The guy who lives in the apartment next to me violated his parole. He was only five months away from finishing his parole when, on New Year’s Eve, he took off his electronic monitoring bracelet and was apparently on his way to Mississippi when he was caught.
I don’t feel sorry for him. He’s a convicted child molester, one of two who live in my small apartment complex. Some great company, huh? I had no say over their moving in here.
This neighbor who violated his parole spent about 10 years in prison for indecency with an 11-year-old child. I looked up his record on PublicData the other day and found it was his second time in the joint. The first time was 7 years for burglary in Mississippi.
I only mention the episode because it raises the whole can of worms that is deviant behavior. I guess the question can be asked: Why do people commit acts that can land them years in prison? Then the second question: Why do people get themselves in trouble all over again?
Perhaps incarceration is a deterrent to some and not to others. It’s certainly a deterrent to me. When I had to interview someone in jail or in prison, just hearing those hard steel doors clang shut behind me sent a shiver up my spine. It said: “Be good.” Or at least, be legal. Human beings are some weird creatures aren’t they?