Jamie's request, I decided to post on her blog.
Jamie strongly believes that all prisoners are not bad, as typically viewed by society, and people should interact with them more rather than shun them. I couldn't agree more so, after Jamie's request, I decided to post on her blog.
People make mistakes in life and, rightfully so, they must pay the consequences. I'm nicking away at my debt to society. Rehabilitation is real, but it's an arduous process. One the requires true desire and determination for change. That desire exists within myself, and my progress will be shared in future posts.
This is my way of communicating with you, so take a moment to respond to couple of questions in the comments box. All comments will receive a response. Thank you.
- Do you believe all prisoners are bad and should be shunned by society while they are incarcerated?
- Is Jamie crazy for writing prisoners or is her altruism admirable?
- Do you believe in rehabilitation? Why or why not?
1. No. Some people have been locked up at a really young age, and I know that just because you make a mistake, it doesn't mean you're a bad person. Some of the most genuine and nicest people I knew when I was younger got caught up in bad situations and got in trouble. I know they are definitely not bad people, though. They just need to find their way back on the right track.
ReplyDelete2. I'd like to say that her altruism is admirable, but I think it really depends. I think a mistake that most people make is that they get caught up in a "savior mentality," thinking they can change a "bad" person and turn them into a "good" person. I think it would be more admirable if she's not trying to be some sort of "savior," but instead, writes to them to help with the monotony of prison life.
3. Yes. I, myself, sometimes feel that I'm deteriorating on a wrong path. But luckily, I am quite good at introspection, and am able to keep myself on track. I know a lot of good people who just got caught up in bad situations, especially when they were younger, and made some mistakes. But I know that once they learn how to deal with things the right way, they won't get themselves in trouble anymore.
This is the responce from Lawrence.....
DeleteThis response is for the anonymous person's response to my last post and for all others to read as well.
First, thank you for responding. Your response was filled with interesting points. I have to agree with you about the people who make bad decisions at a very young age. When we are young, we naturally take to our environment, and whatever ways that environment has, it usually becomes instilled in our ways. This is true for households, neighborhoods, etc.
I believe the point you made regarding people getting caught in the "savior mentality", was strong and mostly accurate. It's tough to change a person. But what about a bad person who seeks change, but they may need a little help and guidance along the way to get back on the right track? Remember they may have been young when they made the mistake and all they know is what their environment has taught them. Then, that savior could be the determining factor in their life. This can go for many more than just a prisoner. For example, a pastor can be a person's savior, a coach could be a savior for someone on a destructive path but plays sports, or a counselor providing help and encouragement to someone.
Your response to the third question posed was rather humbling and a much needed reminder to be introspective. It made me dig within myself to identify my mistakes and gear myself toward correcting them. I'm certain I will be successful. Thank you.
Feel free to respond and look out for more post coming soon.
All prisoners aren't bad, they might do bad things but in the end they are paying for their crimes, one of the points of prison is rehabilitation.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Jamie is crazy for writing to prisoners with the intention of being a friend to someone who could use a good friend, especially in prison where you don't always have someone to talk to and can't always make phone calls, at the end of the day prisoners can be lonely and i think it's a good thing to help them out and give them something to do in the long hours they are locked in their cell,
Rehabilitation is possible and it has been proven time and time again, though it only works if the person wants it to work.
I don't understand what the 1st comment by "Anonymous" is saying, you say about it would be more admirable if she's not trying to be a "savior", i will have to assume you haven't read all of her blog posts properly if you are assuming that she has a savior complex, she has clearly stated several times that she wants to help inmates by being the person they can talk to, by being a friend to them, being the one person they can talk to is what she means for those who don't have friends writing to them, i think maybe you misread something and got the wrong idea from it to be honest.