“My Voice Instead of Violence”

My name is Timmy L. Walker Jr. Currently I am serving a 50 to life sentence for felony murder with thirty years left. So what have I done for the last twenty years? In no particular order, I reflected on the effects of trauma, sobriety, healing, education, spirituality, forgiveness, love, life, goals, and most importantly, accountability. For the last sixteen years I have remained steadfast as a mentor, peer counselor, actor (RTA), a mental health assistant, college student, and an advocate for change. Despite my ongoing commitment for actual freedom, who I am today would not be possible without being honest. So when the idea "If I knew then what I know now" was posed to me, it reminded of a line from Shakespeare's Macbeth, "To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus...". Looking back, I realize my life required healing, and I needed to stop being unsafe, I needed to be mature. In my youthful immaturity, I would turn to violence to deal with my problems. Today, my mantra is "My voice instead of violence".

Written by Timmy Walker Jr.