Convicted

For the last month or so I've noticed there are a bunch of 'Inmates Working' signs out here and there. I can remember one instance when I was around 13 and was over visiting one of my 'step-sisters' who was about 5 years older than me. She had gotten married and we were decorating her new home. It about 6 months after her father and my beloved first stepfather's death.

It as a lovely warm fall day and there was a knock at the door...an armed deputy who informed us that convicts were going to be working on clearing the ditches on her road and for us to keep the windows and doors locked and to have a phone handy. He promised they would be done as quickly as possible.

And they were...we were sorta afraid, mainly because of an incident back when I was around 6 years old where some convicts broke out of a chain gang, killed two guards and held a family hostage for a few days...that family was my 2nd step father, his step-mother and father. It was a terrible event, because the lady was raped (she was close to 60 but that didn't matter to these monsters) and the father had just experienced eye surgery. It took a force of deputies to storm the house and rescue the hostages. Luckily no one was killed but the psychological scars were permenant, especially for my 2nd step-father who used that excuse for the mental abuse he gave me and my siblings during the ten years he and mom were married.

But in the last few years, I've noticed that there are many areas of the county were convicts are working on the roads. I'm assuming they are no risk but what happened to common courtesy from the Prison officials... especially in residental areas. Is it so hard to have a guard or deputy drop by and tell us that inmates will be working in the area and to be on guard?

I don't think so. All it takes is time and effort.