Today I spent about an hour counseling with Eddie (not his real name) who's presently "keeplocked"...
This means he is confined to his cell for a disciplinary infraction.
When I spoke to Eddie this morning, I saw he was depressed. He told me that he misses his family, especially his daughter, who is now five years old.
Eddie got into trouble when he was twenty and wild. He's been incarcerated for four years now, and he has at least forty-six more years to do.
Eddie has a Bible. He always reads the Christian testimonial books that I loan him. Yet he insists he is not ready to come to Christ.
I know from being in prison for so many years, that the most extreme self-inflicted punishment for anyone doing "time" (other than suicide) is the loss of family contact, or the increased difficulty in maintaining contact.
Fortunately, Eddie's older sister is helping to raise his daughter. She has legal custody of her. But he has already missed out on four years of his daughter's life. He told me that he would love to see his child again, as well as get a visit from his sister. But she has no funds, he told me, and she has no vehicle to make the 3 1/2-hour trip (one way) from her home in upstate New York.
With no money and no means of transportation, Eddie has no idea when he will ever see his loved ones. His parents are separated, he said. Thankfully, however, his older sister sometimes sends him current photos of his child.
D.B.
When I spoke to Eddie this morning, I saw he was depressed. He told me that he misses his family, especially his daughter, who is now five years old.
Eddie got into trouble when he was twenty and wild. He's been incarcerated for four years now, and he has at least forty-six more years to do.
Eddie has a Bible. He always reads the Christian testimonial books that I loan him. Yet he insists he is not ready to come to Christ.
I know from being in prison for so many years, that the most extreme self-inflicted punishment for anyone doing "time" (other than suicide) is the loss of family contact, or the increased difficulty in maintaining contact.
Fortunately, Eddie's older sister is helping to raise his daughter. She has legal custody of her. But he has already missed out on four years of his daughter's life. He told me that he would love to see his child again, as well as get a visit from his sister. But she has no funds, he told me, and she has no vehicle to make the 3 1/2-hour trip (one way) from her home in upstate New York.
With no money and no means of transportation, Eddie has no idea when he will ever see his loved ones. His parents are separated, he said. Thankfully, however, his older sister sometimes sends him current photos of his child.
D.B.
