Before I was inmate number 1414048, I was Candace Williams.
And long before the system knew my name, I was a little girl whose mother was in and out of prison. I was raised by my grandparents. I told myself over and over again, “I’m not going to end up like my mom.” But cycles don’t just break because we want them to.
This story was published as a part of Charlottesville Inclusive Media’s First Person Charlottesville project. Have a story to tell? Here’s how.
In 2008, at 22 years old, I was arrested in Charlottesville. I was already a mother of two beautiful girls and pregnant with my third child. I pleaded guilty for my role in felony murder, two robberies and abduction. It’s a story I’ve told many times over the last few years. Now I want to tell the next part of my story…