“How can we only look at their worst moment in life and not the entirety of their character?” This is what the founders of Wire of Hope want to ask to those who support the criminal justice system as it is. Wire of Hope is a United States centered, global organization founded by Élodie and Sigirid in 2019 after being in development since 2018. The website is available globally, but is based in the United States to help American inmates. The two women are both European, specifically from France. The two stressed on how important connection is for rehabilitation and created the organization to allow people to foster this bond while being ethical and affordable. Élodie lives in the state of Nevada, where the death penalty is still implemented but hasn’t been used in decades. Sigirid, on the other hand, lives in the state of Florida where there are regular executions.
The current governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has passed the record for allowing the executions of inmates on death row. As she describes it, it is a vicious political move to “clean out death row” according to Sigirid, to gain popularity with voters. Although reelection is not possible for Governor DeSantis, he has previously stated that he wishes for his wife to run in the next election. “In United States politics, it is expected that politicians be tough on crime rather than smart on crime,” Élodie states.
Lock them up and throw away the key. The United States has a system that is inherently focused on retribution and not rehabilitation. It is focused on making sure the person gets punished instead of giving them resources to help better themselves. The U.S. has the highest recidivism rates in the entire world and it is not because of the people, but because of the broken system. Continuing an endless cycle of violence through the spirit of retribution is not how our system should work. Everyone has the ability for change as long as we give them an opportunity. With no opportunity, inmates who get out of prison often have nothing to come back to. They won’t have a home, a job, money, family, or friends. How disheartening it is to truly be alone. People react to the environment they are put in, but with proper empathy they can have the chance to change and live a better life. But even if you do not wish to have empathy for those who have committed serious offenses, Élodie and Sigirid encourage those individuals to at least look at the numbers, the data, the statistics. By helping offenders rehabilitate and thus lowering recidivism, it helps the victims by creating less of them. Centuries of being tough on crime has shown no good results. It’s time to make changes to the failing system.
Regardless of if you personally agree or disagree with the core of the program, I encourage you if you are at least 18 years of age to take the time to write to an inmate through Wire of Hope. Not only does it help the inmates have a better chance in rehabilitation, it helps bring change to the writer as well. You will learn a surprising amount from these correspondences. You’ll learn how these people are simply people, “just on different paths”, as Élodie says. Should we not take the time and put in the effort to see them as people? After all, we are all imperfect beings.
