I did finally talk with my friend at jail today. The judge gave him the full 16 years in prison. He was very reflective today. “I got what I deserved,” he said. He added that in the last two years he has known in his spirit many times that he should not choose to do wrong, but he continued choosing wrong anyway. “Who do I have to blame?” he asked.
Finally, his life of crime caught up with him. He’s 38 years old and not married. He was planning to get married in March but he committed his crime in February. It got him thrown in the county jail, where he’s been since.
He has a 20-year-old daughter he’s seen just once. She wants no part of him. “Especially now,” he said.
This Thursday he leaves for the maximum security Stateville Correction Center, where he will be processed for 3 weeks before being shipped off to one of Illinois’ medium security prisons.
I told him I loved him and wished him well. I’ve gotten to know him over the last several months.
“This is God’s will for my life for the next six-and-a-half years. Pray for me.”
I did, and we said good-bye.
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