Serving Life Documentary

I really enjoyed watching this documentary in class. A few years ago I watched a documentary Oprah produced called Serving Life. The story followed prisoners inside Louisiana’s maximum-security prison Angola, where the average sentence is more than 90 years. In the prison they have a hospice program where inmates get to take care of other dying inmates. The movie is moving and shows the personalities and human side of the men serving their time. Much like the documentary I just mentioned, I was touched by the sense of compassion I saw in What I Want my Words to Do to You. The compassion and reflexivity of the offenders was refreshing and I enjoyed watching them mull over their experiences and come to conclusions in what seemed like real time. Despite the fact that I’ve never been to prison, or even been arrested, I found myself relating to many of these women on a personal level. Humans make mistakes. I could easily fall into a situation of circumstance or intense feeling and make a snap judgment, forcing me to spend the rest of my life behind bars. They committed crimes and I don’t feel sorry for them – I feel compassion. That could easily be me.
“He was laughing but I didn’t think it was funny.” Kayla says as she reminds herself about the conversation she has with her rapist about why …show more content…
Watching this movie has allowed for a better understanding of how people change during their prison sentences and I want to learn to stop judging offenders based off of their conviction. If someone judged me for every mistake I’ve made in the past it would be unfair because I have changed and grown since making those mistakes. This documentary taught me to extend that same thinking pattern to offenders and individuals in prison because that’s the fair thing to do. I don’t want anyone judging me so it is my hope that I give that same kindness to those