From “The Angolite” the award-winning magazine from Louisiana’s maximum-security prison, available in the magazine rack on Cascade Tower’s fifth floor.
ALL TOO OFTEN, WE FORGET WHAT WE ARE SERVING TIME FOR HERE. WE, AS PRISONERS, get caught up in the daily minutia of our lives, or the manner in which we strive to improve ourselves. As a result, we tend to forget why we are incarcerated, why they sentenced us to the amounts of time they gave us. No distractions or loss of focus can ever replace what we have done to become members of this unique environment.
Yet, in the process, what we all too often forget is that, what we do every day here matters more than anyone comprehends. It does not really matter whether what we are doing is completely or even partially accepted, or even noticed by people out there. What we do here matters in ways that even the most jaded and arrogant here forget about. We can build, repair, or envision so very much, but if we cannot make the concepts work and last, what we have is an empty world of false hope.
Every day, somebody here remembers that another human being needs help, or just needs a little spirit lifting for their heart, their mind, and possibly even their souls. That is what we can always try to do, even if it is so small and hard to notice, that only one or two people know about it.
This issue will cover some concerns that many prisoners and their families face, plus ones of concern to criminal justice professionals. What is not completely apparent to everyone, is that every thought and process has been thought about, weighed, and rethought about.
So, while something might not make sense to one professional or prisoner, it has been considered and thought about by others. As such, for every goal, we truly believe that some and will come out a decision.