Trip to Angola changes perspective of student

One of the most interesting parts of a recent visit to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola was meeting the prisoners and hearing how they got there.

When we met Charles, I really felt like he didn’t belong there because he was so civilized; I never would have known that he had killed somebody. He is happily married and seems to have a great relationship with his wife. I believe he deserves another chance; I hope he gets it.

Everyone knows that Catholicism has a strong stance against the death penalty, but our faith’s stance on imprisonment, in general, is not as public. The Catholic Church upholds that all human life is sacred, regardless of any human’s actions. Therefore, the church believes that a prisoners’ dignity must always be upheld. That means they should always have food, water, medical care and access to education and meaningful work.

We also met a prisoner trusty named Rick who was working at the museum outside the prison. He was imprisoned 33 years ago for theft and murder and seems to have turned his life around. He has been given the privilege of working freely, without handcuffs, around civilians.

The trip to Angola was great because, on the way, we couldn’t stop discussing how fun it was going to be. On the return trip, we couldn’t stop talking about how fun the trip was and what an amazing and great experience it was. The food might have been the worst part of the trip. It was terrible.

This experience has taught me that people make mistakes, but they can change for the better and become good people. Before we went to Angola, I thought all people who murdered deserve to rot and die in jail. But now, I believe everybody should at least get the chance to go to Angola to see what it’s like and to understand how things work there. I also believe, as a Christian, we have a responsibility to not hate them for their crimes but to learn from their mistakes and pray for them.

Robby Gaudet is a senior at Holy Rosary High School in New Orleans. He wrote this essay as a social justice project for his Religion IV class.