WARNING: The following is a fictitious scenario, depicting what happens when you combine crime with religious ideology. Please note: The writer, Peggy Butler, has NEVER been in jail, prison, arrested, or committed a crime. The article is merely a study in literary creativity with a unique twist. Now without further interruption, I present An Inmate’s Prayer!
Dear God as I sit in this cell, surrounded by the sights and sounds of prison, my mind drifts back to a different time and era. A time when people were less cynical and more caring. A time when gay meant happiness, and was not a reference to one's sexual orientation. A time when I was 31, and didn’t realize the true meaning of freedom until I found myself behind bars.
Hey God, in no way am I blaming anyone for the crime I committed. I mean nobody put a gun to my head and said, "Boney Z you’ve got to show the world how tough you are". It’s just that I thought I had to prove that I had the gall to handle anybody who crossed my path, even the police.
So I made the decision to go along with my “boys," when they decided to rob that bank. Man we thought we were really doing something. Looking at all that money, $15,000 in cold hard cash, made us feel invincible, like we had won the lottery. Hence, following our criminal escapade, we told the rest of the boys that we were the four men the cops were looking for. And you know what happened next, don’t you God? Yeah, that's right, my main homeskillet, a loud mouth hell-raiser I treated like my own brother, ratted me out to the police.
Not surprisingly, two months later we were sentenced to 30 years in prison. Thirty stinking years! Man I couldn’t believe it. And to add insult to injury, my grandmother had the nerve to taunt me with that tired and over-used phrase, “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time." As if I hadn’t heard that all my life. But did I listen? Heck no. But God I wish I had listened to somebody.
Fast forward to 2007: After being in prison for 29 years and trying desperately to maintain my sanity, I thought of a way I could make a contribution to my fellow inmates. Now fellows before you get your boxers in a wad, let me say that this is nothing radical, it’s simply a proposition I call An Inmates Prayer. And it goes like this:
Dear God give me the wisdom to realize that we all have choices in life. That means if you commit a crime, you will get caught eventually. Maybe today, maybe five years from now or even later, but mark my words you will get caught. And when you’re caught, don’t blame anyone else. Because when all is said and done, YOU are responsible for your actions.
I know that’s a hard pill to swallow, but I know you can take it like the strong and confident men that you are. Moreover, for all the ladies behind bars, I hope you will heed this message as equally as your male counterparts. Now, that my fellow inmates, is incarceration wisdom in full bloom.
And speaking of wisdom. While I’m in prison, help me to realize that regardless of the fact that we are inmates, we are still people, and we should respect each other. That means no fighting, no bullying, no hating or any coercion that springs to mind. Just because we’re behind bars, doesn’t mean we have to violate each other does it? Let’s show the world that we can maintain a fervid degree of civility even in jail and/or prison. Are you with me?
Dear God while I’m here, endow me with the faith, courage, strength, patience and perseverance I need to serve out the remaining 10 months of my sentence. Also, help me to look forward to the future. And no matter how bad I feel, let me realize that despite my circumstances, there is someone, somewhere, who is worse off than I am. For example, to those of you serving a life sentence, you may say there is nothing more frustrating. Oh but you’re wrong. As dismal as it sounds, would you trade your life sentence with someone who’s been told they are terminally ill with less than two months to live? I don’t know about you, But I Would Not.
Lastly, Dear God when I return to the “real world," don’t let society judge me based on the fact that I’ve been incarcerated for 30 years. Let everyone that I come in contact with, realize, that I have paid for my mistakes, and therefore should be given the chance to live my life without criticism, from those who feel they are in a position to judge me. Hence, let them realize that no one is perfect and we all make mistakes.
Now God after talking to you, I know that everything is going to be fine. For even as I walk through the valley of doubt and uncertainty; I feel your presence, slowly enveloping me in the peaks and canyons of your ever lasting love.
Amen
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