The Wrongs Continue

    For many people, money is not the most valuable thing in the world.
The title for most valuable depends on the person, whether it be love, family, or something else entirely. But one thing that almost everyone can agree on is that time is one of the most valuable things in the world.
    This is something that Stevenson touches on in this latest piece of reading. There are thousands of wrongly convicted people in the United States, and if they are released from prison, it only seems fair that they are properly compensated for the years that they have lost. Yet in many states, 22 to be exact, they "offer no compensation to the wrongly imprisoned,"(245). Even in states that do allow compensation, many have a cap to the amount of money an individual can receive. For example, New Hampshire has one of the lowest compensation caps in the country, with the wrongly imprisoned only able to collect up to $20,000 in compensation. As a person who lives in this state, it seems absurd that someone could be wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for decades, and when they are finally released all they get in return is $20,000. As a citizen, you always want to believe that wherever you live, it is a fair and just place. But I guess this is not the case in all aspects of society.
    I think that Stevenson included this passage for a very specific reason. All through this book, we have always viewed Walter's release to be the biggest and most important thing that could happen, and after that, all of the wrongs would be righted. But now that he has been released, we now see that the injustices continue. Right out of prison, Walter was awarded nothing, and only after lots of legal stuff that I didn't totally understand. He shouldn't have to fight so hard for things that many people believe should be his by right. This passage demonstrates one of the many ways life is made more difficult for people fresh out of prison, even if they are innocent of the crime that put them there.