The Butterfly Effect

Recidivism is a myth...

I'd like to think that...

I'd like to believe that a person

can't recklessly relapse

into criminal behavior

without some type of

chaotic structure behind it.

They released some butterflies today.

Who would've thought.

A prison, with a science lab.

Growing the larva of arthropods

inside netted cages

until the ones in charge

of their custody and control

felt they'd changed enough

to finally be paroled

and set free.

I watched the EOS

of the butterflies during recreation

and what shocked me the most

is their behavior once the

netted cages were opened.

Instead of flying towards the tree lines

of the forest on the other side

of the prison gates

they flew out of the cages and then

in the direction of

the education building

that recently housed them

located deeper in the prison gates,

or they flew around the rec yard.

Some butterflies had to be coerced

to leave the netted cages,

forced into the unknown world

with nothing but a

"go on, you're free now, go live"

to guide them.

After their release

...I saw a couple of them die.

I wasn't surprised.

No one taught them how to survive.

They were given food, water, and shelter