From a Dangerous Mind to a Criminal One

"From the beginning, I explained who I was and why I was writing. I told him that I was a researcher and that my interest was to listen as part of my work, not to intervene in his sentence or offer promises that could not be kept. He responded without hesitation and wrote back that no one had ever asked to hear his story without trying to correct it, judge it, or turn it into something more manageable."

"His first letter arrived folded several times, the paper worn thin along the creases. The handwriting was careful, maybe even cautious, as if he had learned to slow himself down when putting words on the page. He did not begin with the crimes that led to a life sentence without parole. Instead, he moved back into childhood, describing a home that never quite settled into routine."

"Growing Up Without an Audience As the letters continued, certain details returned again and again, sometimes in slightly different ways. Brandon's childhood did not unfold through dramatic moments that demanded attention. It unfolded quietly, through long stretches where no one seemed to be watching closely. No one noticed when he became more withdrawn. No one asked where he went after school or how he learned to deal with fear and hunger on his own."

Brandon connected through an inmate pen pal program and shared letters revealing a childhood marked by instability and neglect. He described a mother with long-term addiction who was intermittently absent or emotionally unreachable, and a mostly absent father who offered little protection or guidance. Letters showed careful, slowed handwriting and recurrent details that emphasized quiet erosion of safety and attention. No one noticed his withdrawal or asked about his whereabouts, and attempts to reach out received delayed or incomplete responses, causing him to stop trying. The account frames sustained neglect and unattended fear and hunger as shaping his social withdrawal.

Read at Psychology Today