SADD hosts Grafton prisoner meeting

“There’s a huge difference between a mistake and a bad decision,” said Paul, who was recently let out of prison after 20 years. “Calling you the wrong name is a mistake. Choosing to do drugs, and getting involved with criminal activity to the point where someone ultimately ends up dead, is not a mistake. It is a bad decision.”

For about 15 years at SHS, SADD, a club which teaches students how to make safe decisions, brought prisoners to come into the high school to tell the stories of their lives. This year at SHS, four men from Grafton Correctional Institution in Grafton, Ohio, came to speak: Matt, Paul, Demetrius and Stan.  

The prisoners spoke about the crimes they committed, and how they once went to college and had life aspirations, but ended up making bad decisions that they could never take back. Robin Joseph, AP Psychology and U.S. Government teacher at SHS, has advised SADD for nine years. She has participated in bringing prisoners to SHS and traveling out to the prison with students.

Joseph, who has become overwhelmed with emotion while hearing the tragic lives of the prisoners, felt that many Solon kids needed to hear these stories.

“[The kids] think that a lot of the time this can’t happen to them, but these are regular people,” Joseph said.  “It’s important for kids in Solon to see that just because they grew up in a nice community, doesn’t mean that they can’t end up [in] jail.”

When initially sentenced, the prisoners felt the devastation of losing their freedom, and shed tears at the crimes that they’ve committed. Matt, who was sentenced to ten years of prison for vehicular homicide, said he felt that his punishment was just.

“When I got sentenced, I had a whole family sitting there, looking at me. They were sitting there looking at someone who just killed their family member,” he said. “[This] wasn’t a game, [and I didn’t feel sorry] for myself. When you’re sitting there looking at a family knowing there’s nothing that’s going to make them feel better, and that they’re still hurting, [the sentencing] was definitely deserved.”

Following Matt and Demetrius’s sentences, the reality of prison shocked them. Matt spoke on how he couldn’t believe how small their space it actually was. He described how life has now become a small prison yard that most people can walk through within ten minutes. One prisoner,  Demetrius, went to Butler Community College in Kansas. He eventually got mixed up in the wrong crowd and got caught committing criminal activity. He was sentenced with 14 counts of armed robbery and 59 gun specifications. Demetrius shared how confined prison really was.                 

“We all share cells and showers, [and you] can’t hide anything from anybody,” he said. “Nobody has any secrets in prison.”

Many of the students were shocked at what living in these conditions were like. Junior Madison Greene described how moved she was by hearing the stories of these prisoners’ lives.

“Listening to their stories was really moving,” Greene said. “[It] makes you realize that you need to make good choices throughout your life, or else you can end up [in prison.]”

Living in the harsh conditions of prison is one thing, but many don’t consider what happens to someone after they’re released. After spending 20 years in prison, transitioning back into the outside world is a challenge to overcome. Paul, who was just recently released for aggravated robbery, burglary and arson, talked about his experiences in the outside world after being incarcerated. He talked about how everything in society has advanced while he was stuck in prison.

“Everything outside has changed. I thought we had good technology in prison, but our computers are nothing compared to smartphones,” Paul said. “These are like mini computers in your pocket, and you can get the answer to any question in a split second. It’s absolutely amazing.”

Inside the prison, there were many opportunities for the inmates to make a difference and do some good. When hearing about the opportunity to visit schools, Matt decided he wanted to do it.

“Honestly, coming here to schools and talking to kids has made such a huge difference for me,” he said. “I can definitely say that in my 30 years, this is one of the few things that I’m most proud of in my life.”