My Cousin Got Released in October

by John
(New York)

My cousin Sam went to jail about ten years ago for stealing a car. Our whole family was ashamed as we lived in a close knit community. He had never been that type of person. He was such a well behaved kid growing up, always getting great reviews from all his school teachers. No one understood how this had happened, he had had a completely clean record. No one was expecting it.

He was sentenced to three years in jail. Everyone including him was in tears when they heard this news. He ended up getting out after 2 years for good behavior. He seemed like a different person when he came out. Two years is a lot of time to think about things. Sam returned with a huge sense of remorse and he was determined to turn his life around.

He stayed with my parents for a few months. He wrote a letter of apology to the family and the community apologizing for his actions. My Dad gave him a job at his company to help get him off his feet. It is hard for convicts to get jobs. He slowly regained his confidence and became very successful and was able to get another job. I once asked how he was able to move on from his dark past. He told me that going to prison changed his life and gave him perspective on how precious life is. Now out of prison he decided to always be positive and use his past as a learning experience. Sometimes you can only learn something the hard way.