The first season culminated in me feeling a whole host of emotions - it truly took me for a ride on the emotional roller coaster. This is an important story to tell, and I throughly look forward to hearing how Suave is doing and tuning in for his next chapter, whatever it consists of and wherever it may take us.
As someone who served less than in a year in prison for drug-related offences committed as a teenager, I cannot even begin to comprehend how Suave has adjusted to life on the outside. I am reluctant to say ‘life as a free man’ because it is anything but that, as I am sure this season will explore and explain. People become institutionalised after serving far shorter sentences than he did, so he should commended for the strength and courage he has shown. There will obviously be ups and downs, but so long as you are learning lessons and doing your best along the way, things will eventually begin to stabilise and improve.
They call the criminal ‘justice’ system a revolving door in my country for a reason. Once you’re in there, it is near impossible to escape for a multitude of reasons that only dawn on you as the years go on. Many of the consequences are ones that you’d never fully anticipate. One such example is related to employment. Most people are aware of the difficulty convicted criminals face when seeking employment, especially in certain industries/professions, even for the most minor offences committed many years prior. An obvious alternative would be starting your own business, assuming you have skills or experience that can be marketed as either goods or services. What nobody seems to know is that in my country, if you have a criminal record, you are unable to register a business name, meaning you have to just trade under your full name or your ABN (essentially a long string of numbers). That makes it very difficult to advertise or market your business because nobody is actively looking for your name - they are looking for a specific product or service. There are ways of dealing with that, sure, although none simple or affordable. The next complication that will arise is that not a single insurer will offer you public liability or professional indemnity insurance. Not one, and not even if you’re prepared to pay insane premiums, years of documented proof of rehabilitation and recovery, and countless letters of support and testimonials as to the individual and their character from highly-respected people (lawyers & barristers, people in the government, medical professions, etc). Understandable if the record was for fraud, far less so when it is for drugs. This is just the beginning of the implications of having a criminal record, and we’re only examining a single area that is one of necessity, securing consistent, gainful employment.
Thank you for bringing us such a wonderful story that is both tragic inspiringly and inspiring. I’m sure it will be insightful for many.
