Second Chances Are Worth Giving

A Letter From Randall Countryman

Life on the outside is everything I thought it would be and more. It is
not without its challenges, but they are very welcome challenges con-sidering the alternative of where I spent the last 21 years. Everything has changed so much and it seems like an alien world.
Some of the changes are for the better (toilets that flush themselves
for example fascinate me), some changes I’ve experienced are for the
worse (paying my own bills comes to mind). But I wouldn’t have it any
other way.

I live in Chula Vista (a suburb of San Diego), and from my back yard on a hillside, I have the San Diego city skyline to my right, Tijuana, Mexico to my left, and right smack in the middle of it all is the Pacific Ocean. I get the ocean breeze and smell the salt in the air every day while I watch my two dogs (Barbie and Eddi) wrestle to determine
who the boss will be for the day.

I have everything I need; 4X4 Chevy, licenses (auto, and more importantly, fishing), insurance (auto, and medical), dogs, a cat, a roof over my head with a beautiful view, too much food, a good church, and family and friends to hang out with and for moral support. The highlight of my freedom so far has been being able to spend Mother’s Day with my mother for the first time in 22 years and to present her with a big bouquet of flowers.

I haven’t abandoned my education in all of this. With transfer credits from Patten University, I am almost half way to earning my Bachelor’s degree.

Thanks and deep appreciation go out to all the Patten University staff involved with the Prison University Project at San Quentin, and to all my classmates and lifers who helped me get where I am today. I am striving at being the best example I can possibly be in the free world, to show that second chances are worth giving. That is the best support that I can give to those of you still embedding in the system.