DEAR ABBY: I strongly agree with your response to "Inmate on a Dead End," who said he was "on a one-way trip down a road that leads nowhere." He felt hopeless about his future behind bars.
My husband is living proof that you don't have to be stuck on a dead end. When he was 18 he made some horrible mistakes. He got mixed up with drugs and the wrong crowd. He was tried on 15 counts of armed robbery and convicted on two of them. He was sent to prison (and rightfully so) for 15 years, and gave up hope for ever having a different life.
Fortunately for him, two years into his sentence common sense kicked in. He gave up drugs and started taking the classes offered to him in prison. After six years of good behavior, he was released on parole -- which is when I met him.
After getting to know this man and finding out who he once was, compared to who he has become in the past 10 years, I cannot say enough about how proud I am of him.
In the four years since his release, he has ended his parole and is completing his college degree. We have gotten married, and just purchased our first home. These are accomplishments he never believed possible when he was first locked up.
I want "Inmate" to know that one is never beyond hope. Prison may be the best thing that ever happened to him -- it was for my husband. -- PROUD WIFE IN NEW JERSEY
DEAR PROUD WIFE: Your testimonial will be welcomed by many prisoners and their families. It's never too late for a new beginning. Where there is life, there is hope.