Dear Editor & Mr. Benzin,
I appreciate the fact that you shared this article with us. The behavior of prisoners can seem shocking to someone who has never been in the situation. I'm studying a book about the death penalty in my English class. I'm a junior in high school. The way that Mr. Benzin is being treated is deeply saddening. I realize that he did commit a crime but no one with cancer should be treated the way that he is. I feel that maybe we should start some sort of program for prisoners with serious medical illnesses. I realize that he does need to somehow pay for what he has done, but being in that situation isn't helping anyone there. Maybe someone could start a program where he lives in a separate facility where he receives proper medical care and is around other people with medical issues who may not judge so harshly.
I've judged prisoners in the past and maybe I will again in the future. However, I think I somehow forgot that you're human as well. You deserve sympathy just like anyone else would. Since I've started working my first job I see that people tend to have little compassion or empathy. Being a teenager working at a movie theater doesn't really compare to your situation but if I do anything in a way that people slightly dislike, I'm ridiculed for it. Regardless of if it is my fault or not. I have other situations that I may be judged for regardless of if it's in my control or not as well. So I empathize with you; I apologize for your situation, and I hope that someone does something in the near future to better it for you and others in similar situations.
