The author Billy Wayne Sinclair discusses his life battle
between his morality and his chance at freedom. In 1965, Mr. Sinclair attempted
to rob a clerk but was chased out of the store and out of fright, he fired over
his shoulder while running away. The store clerk bled to death and since the
death penalty was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1972, Mr. Sinclair was
sentenced to life without parole. He spent many years in Angola : a
prison system that was notorious for its violence and brutal treatment. He even
mentions how in February 1951, thirty one inmates sliced their heel tendons to
protest the cruelty in that prison. Fortunately, he spent most of his time in
that jail working as a journalist for the prison magazine, The Angolite. He
used his position to document and spread the word of the cruel conditions,
prison suicides, sexual violence and more; he also used his position help set
the way for racial integration with his best friend, Life who was a militant
black inmate from New Orleans .
But his road to redemption was not without more hardships.
His friend Life was stabbed to death for his stance against homosexual rape. Other
than seeing fellow inmates tortured, beaten, and killed, his next biggest
hardship was choosing between freedom and his morality. In 1982 he met a woman
named Jodie Bell, a reporter who was visiting the prison to do a series on the
death penalty. Eventually the two got married and the hardest thing Mr.
Sinclair ever had to do was turn down an offer to buy a pardon. Governor Edwin
Edward was convicted of selling pardons for cash, jewelry, and sex with the
prisoners’ wives. Mr. Sinclair loved his wife very much and she did as well;
they both longed to be with each other and they knew that turning down the
offer could mean that Mr. Sinclair might never leave Angola . They knew the price of the
pardon was more than the $15,000 they were required to pay; accepting the
pardon would mean sacrificing all the effort Mr. Sinclair had put forth to
building a good morality and the Catholic beliefs Ms. Bell valued.
Because in the passage Mr. Sinclair notes he couldn’t accept
being labeled as a murderer, he wanted more than that. So his criminal past would
urge him to accept the offer, but his want to see more than just a convicted
killer in the mirror drove him to reject the offer. This connects to the
personal development expectations of first years. Our residents will make
mistakes, if there’s one thing I’ve learned as a mentor in freshman dorms it’s
that things will never be perfect. We are all human and from time to time we
will do something we are not proud of and we know is wrong. But we need to make
sure our residents realize that one mistake does not mean it’s going to define
them or the rest of their life. It’s inevitable but they will get tempted by
bad influences. As RA’s we need to make sure they understand they should
reflect on their actions so they do not lend themselves to bad behavior. Even
though he committed the gravest sin, when presented with the opportunity of
freedom, Mr. Sinclair rejected immorality when it was right in front of his
face. And so too we need to realize that if one of our residents commits a
mistake, we need not to judge them nor believe that’s how they will always
behave, but rather help them in their personal development.
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