How Much Time Is Enough?

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By Chaddrick Thomas


They gave me 91 years.

Ninety-one.


Not because I couldn’t change.

Not because I was beyond redemption.

But because they wanted to make an example out of me.

Because somewhere along the way, our justice system stopped asking what’s enough—and started asking,

“How much can we take before they break?”

This System Doesn’t Just Punish—It Consumes


It’s not about justice.

It’s about spectacle.

About showing the world what happens when you step out of line.

About feeding the myth that long sentences equal safety.


But I have a question:

How much time brings the person back who’s gone?

How much time heals the wounds?

How much time is left after 30, 40, 50 years for a person to even live?


And most importantly—

How much time is enough for a man to change?

Nobody Asks If You’re Still Human—Only If You’re Still a Threat


They don’t care what you’ve done since.

They don’t ask if you’ve educated yourself.

If you’ve mentored others.

If you’ve taken accountability.

If you’ve turned your pain into purpose.


They look at your charge.

They look at the year.

They look at the label.


And they say:

“Still too dangerous.”

The Real Danger Is In Their Refusal to Believe in Redemption


Because once you admit that a man who’s done 20 years has grown—

Once you admit that healing is possible—

Then you have to admit that maybe we shouldn’t have buried him alive in the first place.


And that?

That shakes the whole machine.


Because this system runs on the lie that time = justice.

But time is just a measurement.

Transformation is the truth.

So Again I Ask: How Much Time Is Enough?


Is it enough when the public forgets us?

When the courtroom is empty?

When the kids we left behind have kids of their own?

When our mothers are gone?

When we no longer recognize ourselves?


Is it enough when we’re no longer angry?

Or is it never enough—because the system doesn’t want us back at all?

CALL TO ACTION: Redefine Justice

  1. Stop equating long sentences with healing.

  2. Support sentencing reform that includes people convicted of violent offenses.

  3. Ask what justice looks like after accountability—not just during punishment.

  4. Demand parole boards look at the person—not just the paperwork.

This Series Was Never About Softening the Truth.


It was about expanding it.

About showing that people who have done harm are not beyond humanity.

That the story doesn’t end at the crime.

That justice isn’t measured in years—it’s measured in growth, in healing, in what comes next.


I’m still here.

Still learning.

Still fighting.

Still human.


And I will never stop asking…

How much time is enough?

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