Honesty

     After writing the first letter, I wondered what all I could ask Russell in the next letter I wrote him. I wanted him to know that despite what he did, there are people in the world that think about him and care how he is. Russell told Beverly that he hasn't had a visitor in 2 1/2 years. I don't know much about having a loved one or even a friend in prison, but I can imagine how sad it must be to not have had anyone make an effort to visit you since you were 16 years old. Maybe I'm just naive to visiting standards in the prison system. With that said, here is Russell's second letter: 

Mrs. Edmunds,

"Hey, how are you doing? I'm just listening to my radio, there's a storm coming in so I'm picking up stations from all over Texas, even Arkansas and Louisiana! But anyways, I just got Mrs. Barfield's letter last night. I was real happy to get it, I sent her letter off this morning. Our mail is passed to us at night, so we have to wait till the next day to send it out. She sounds like she is doing good. It makes me happy that she really wants to visit me with you." I think Russell is so truly amazed that two of his teachers from way back in the 6th grade still remember and think about him. He goes on to say that once he has Mrs. Barfield's first name, he can put us both on his visitation list. "It will take a few weeks to get approved and with school starting I know that y'all will be busy, but I know that eventually y'all will be able to come visit. For some reason everything in prison is "hurry up and wait." I know he's allowed to have up to ten people on his visitation list, and visitation is every Saturday and Sunday for two hours. It makes me wonder if every weekend, Russell hopes one of the guards comes to get him because he has visitors. I guess he's been waiting every weekend for 2 1/2 years now. He goes on in his letter to tell me that he recently signed up on a pen pal website for prisoners and has been getting a few letters from that. He says that really helps the time go by fast.
     I told you all in my last letter to Russell, that I wanted to know what happened in his life that prison would be his home for the next 22 years. Here is what he said. "I know I deserve to be here, and I don't make any excuses for my actions. Mrs. Edmunds, you asked what went wrong...I really don't know. I believe it was the path I chose to walk. It was one everyone told me I would be on if I didn't change my ways, and you know what? They were right. You can't continue to do what I was doing and not end up in prison without making a concentrated effort to change. Me, I never wanted to. I went in and out of Juvenile, went to TJC and got right back out to do the same things. My mom tried to discipline me and set me right, but still I did what I wanted. The streets was all I knew and I didn't care to change. When you get older, things change, and you have all these regrets, but as a teenager, you think you know it all, right? I thought I did and sometimes think I still do! Guess I'm still rough around the edges! I have been out of trouble though going on a year and a 1/2!" I know Russell is still "rough around the edges." How would you not be when you've spent that much time in prison as a kid?
     When I told some of the teachers on my campus about how Beverly and I are reaching out to Russell, they were so supportive and wanted to know if they could give us any books to take to him on our visit. I asked Russell if he could receive books, and he told me that he can, but the prison prefers if the books come directly from the publisher or the bookstore instead of the US mail. He said, "They probably think that someone will try to put something in it, but if it's mailed from a bookstore or something, it's less chance of that!" He tells me that he loves to read and lists some of his favorite authors. He then says, "Please tell the teachers I said hi back. I still think it's crazy that you kept up with me like you did, but when you say you believe in me, I believe you." I wonder how many people told Russell they believed in him when he was younger.
     Russell tells me that in a month, he'll be going back to population. He has been in what's called "segregation" for the last year and a half because when he was in the youngster unit in Brazoria, TX, he got into some fights. He says, "This time in seg has taught me I don't have to do my time the hard way. That was one of the other problems of being 16 and in prison. You feel you have something to prove to everybody. Now I know it's not about that. Just one more thing I wish I would've known." There are a mountain of things I wish Russell could have known! Maybe even one of those things could have prevented him from ending up where he is. I know it's too late for that now, but Beverly and I hope it's not too late for the rest of his life.
     I ended my letter by telling him how the four of us, his core 6th grade teachers, take a trip every year together, and that I would send him pictures of us. He said he would love to hear about our trip and would love some pictures so he could put them in his photo album. He ends his letter, "I'll close for now, but it was really good to hear from you again! God bless and I hope to hear from you soon."

Russell

     Beverly and I went and got a couple of cards for Russell. I printed off several pictures of all of us on various trips and took the card to school. I had the other teachers sign the card, and each wrote a little messge to him. Six days later, I received a third letter from him with the funniest response to our pictures! Beverly and I couldn't stop laughing!
     Share with you all soon...