They have said the ones doing today will affect the ones doing tomorrow, if we’re given a tomorrow, because not even that is guaranteed to anyone.
I have come to learn that this statement is true. In other words, one’s past tends to haunt your future eventually. My name is Rene also known as “Face.” I think Humans of San Quentin is an inspiring project built for incarcerated people everywhere. I have never seen another nonprofit staff take the time to hear us out or allow us a platform to be heard and seen. Most prisons make inmates feel “out of sight, out of mind,” so thank you for your work and your staff.
I am no angel. I have an extensive criminal history since my teens, including DWIs and assaults on men, though I have never harmed women or committed sexual offenses. When I was 30 years old, I was accused of multiple assaults and of sodomizing a woman I had dated for about two months. After we argued because I wanted to end our relationship, I said things that made her feel cheap and used. Soon after, she and her ex reported that I had assaulted them both, and I was arrested. At trial, my lawyer advised me not to testify because the state would use my past assaults and DWIs against me. He said it would ruin my chance of the jury believing me. But I wanted to state clearly that I never sodomized her. The accusations came only after I told her I no longer wanted to be with her. My criminal record kept me from defending myself. I was sentenced to twenty years for a crime I did not commit. My past actions when upset are what really convicted me. I have three more years left to serve.
The point is this: what you do today will eventually affect your present and your future. Make time to think before you act when upset. I hope my story helps at least one person who reads it. Thank you for hearing me out.
Thanks, Diane and the HoSQ team.
