Do Somebody Good, Somebody Who Needs It

The room was not a welcoming environment, dimly lit and uncomfortable. The rows were packed tight with people of all different sorts, but all with one thing in common, they had business to do with the judge. 

It was the circuit court in Bessemer, Alabama. On the front row sectioned off by wood railing, was a line of orange clad prisoners in handcuffs. One of those prisoners was my friend, Tim. We’d only known each other for about a year, and it was action packed from the start.

We were in this courtroom because a warrant had been improperly issued for Tim concerning something from ten years earlier. As unfair as the warrant was, there was still a process that had to be followed to see it withdrawn. This process would not be easy and it required my help and that of my brother, Tim’s attorney.

I watched for about an hour and a half as one by one each of the prisoners would walk up to see the judge. Each one appeared to have an extensive and tainted history. Before I met Tim, I might have looked upon these people disdainfully, deserving of the punishment they were receiving. Now I viewed them much differently — how did they end up here, had there ever been any help for them, how might things have been different?

It finally came time for us. The judge called out for Tim and as he walked up to the bench and my brother stood beside him, I felt very fulfilled and blessed to be there. I knew Tim had never had anyone standing beside him with a passionate desire to help him succeed, and he’d never had anyone sitting in the courtroom on his behalf to see him through. Today was different, he would have whatever was necessary from my brother and me to see that he was treated fairly and released.

I wonder how many people in this world have never had an advocate or a friend to fight for them. There are many who’ve had the weight of the world against them from their first breath, having to fend for themselves and suffer greatly for all that they lack.