Late-Night Release Tragedy
An Abrupt and Solitary Reentry into Un-incarcerated Life Proves Fatal
“Free to Go: Where?” was an article written by Cathy Murillo and published in December 2008 by The Santa Barbara Independent. Its subject was the late night release of Santa Barbara County Jail inmates. Eight years later, the midnight release is still going on. Why? We have a personal reason for asking.
Our son Kent was in Santa Barbara County Jail for about 10 weeks this summer and was scheduled for release on September 15. He was serving a sentence related to use and possession of a controlled substance. He was a very kind, gentle, generous, and loving young man who was battling opiate addiction. He never committed any violent crime and wouldn’t hurt a fly.
While he was serving his sentence, we visited him almost every Saturday. Kent looked great, sounded great, and seemed to be doing really well. He seemed to have a positive influence on his cellmates: They started working out together, playing volleyball, singing a cappella, and reading. He even asked us to donate some of our books to the jail, which we gladly did.
