In school we had a speaker named Terrell Swift who was wrongfully sentenced to prison for the rape of a woman in 1994. While he was speaking, he was telling us about how things have changed in the 17 years that he has been away. He now has to learn all about the new technology that has come out and how to use it. Terrell Swift was convicted because he falsely confessed to the crime since the police took advantage of a frightened teenager who had nothing to do with the case. The police told Terrell that if he had signed a document then he would be let off and allowed to go home. Terrell, without reading the document, signed it and falsely confessed to the rape of a Chicago woman. He showed us the importance of reading everything we signed by having us sign in when we first entered, however no one knew that we all had signed a document stating that we cheated on our tests. If that had been anyone of us in Terrell’s position then we would be the ones doing the crime. Afterwards, Terrell asked if anyone had questions and one question that stuck with me was; how did it change his life? Terrell stated that he was not entirely sure what could have happened while out of prison, he said that he was not headed down the best path and how prison gave him time to think and change his ways with a new view on life. I greatly respect Terrell Swift, it takes a big man to accept the mistakes of the government like that and come out with no feelings of hate towards them.
