You Are Not Your Worst Mistake, Daily Brief June 30, 2023

Think about the worst thing you’ve ever done.

It’s not easy to do, I know, but stay with me here.

When did you realize what you did was wrong? Were you able to make amends to those you hurt? Did you find forgiveness – or at least a way to face yourself and others again?

And now? Are you the same person today as you were when you committed that deed? Or did you grow? Did the experience force you to rethink and become a better, more considerate human being?

If so, then somewhere along the line, you must have realized that you cannot judge yourself solely by the worst thing you’ve ever done. You’ve learned. You’ve grown. You’ve matured. That all counts for something.

Decades ago, a California judge sentenced Joseph Bell to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in a murder and robbery. He didn’t pull the trigger. He got life under the bizarre “felony murder rule,” which allows for a person to be charged with first-degree murder for a killing that occurs during a dangerous felony, even if that person is not the killer.

So, that was it for Joseph Bell, it seemed: life in prison, no way out, no hope.

Many in this situation succumb to despair, but Bell transformed himself, becoming active in coordinating programs within prison like self-help, anger management, and relapse prevention classes.

After 24 years in prison – nearly half his entire life – California’s governor recognized Bell’s personal transformation and granted him a rare commutation, giving Bell the opportunity for release.

Today, Joseph Bell works full-time as a case manager and peer support specialist for a nonprofit reentry program that works with people coming out of jail. He’s also a mental health rehabilitation specialist. 

Bell’s case is just one of many, as a new Human Rights Watch report makes clear. We looked at folks released from prison after originally being sentenced to life without parole in California. The vast majority are helpful people contributing to society.

We found that 94 percent of them volunteer regularly in their communities, 84 percent are financially assisting others, and 90 percent work full- or part-time, with 43 percent working in the nonprofit sector.

Almost none returned to crime, and the reason is clear enough, as Bell explains, people can age out of bad behavior and find maturity.

“Over time you discover who you really want to be as a person, and how you want to make your claim in society or in history and so on. That’s when I began to work harder in prison and make more of an impact with at-risk and young prisoners.”

People can change, and draconian sentences like “life without parole” simply don’t recognize this.

As Bell says – and proves through the example of his own life: “We are not our worst mistake.”