{"id":6657,"date":"2020-12-17T13:58:46","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T18:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/?p=6657"},"modified":"2021-03-14T23:10:18","modified_gmt":"2021-03-14T23:10:18","slug":"a-gift-of-compassion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/","title":{"rendered":"A Gift of Compassion"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
by CPP\u2019s Melonie McCoy<\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

At age 46, Chris Scott is a man who is passionate about learning. Along with his love of reading complex novels and scientific narratives, Chris has multiple degrees and is a sought-after tutor in English and writing. That is, when he\u2019s not busy coaching a softball team or motivating others at hip-hop dance class.\u00a0 Chris is also serving what people in prison communities refer to as an \u201cLWOP\u201d sentence\u2026 life without parole, at Ironwood State Prison in California.<\/p>

For the twenty plus years Chris has resided in prison.\u00a0 Throughout his sentence he and his mom, Sue, a volunteer at Compassion Prison Project, have maintained a close relationship.\u00a0 Though separated by hundreds of miles, they speak several times a week on the phone, updating each other on their daily lives and family news.\u00a0 Sometimes, together,\u00a0 they even critique books they\u2019ve read.\u00a0 Sue was understandably relieved this past summer when Chris, along with several fellow prison residents, was able to leave isolation after weeks of confinement due to a positive Coronavirus test.\u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Mother\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Sue with her two sons, Mike (left), Chris (right) and her daughter Tracy (right)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Recently, Chris called Sue to ask for help in resolving an air conditioner problem.\u00a0 He told her about men in their undershirts, leaning out of windows, trying to prevent heat exhaustion while working in 110-degree heat.\u00a0 These men, he explained, were the correctional officers working in the tower building across the field from his cell block.\u00a0<\/p>

This concern, fueled by compassion for the correctional officers who kept a daily watch over Chris and his companions, didn\u2019t come as a shock to his mom.\u00a0 She knows that her son is a good and thoughtful person. The gruff-voiced man who returned her call from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, however, was shocked into silence as Sue relayed her son\u2019s request to fix the officers\u2019 air conditioning.\u00a0 After a few moments, the man burst into laughter which seemed to erupt from sincere shock and genuine joy at the inquiry.\u00a0 \u201cThis is a first\u201d he exclaimed.\u00a0 Then after a pause, continued \u201cI can\u2019t believe your son asked you to do this.\u201d<\/p>

A few days later, Chris looked across the prison yard toward the tower, happy to note that the correctional officers could no longer be seen leaning out of their windows.\u00a0 Feeling satisfied that the problem was resolved, Chris and Sue went back to their daily routine, happy to have made a difference. Ever hopeful that one day, they\u2019ll be discussing books and life and family while relaxing together again at home.\u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by CPP\u2019s Melonie McCoy At age 46, Chris Scott is a man who is passionate about learning. Along with his love of reading complex novels and scientific narratives, Chris has multiple degrees and is a sought-after tutor in English and writing. That is, when he\u2019s not busy coaching a softball team or motivating others at hip-hop dance class.\u00a0 Chris is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[83,82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acts-of-kindness","category-returning-citizens"],"yoast_head":"\nA Gift of Compassion - Compassion Prison Project<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Gift of Compassion - Compassion Prison Project\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by CPP\u2019s Melonie McCoy At age 46, Chris Scott is a man who is passionate about learning. Along with his love of reading complex novels and scientific narratives, Chris has multiple degrees and is a sought-after tutor in English and writing. That is, when he\u2019s not busy coaching a softball team or motivating others at hip-hop dance class.\u00a0 Chris is…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Compassion Prison Project\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-17T18:58:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-14T23:10:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/correctional-guard-tower-gift-of-compassion-prison-project.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1022\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Morgan Emmess\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Morgan Emmess\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Morgan Emmess\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#\/schema\/person\/bd42f7d74f1f62b9692a1944871cc3a3\"},\"headline\":\"A Gift of Compassion\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-17T18:58:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-14T23:10:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/\"},\"wordCount\":438,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/correctional-guard-tower-gift-of-compassion-prison-project.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Acts of Kindness\",\"Returning Citizens\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/\",\"name\":\"A Gift of Compassion - Compassion Prison Project\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/correctional-guard-tower-gift-of-compassion-prison-project.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-17T18:58:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-14T23:10:18+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/correctional-guard-tower-gift-of-compassion-prison-project.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/correctional-guard-tower-gift-of-compassion-prison-project.jpg\",\"width\":1022,\"height\":450,\"caption\":\"Correctional officer guard tower and outside prison wall\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Gift of Compassion\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/\",\"name\":\"Compassion Prison Project\",\"description\":\"Do No Harm\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Compassion Prison Project\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/logo.png\",\"width\":355,\"height\":83,\"caption\":\"Compassion Prison Project\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#\/schema\/person\/bd42f7d74f1f62b9692a1944871cc3a3\",\"name\":\"Morgan Emmess\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/693821319d589dbfdb8d4367e15e44640f135a14a59cc2bb5095700b8f70191a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/693821319d589dbfdb8d4367e15e44640f135a14a59cc2bb5095700b8f70191a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Morgan Emmess\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/author\/morganvicki\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Gift of Compassion - Compassion Prison Project","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Gift of Compassion - Compassion Prison Project","og_description":"by CPP\u2019s Melonie McCoy At age 46, Chris Scott is a man who is passionate about learning. Along with his love of reading complex novels and scientific narratives, Chris has multiple degrees and is a sought-after tutor in English and writing. That is, when he\u2019s not busy coaching a softball team or motivating others at hip-hop dance class.\u00a0 Chris is…","og_url":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/","og_site_name":"Compassion Prison Project","article_published_time":"2020-12-17T18:58:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-14T23:10:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1022,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/correctional-guard-tower-gift-of-compassion-prison-project.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Morgan Emmess","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Morgan Emmess","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/"},"author":{"name":"Morgan Emmess","@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#\/schema\/person\/bd42f7d74f1f62b9692a1944871cc3a3"},"headline":"A Gift of Compassion","datePublished":"2020-12-17T18:58:46+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-14T23:10:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/"},"wordCount":438,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/correctional-guard-tower-gift-of-compassion-prison-project.jpg","articleSection":["Acts of Kindness","Returning Citizens"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/","url":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/","name":"A Gift of Compassion - Compassion Prison Project","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/correctional-guard-tower-gift-of-compassion-prison-project.jpg","datePublished":"2020-12-17T18:58:46+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-14T23:10:18+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/correctional-guard-tower-gift-of-compassion-prison-project.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/correctional-guard-tower-gift-of-compassion-prison-project.jpg","width":1022,"height":450,"caption":"Correctional officer guard tower and outside prison wall"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/a-gift-of-compassion\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Gift of Compassion"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/","name":"Compassion Prison Project","description":"Do No Harm","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#organization","name":"Compassion Prison Project","url":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/logo.png","width":355,"height":83,"caption":"Compassion Prison Project"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#\/schema\/person\/bd42f7d74f1f62b9692a1944871cc3a3","name":"Morgan Emmess","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/693821319d589dbfdb8d4367e15e44640f135a14a59cc2bb5095700b8f70191a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/693821319d589dbfdb8d4367e15e44640f135a14a59cc2bb5095700b8f70191a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Morgan Emmess"},"url":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/author\/morganvicki\/"}]}},"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/compassionprisonproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}