When I Was In Prison

Posted on Saturday, October 14th, 2006 at 7:28 pm

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I still remember the words from the police officer that struck fear into my heart, “Follow me to the sherrif’s office in Clarksville County.” It was there that I was told that I could either pay the price for the speeding ticket, or go to jail.  At eighteen, I had heard many stories about jail, and knew enough to know that I didn’t want to go there.  I was ushered into the Jail and told to sit on a wooden bench beside several other people.  One person, who looked to me like he might have been an axe murderer, was sitting beside me.  He calmly asked the question that we have all heard in the movies, “What are you in for?” I figured that I needed to act tough, plus I was afraid that if I said anything I might break down crying, possibly followed by puking, the loss of certain amounts of bowel control and eventually need a shower.  A shower was the thing that I feared most in jail so I decided to simply say nothing. I had about $250.00 for the entire trip (this was the first day) and the ticket cost me $150.00 but I felt good that my pants were still dry and I was still free.

I have felt a call of the Lord to visit those in prison and jail since I was a freshman in college.  I used to visit people in the jail in Union, South Carolina.  It was here that I learned that many, many people in jail are not guilty.  As a matter of fact, almost everyone who is in jail is there as a result of a “misunderstanding,” a “lie,” or a conspiricy of national perportions.  I also learned not to take at face value the stories that the inmates told me.  Perhaps the most important thing that I learned is that those who are incarcerated are often in desperate need of someone to give them some good news.  We had the best news of all, and often they were glad to talk to us.

What brought this all to mind is that I have just finished reading the new John Grisham book (I know, I know, I have other things I should be reading).  It is called The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town.  Grisham breaks with his usual habit of writing the legal thriller novel and writes a true story that is one of the most frightening books that I have ever read.  It deals with the story of Ron Williamson who spent eleven years on death row before being exonerated by DNA evidence.  The story as Grisham presents it is one of small town cops and prosicutors gone bad at the expense of the lives of men who spent time in what was as close to Dante’s inferno as one could imagine.

How often do those who are not guilty go to prison?  What other prisons and jails have I been to?  I’ll save that for tomorrow.  For now, let me close with this passage, to which the title refers:

Matthew 25:37-40 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?  38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?  39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’