I Teach Prisoners and Reading Their Case Files Almost Broke Me

He lured the child into his van with an offer of candy. Within hours, the six-year-old had been destroyed from the inside out. Her lifeless body was abandoned on a cheap motel bed, no longer serving a purpose for the monster who casually strolled back out the door.

This same man greets me politely at my door each day, happy to be in a classroom. In his 60s, he is small, quiet, enjoys learning, and has perfect attendance. When he hears a new word, he likes to write it down. He checks the spelling with me so that he can use it correctly in the future. Next to him sits a man in his early 50s who murdered the mother of his children and raped her afterward. He is determined to master algebra and is one of the hardest workers in the group. Across the way is our class clown, a man in his late 20s who killed a mother and her three children in a car crash. He was under the influence of methamphetamine and fleeing from the police in a stolen vehicle. Prior to the accident, he had multiple arrests for car theft and drug dealing.

These three prisoners are not exceptional where I work. Their crimes are commonplace in an institution overflowing with evil incarnate. And with my help, when they earn their GED, they will receive six months off of their sentence.