Today one of my clients, who is currently serving time in Florence prison, sent me an extraordinary gift. He spent sixteen hours crafting an inspiring black and white drawing he titled “Zebra Warrior.” It was meant to be a portrait of me. He wrote from prison: “we live in a black and white world, (hence the zebra/female body). You work with snakes, whether it be the prosecutor or criminals and they try to bite you at every chance (hence the black snake rising up to try to strike you). You seem like a strong woman that stands on what you believe and will fight your ass off as an attorney (hence: the warrior lady and weapon on the zebra). The moon is for the bright and joyable things in your life, the black clouds are for the darkness in your life…long trial, paperwork etc… I hope you appreciate it. It’s an original.” -Darrell
In the seventeen years I’ve been practicing law, fighting for the down-trodden and hoping to save a few lives along the way, I have never received, nor have I ever expected, this kind of gratitude. Random acts of kindness do exist, they do matter and they can come from the strangest of places even a dark prison cell. It’s sobering to know that even the smallest act—drafting an appeal, arguing before the Supreme Court, making a black and write drawing–can have a ripple effect on a person’s life.