A Sad Story at the St. Louis City Courthouse

Not one to be overly emotional, I did see a sight today that deeply saddened me.  It happened at the courthouse in downtown St. Louis.  While I was walking through the corridor, the elevator doors opened and sheriff's deputies escorted four prisoners in orange jumpsuits out and toward one of the courtrooms.  Waiting for one of these prisoners was a little girl, I guess about two years old, in the arms of her grandmother.  She was excited to see "Daddy" and he was excited to see her, waving and calling out as he was ushered along with all the other prisoners.

The scene started me thinking.  What must it be like for a two-year-old to be separated from an incarcerated parent?  How wonderful it must be to see "Daddy" at any time but how horrible that the best opportunity to do so comes when he's being escorted from jail to a court hearing.

While I feel genuinely sorry for the parent in this situation, thinking of the child truly breaks my heart.  If your heart breaks at stories like this one too, check out Project Angel Tree this holiday season.