[image of man wearing graduation gown and cap while holding a diploma. dated 10/18/2019]

PLUS (Purposeful Living Unit Serves) program graduation!
Christopher Trotter #862556
P.O. Box 1111
Carlisle, IN 47833

Dear Outside World, November 20, 2019
I just completed and graduated from the PLUS (Purposeful Living Unit Serves) program here at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, Carlisle, IN. The program is faith and character based which is geared towards changing your way of thinking and acting. There is a "Victim Impact" class you have to take in the program, and at the end of the class you have to write a letter to the victim or victims of your crime. I would like to share my victim letter with you all...
Dear victims, as I write this letter, I realize that there is nothing that I can truly say that would change the events that took place on February 1, 1985, at the Indiana State Reformatory, Pendelton, IN, and affected the lives of many people. Any words that I attempt to express or apology I may offer will always fall short of the pain and suffering I have caused you and your families.
After many years of soul searching while spending twenty (20) years in solitary confinement in a windowless cell 23 hours a day, and being involved in many different programs; I am now truly aware of the impact my actions had on you and your families physically, emotionally, mentally, financially, and even spiritually. By understanding the pain and suffering I caused you and your families, it exposed me to my own brokenness.
I now understand that we are all broken by something. We have all hurt someone and/or been hurt by someone. We all share the conditions of brokenness even if our brokenness is not the same. The way my actions have hurt you and your families, and the way I've been hurt by others may be different. But our shared brokenness, the pain we all feel connects us. I guess I've always known but never fully considered that "being broken" is what makes us human...
We all have our reasons. Sometimes, we are fractured by the choices we make. Sometimes, we are shattered by the things we would had never hosen. But our brokenness is also the source of our common humanity. The basis of our shared search for comfort, meaning, and healing. Our shared vulnerability, and our imperfections nurture and sustain our capacity for compassion. We have a choice! We can embrace our humanness which means embracing our broken natures and the compassion that remains our best hope for healing or we can deny our brokenness, our compassion and as a result deny our own humanity.
Since my actions on February 1, 1985, I've taken full responsibility to change my way of thinking and to better my way of life. I've completed anger management, stress management, thinking for a change, and conflict resolution, And upon the completion of this letter, victim impact. I've also obtained by G.E.D., and I've been free of violence, and I have not been involved in an incident like the one that took place on February 1, 1985.
I know my accepting responsibility and changing my life are only small steps, and they can't change the events of February 1st, or the pain you and your families have experienced over the years and may be still experiencing. But I hope and pray that it's a start to let you know that I am truly remorseful and empathetic to the pain and suffering I have caused you and your families. I pray that somewhere in your brokenness, you will see that I too am worthy of mercy and forgiveness. That somewhere in your heart of hearts, you are reminded that the worst thing I have done, is not the sum of who I am.
Sincerely,
Christopher Trotter
P.O. Box 1111-862556