My First Published Op-Ed

I spent almost a full year at Multnomah County jail while my case was awaiting sentencing. Every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning I would make my instant coffee flavored with junior mints and sit and read the paper. I especially loved the op-eds. I made the bucket-list goal of one day writing an op-ed that got published in The Oregonian.

Today my dream came true. After seeing that the Oregon House had proposed a law to treat overdoses as homicides, I was inspired to write an op-ed against it and laws like it that double down on failed policies of incarceration.

Sitting in jail it seemed like fantasy. Today it became reality. I’m setting new goals.