Decorative Hardware

I was innocent.  The courts had charged me with a crime that I didn’t commit.  It was truly a case of mistaken identity!  My future was now in the hands of the court, and their wrongful evidence was like a hungry shark waiting for an easy meal.  The verdict came quickly enough and my heart stopped as I heard the word guilty!  My whole life was ruined because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The judge had sentenced me to 20 years in the State prison with a possibility for parole in 10 years if I decided to apply myself to a newly established work program that the state used for non-violent offenders.

It didn’t take me long to figure out that sitting in a cell all day was going to make my day any shorter, and reluctantly signed up for work detail.  Never would I have thought in a thousand years that my ankle would be chained to a 20 pound ball of iron while slaving in the hot sun along public highway.  Looking down at my ankle, the ring of steel that held me from freedom kinda reminded me of the towel ring that hung on my bathroom wall back at home.  I guess it was good for me to get my mind off the present situation that I was in order to make my stay a little easier.  So much for justice!