Adjusting to a New Life

As Mr. Betts begins his sentence at Fairfax County Jail he had many new adjustments to make. The first of which would be sleeping without a mattress. When Mr. Betts first got to the jail it was a “slab of concrete that was my bed” (14). He went eight days without a mattress, shower, or a change of clothes. He had to adjust to live with nothing. His belongings and self was defined in one trash bag and his prison number. I found this rather disturbing. Mr. Betts wrote “90673. That number became more important than my name” (25). Although I understand jails must keep track of their inmates it felt so dehumanizing when I read that especially because he was just a kid. He wrote “After a felony those dreams vanished. It made me wonder, and stare at the wall thinking about what a second chance meant to the guilty. When I read this it really bothered me because he is right, what does a second chance mean to the guilty? Once an inmate is released from prison their punishment is not over, it follows them around for the rest of their lives. They must suffer forever. This suffering comes from the lack of being able to get a job, find housing, find peace, have a good education, and most of all be accepted back into society. This is why so many offenders reoffend. Is there really even a second chance for the guilty? They get their freedoms back when they are let out, but will they ever again be truly free? Mr. Betts was only sixteen years old when he first committed his crime, and then for the rest of his life he will be at a disadvantage. There are so many benefits that have been lost by transferring Mr. Betts to an adult prison. He is really just a kid, now this is not to say that his crimes should just go away. He is guilty, but his brain is not fully developed yet he is still growing and