We are more than our crimes

1 in 7 incarcerated people are sentenced to life

Roy Middleton, Kareem McCraney, Halim Flowers, Michael Plumber, Channing Battle, Anthony (Pete) Petty, James Dunne….and me, of course. We all were convicted of murder when we were still developing as human beings. In my case, I was just a couple of months past my 16th birthday. Yet we were classified as “super predators” — already irredeemable, unfit to join society — and given the equivalent of life sentences.

Today — decades later — we’ve all matured into responsible adults who are making positive contributions to society. Pete and I are waiting for our second chance on the outside, but we’re already youth mentors, bloggers, authors and educators. The others lost no time in joining government departments, working as “violence interrupters,” contributing to nonprofits and becoming creative entrepreneurs.

Despite being what society labels “violent offenders,” we are so much more than our crimes. We have matured out of our lack of impulse control and high vulnerability to peer influence. We have, despite an environment so harsh it seems designed to arrest any positive development, become our better selves. But we will remain labelled by our crimes until people can somehow get to know us.

This is mission of the project I’m co-founding with my editor/collaborator Pam Bailey…