Last Day of Freedom

Imagine you are a senior at a university and graduation is in less than two weeks. You would
probably be wondering where you would be in 6 months and how different your life was about to come, but how would you feel if you knew that in 6 months you would be behind bars for up to 3 years?

John Smith was a senior at the University of Mississippi within days of graduation when he was arrested on a charge of possession of marijuana with intention to distribute. John knew mostly what to expect as he was placed in handcuffs, because he had been arrested the previous year on the same charge and given probation. The difference, however, is that he had now violated his probation. John realized that day that his life was about to be changed forever.

 

 

John waited in jail until the following morning when his bail was paid and he was released around 9 a.m. He said during the night he was unable to sleep because he was too
nervous about what was to come. “I sat there all night thinking about what was about to happen to me, I knew that I broke my probation and that was NOT good. It was one of the hardest nights of my life.” John and his lawyer met with a judge later that week.

 

 

John said “The judge said I could spend up to 3 years in jail because of this. I had 6 months until I had to report to court again to find out where I would go, so that day I went home and I cried like a baby. I didn’t want to get out of my bed. I was hopeless.”

 

 

John seemed to have hit rock bottom until a conversation with his mother turned everything around. “I told him his life was not over. He had 6 months of freedom and he could spend it sulking in bed or he could get up and do something valuable with the time he had left. So that day he decided he was going to start really living.”

 

 

Living his life was exactly what John decided to do. He spent the next 6 months doing things he had never done. He traveled all over America, visiting Disney Land in California and attending a football game in Miami, Florida. John said he visited with family he hadn’t seen in years and spent extra time with those closest to him including his motherand brother.

John also spent time doing the things he truly loved like golfing and attending concerts with his friends. “Waiting to go to jail really has taught me to not let the days go by. Every single day I have tried to really appreciate my life. You know the whole you never know what you’ve got til its gone thing? I didn’t want to wait until it was gone to realize it.”

Ben, a close friend of Johns feels that John’s situation has made him turn his life around completely. “John has always been a good guy he just got caught up in some bad stuff and it really has changed him. He knows he did it and he’s accepting it and looking on the brighter side of things. It’s really had an effect on all of us, we’ve all realized how life is and trying to do better.”

Susan, another friend of Johns also feels John has reevaluated his life. “He realized what he did and I don’t think he should have to go away for so long. He was young and made a mistake and he definitely learned from it. The way he’s dealing with it is inspiring to all of us.”

 

 

John met with a judge on Monday, October 10 to hear his final sentence. He was to his surprise,
not sentenced to 3 years in prison, but to serve 9 months in a work program at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. This facility is located in Rankin County, Mississippi, near Pearl. The 71-acre prison holds female prisoners in addition to minimum and medium security prisoners. John has two additional weeks until he must report to the prison to begin his sentence.

In response to his new sentence John, grinningly quoted Bob Marley saying, “In this great future we can’t forget our past. Everything is gonna be alright, every little thing is gonna be alright.”

Names have been changed to protect identities.