From Misery To Hope by Robert D. Palmer & Kary Youman

Author:Robert D. Palmer & Kary Youman [Palmer, Robert D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tenth House Publishing
Published: 2021-05-23T22:00:00+00:00

Mostly Bloods gang members were in my group, some just as dangerous as the other gangs. We noticed there were girls on this trip, which caused the Latino inmates in the back cages to start whistling.

“ How long has it been since you’ve seen something like these?” a short-haired, tattooed, Latino girl yelled out as she flashed her breasts to the Southsiders.

I noticed the sound of the buses pulling off as the guard turned on the radio and air, and we headed back across town. Listening to Tupac on the ride back, I was lost in a daze. I stared out at the California sun. It greeted my skin. It had been a month—my last court date—since I’d felt the sun's caressing rays or seen the outside. During bus rides, back and forth from court were the only times I saw it.

I laughed, thinking about how mesmerized the Southsiders were by the female inmate’s breasts. From the conversations I’d heard, it had been years since some of them had touched or had any contact with a woman. Sadly for some, it might never happen again in their lifetime, especially those who were waiting to start long-term sentences—some life, and even death row. Those were the kind of inmates who were on that bus trip back.

‘ Lord, help us all,’ I thought. I bowed my head in silent prayer for the inmates and their alleged victims, knowing everyone can receive God’s forgiveness if we’ll just ask for it. It was, after all, just another court date.

THE APPROVAL I can clearly remember and will never forget the day I met Antonio Ramirez. I’d just returned from court, and the jail dorm was bustling with returnees, like myself. There was always a large inmate changeover on the days we came back from court. Some arrived who had just been arrested. Some were awaiting trial to be sentenced and moved to a prison to serve their time— for some, maybe life. While putting my court papers away at the head of my bunk, I could hear a familiar voice standing behind me. It was Luis, the leader of the Latino Southsiders gang. We had become friends through the prayer work I was doing for some of the gangs, and because of it, he was a big supporter.

“Hey, Preach . I gotta homie here I wanna introduce you to. He’s been preaching in other jail dorms to inmates like yourself. I told him about you. I think you guys will hit it off well.”

“Preach, right? I’m Antonio Ramirez. Just call me Tony. My homie here says some of the inmates come to you to hear about God and learn meditation. It can help some of them to clear their minds of this horrible place, I’d imagine. You lead most of the prayer groups for all the inmates and gangs in here, right?”

I told him I did. He then went on to say he was doing the same in other jail dorms before he’d come there. “I’m just trying to bring God’s love to some of the inmates.

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