Do you think any of them have a moment of clarity, look at their tatoos and think I wish I could go back to being a kid again.
Do they realize just how stupid they are?
“...and think I wish I could go back to being a kid again.”
I looked at the pics. Some of them still had a look of defiance but some had regret like “I really messed up”.
I figure in time all of them will have the look of the defeated on them.
“Do you think any of them have a moment of clarity, look at their tatoos and think I wish I could go back to being a kid again.”
Absolutely. Where I work, a tattoo is a NON-STARTER and our management is under orders to dispense with anyone with a tattoo looking for work (and also to remove those already employed, but that’s tougher, and less formal).
One of the things that opened Pandora's box in the U.S. with regard to "sex work" is that many of the purveyors were trafficked into prostitution as children. When their legitmately pitiable stories were publicized, liberals siezed on the opportunity to excoriate "the patriarchy" for shaming and imprisoning them. On down the line with having been abused in childhood, being mentally ill, many other excuses for not punishing behaviors that harm society.
Likewise with these Salvadorian gang criminals, doubtless many were groomed into this behavior from early childhood. I used to live among the Italian-American mafia, I have seen it in person. And also likewise, our feral population—many were literally born into toxic disorder and would require a Divine miracle to get straight.
Liberals want to tell us that adults out of these conditions do not have any true responsibility for their crimes. That may be some kind of a point; but the rest of us have a society to run and a country to save.
I am all in favor of effective means of therapy for non-violent offenders, if our greedy elites would only budget these enormous costs instead of meddling in foreign wars. But even the most depraved person has a soul, and in time will develop a conscience, no matter how primitive. Even dogs and cats understand not to harass another who has given a warning growl, or to steal others' food—or face violent retribution. Some will never listen to their own better angels. But some will indeed be filled with bitter regret and the wisdom of experience.
So I was glad to see that this prison was teaching the gospel to these prisoners. The souls of some may be redeemable, in time. They are marked for life with their tattoos, so that even physical escape will not result in freedom. The only door open to them is repentance that will allow them the comfort of the Holy Spirit.