Prison inmates saved three boys from the freezing Washington River, according to a Jan. 31 New York Daily News report. The three inmates were on a work crew providing maintenance in a public park when they rescued the three boys after their kayak capsized.
While many people are surprised that prison inmates would jump into freezing water to help save three boys, one prison inmate named Jon Fowler said,
"I think we did something that any good person would do. You see three helpless kids in a river, you help. Just because we're incarcerated doesn't mean we're bad people. We made some bad choices in our lives, but we're still, we're just like everybody else. We're just paying our debt for what we did wrong."
Absolutely. People do make bad decisions, and they often serve their time and move on. It sounds like these prison inmates who saved the three boys, ages eight, 10 and 16, are heroes, and while it may seem unlikely to some, they felt like they were just doing the right thing.
Nelson Pettis, Larry Bohn, and Jon Fowler are all serving time for non-violent crimes in Larch Corrections Center in Yacolt, Washington. Bohn should be released in June while Pettis should be released in November. Meanwhile, Fowler may serve until May 2014.
Even though they still have time on their sentences, these prisoners will receive a letter of praise for their heroic actions in saving these three boys. The prison is also looking for a way to honor them.
The interesting thing about this trio of prison inmates is if they had not made bad decisions and landed in jail, then they would not have been there to save the three boys when their kayak capsized.
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