My name is Adolphus Eion Redding. I am 47 yrs. old and have been incarcerated for 25 1/2 years of my life.
Obviously, I didn’t plan things this way but I also wasn’t ready to accept responsibility for my life or my decisions yet. There was still work being done on and inside if me.
On the surface, you would see my three trips to prison as a pattern of criminal behavior that was just reaping the product of my poor choices. Inside, there was a much deeper battle going on between my belief in a future or whether to call everything quits.
The only factor that kept me from a life sentence on this charge was the revelation of my deep bouts of depression that had been driving my chemical addiction and my criminal behaviors, as a consequence.
Nobody can really say what a 15 year old kid who finds his mother shot dead and his father shot and dying should turn out like but I wouldn’t suspect they’d say much. I don’t seek to excuse my behavior or the choices I made that haunted me into this corner but I wanted you to understand that there was most certainly a mitigating factor in why my behavior took a turn.
As a grown man I’ve had to find my own way to make sense of all that has become of me. I had to soul search and find a reason to fight for a change. I had to find the way back to sanity and belief that what I’ve experienced could somehow help someone else. This has driven me. I have been reborn and restored through a very real “Come to Jesus” experience. I’m thankful that I got the chance to change. I’ve seen so many that didn’t or wouldn’t.
I plan to write about many topics dear to someone who has been locked away for so long. I’ve spent 11 months outside of prison since May of 1991. Thankfully, I have my wits and a God given peace of mind. I have 6 years remaining on my sentence and plan to use all I have endured to educate and encourage another generation.
I am located at Stafford Creek Correction Center and would love to dialog with anyone seeking answers to questions about my life or circumstances of their own. God bless you.
Adolphus Redding
DOC #956796
Categories: Adolphus Redding
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