Faith for Freedom

 Today I learned about the story of Juan Castillo and his journey to becoming a free man. Juan's life, starting from Reno, Nevada and being moved all across the country to different prisons to then end up back in Reno, Nevada, is one crazy journey. His whole life he was treated unfairly, but kept strong in faith as, "He's not only fighting for his freedom, but, he his fighting for his life" (3:00-3:05 Hinojosa). It isn't uncommon nowadays to see the political power used in these cases to keep people like Juan Castillo in prison.

The Bible
History Channel

I liked how Juan always kept a positive attitude even when  things weren't looking bright at all. His use of Christ and The Bible helped power his way through some of the darkest moments in his life. I did not like how every time Juan had some chance to be free, another charge would pop up that would force him to stay longer. As seen here, "The innocent and prison project international, an organization that supports people who claim they were wrongly convicted, took up his case a number of years ago, declaring his status as, 'possibly not guilty'" (10:04-10:19). Juan was initially thought to be innocent from this shooting, but a number of years later it was brought back up as a charge. I think the radio show should cover more of the political side having too much power over the convictions of people.

 

The news article I found here was on Juan Castillo's story and his life in prison. It talks about how Juan

Freedom
Myers Davis

Castillo's discovery of, "artwork, literature, services to others, and God" (Lole) helped him persevere while in prison. He was well known in his prison cells to be a speaker of the Bible and for passing along messages to other inmates. I selected this article because it gives a new insight on the life of Juan Castillo and what it means to have faith. 

What I learned is that Juan Castillo is one of the most optimistic people ever. Having been in prison for practically his whole life, "he's discovered of life and America behind bars" (Lole) and he has never lost faith and has always kept a positive outlook. This is a good example of the environment helping the people. Him being in prison helped him understand the little things better in life as he looks forward to his release.

Works Cited

upjobsnews_5mlole. “The Elusive Freedom of Juan Castillo Trending News & More.” Latest News, 14 Jan. 2022, https://upjobsnews.com/the-elusive-freedom-of-juan-castillo-trending-news-more/.

Washington, John. “The Elusive Freedom of Juan Castillo.” Latino USA, 14 Jan. 2022.