Reply ID: grem
7/24/18

LynnEspinoza,

I'm in blessed health as I continue to maintain my mental liberty and self-respect inside this belly of the beast.

My 35th Soulday (birthday) inside the belly of the beast was spent with a walk down memory lane. I thought about all the birthdays I had when I was out there in the so-called free world, and the fun I had opening the many presents I got, and all the ice cream and cake I ate that would left me with a stomach ache. Sometimes in prison, all you have are the memories you cherish that make you smile.

If you want to do something kind for me as a belated birthday gift, then you can go to icaregifts.com and order a pizza for me. Have it sent to me at "Christopher Trotter 82556". Also, if you would like to communicate with me, then you can go to www.jpay.com and send me an email. I will reply back to you.

Being in solitary confinement for twenty years and locked away in a windowless cell for twenty-three hours a day has taught me a lot about mercy. Mercy is most empowering, liberating, and transformative when it is directed at the undeserving. The people who haven't earned it, who haven't even sought it, are the most meaningful recipients of our compassion.

As I sit inside their prison cell (it will never be "my" prison cell), I began thinking about what it would be like if we all acknowledged our brokenness and shared mercy. If we owned up to our weaknesses, our defects, our biases, and our fears. Maybe if we did, we could no longer take pride in mass incarceration, in excluding people, and in the deliberate indifference of those most vulnerable.

End the in and in the end, I have genuinely forgave the people who have judged me unfairly and unworthy of mercy. And it's the mercy I have extended towards other that has allowed me to recover a life worth living, and rediscover a love worth sharing and a freedom worth fighting for.

Strong but human!
Christopher Trotter #862556
P.O. Box 1111
Carlisle, IN 47838

P.S. You can go to icaregifts.com and send me a pizza as a belated birthday gift.
Christopher Trotter #862556