Tookie,
I am a 20 year old man from Iowa. I have spent most of my life doing things I knew I shouldn't be doing. It wasn't until I turned 18 that my life started to spin out of control. I hooked up with some Colombians and was living a life where every day I expected to die. I got jumped into the Gangster Disciples Street gang in late 2002. For 2 years I lived the life you lived. There was a time when I was ready to do the most savage thing at a moment's notice so no one would want to mess with me. I felt that if I portrayed myself as the baddest man out there I wouldn't have any problems. That wasn't the case.
The other day I sat down after I watched your movie Redemption and thought about all the things that I've done in my life and counted how many years that I should be in prison. Every day between the age of 18 and 20 I risked getting 25 to life for the things I was doing. I counted the years I should be doing for the other things I did and in 6 months time I racked up well over 300 years doing the minimum time for each crime that I committed. Only through the grace of my higher power whom I choose to call God that didn't happen. As well as no longer living a life of crime or violence I am also a recovering addict. I will have 8 months clean on June 15 -- that is 8 months without the use of any mood changing chemicals. Before I watched the movie I was making plans to start living my old life again. I wanted all the money and girls and respect (or fear) of others -- but after I watched the movie and started to do some research on you, I found that we are not all that different. I realized that I was going down that same road in a hurry. You helped me see that. The only way I can think to close this letter is to try to express my gratitude for the way you touched my life. It is with the utmost respect and gratitude that I say thank you.