The Marshall Project

After Prison, I Became a Better Dad

“Even when a parent has been part of a child’s pain, that parent’s love can still be the antidote.”

Editor’s note: This week, we’re running a special Life Inside series about fathers and incarceration. Read the previous essays about next-cell neighbors, dancing in the prison gym, a surprise meeting and a friend who became family.

When I was in prison, I was so incredibly desperate to be with my children.

Life Inside Perspectives from those who work and live in the criminal justice system. Related Stories

I’d lie in bed at night, and remember how happy my older daughter was at her graduation from Head Start, and how, when she recognized me in the crowd, she ran over and jumped in my arms. I’d remember when my younger daughter was changing from a baby into a toddler and we’d go for walks down our street. She would grab my pinky, and we’d walk at a turtle’s crawl, and when we’d pass the house with the dog in the backyard, she held my hand

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Marshall Project

The Marshall Project4 min readCrime & Violence
I Wasn’t a Superpredator. I Was a Kid Who Made a Terrible Decision.
At age 14, Derrick Hardaway took part in the murder of an 11-year-old. The media used the crime to build the myth of the superpredator—and stuck him with a label he struggles to shed.
The Marshall Project11 min readCrime & Violence
When Police Violence Is a Dog Bite
An Alabama man killed by a K-9 officer was one of thousands of Americans bitten by police dogs every year. Few ever get justice.
The Marshall Project3 min readMedical
Should Prisoners Get Covid-19 Vaccines Early?
Now that shipments of Covid-19 vaccine are on the move and FDA approval on the fast track, the fight begins over who will get the scarce vaccine first. States have until Friday to finalize distribution plans and submit them to the federal government

Related Books & Audiobooks