OVERCOMING A LIFE OF VIOLENCE

Overcoming a Life of Violence
MY FRIEND and I ran as fast as we could, and when we reached the river near my hometown, we dove into it. As we surfaced, we began swimming furiously toward the opposite shore.
Was this some type of boyhood play? Not at all! It was more a matter of life and death. When I looked behind, I saw police with their weapons aimed at us. I dove underwater to escape the bullets and continued swimming to the opposite shore. Even underwater, I could hear the gunfire.
Once we reached the opposite shore, we had made good our escape from jail, where we had been locked up for burglary and car theft.
This was one of many times I had been wanted or actually pursued by the police for some criminal action. Although I was only 17 years old at the time, I had already built up a long arrest record with the authorities. Eventually, my friend and I were caught, and once again I was sentenced to a prison term, this time for a period of two and a half years.
Even in prison I s...