Close Your Eyes and Count to Twenty

Close your eyes and count to twenty.

Now imagine yourself walking on an old abandoned street. You glance around and view boarded up houses and dangerously tall grass. You see many different dogs barking and younger kids playing tag and eating water ice. You get a whiff of a horrible odor coming from a trash factory a block or two down. You're walking with one of your best friends; you both see several different kinds of people; Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, elders, children, infants and also some very awful people. You're having a good time with your friend laughing, joking, playing around, and just having fun, a good time together.

Suddenly a noisy sound is heard from afar and your friend is on the ground, shaking. Blood escaping their body and rushing on the streets, your eyes grow wide and everything becomes quiet, you scream to the heavens as you drop to your knees and tears fall from your eyes to the hot pavement. As you see your best friend for many years rushed to the hospital, and as you rush there before the trained specialist arrive. All those years together and that one moment ripped it apart. Think of seeing your best friend killed in front of you and doctors claim theirs nothing that they can do. You later find out that your friend of many years is dead, and the person that causes that death wasn't penalized. No death penalty, no jail time, not even community service, even though the charges were 1st degree murder, and possession of an illegal handgun. Now where is the justice for the family, friends, associates and even the person themselves.

This story is based on a true story and it's my story, crimes and cases like this amaze and encourages me to fight for justice. Criminal justice has always captured my interest with the rush of being someone deciding factors of freedom, jail, or even death. My interest is to achieve the highest education to put away criminals and law breakers