So I'm seventeen and in prison for a crime I didn't commit and I know, that's what every criminal says; but I'm telling the truth. I was charged and trialed as an adult for a robbery and murder.

All we did was take a wrong turn, following the GPS and I'm not sure where we ended up. Somehow, a man was shot and killed while his convenience store was being robbed. The funny part was, we saw the whole thing happen from inside the car because it happened right in front of the parking spot we pulled into. It all happened so fast: we stopped for some snacks, since we were lost. We saw the guy walk in with a mask on and a gun, he pointed it at the store owner, and bang, he was shot in the face. We idled for a second, thinking about what might have happened. Then all I could hear was one of my friends screaming "DRIVE!" at me, and that's exactly what I did. I sped off, never looking back for a second. After driving for miles, I was out of breath and still panicking. I finally came to a stop, somewhere in the middle of nowhere in order to collect my thoughts and make sure the passengers were okay.

That's where the story, as innocent as it seems, it took a violent turn for the worse. Apparently, there were other people at the scene, eyewitnesses, to be exact. A few of them caught my license plate and gave the numbers to the police who arrived on the scene. The camera inside the store even caught a glimpse of my car speeding off and as a result, the was an APB on my car. Moments after hearing the news on the radio, we were met by a dozen cop cars and guns pointed at us. We were told to come out with our hands up and we did as we were told. In the interrogation room, I told my side of the story but was met with discontent from officers who had already labeled me guilty.

I was then given a choice to take a deal or go to trial. Of course, overlooking the fact that I was pretty much poor and my mother couldn't afford a lawyer, I decided to go to trial, with a public defender. You can only imagine the way that turned out when this man had roughly 15 minutes to prepare for my case and asked me, "so did you do it?" with this look on his face as if he already knew I was lying.

The judge threw the book at me and I got 25 years for the crime. I'd be in my 40s by the time I came out, time from my life wasted. Now, I just wondered where I went wrong and how I went from a normal kid to inmate number whatever, so quickly. I believed in my gut that the truth would set me free, yet, it locked me up instead. I was confident that a jury of my peers would give me a "not guilty" verdict, but they all looked at me with, clearly not wanted to be in court, and fostered me to the system. As a minor, I was questioned without an adult present and not to mention, the evidence was botched and barely admissible because it only eye-witness accounts and on blurry camera image. The judge, the jury, and even my lawyer didn't believe my story and I was failed by them all.

Oh, did I forget to mention, my friends turned on me? They all decided to take the deal for a lesser sentence as well as testify that I owned a gun and was a good shot. This was true, since my dad and I would go to the shooting range and he even got me my own gun, but I was always taught the importance of gun safety and that bloodshed destroys both families. I would never use a gun to kill anything besides a duck while it's hunting season. However, all of this information was used as evidence. I was betrayed by my two best friends for nothing and now, I am totally alone. My father was broken by grief and never spoke to me again, claiming he raised a monster and my poor mother was riddled with heartache. She only contacted me when she could rise above her crippling depression.

I've been here for 9 months and I've lost all faith in the system to the point where I won't even repeal my charges. I'll just take them as they are and pay for trusting a broken system since it was my only mistake. I got lost while driving and literally lost everything that night. I'd give anything to have my story heard and my freedom back but why dream big when I'm in a steel box with nothing to hold on to?

That's my story, I'll see you in 25 years! When we meet, can you tell me where I went wrong?

In memory of Kalief Browder, 1993-2015; another life lost to the system. Rest In Peace!