Letter: ‘Inmates,’ not ‘convicts’

I believe that both Rebeca Oliveira and Benjamin Colb did their article “Convicts turn a new leaf” (Oct. 7) a disservice by their overused term “convict,” which they used to describe two inmates, George Graham and Jason Conroy, both serving time at Boston Pre-Release Center on Morton Street and working at the center’s horticultural and landscaping Emerald Necklace Maintenance Collaborative program, which gives them a trade and means for better lives.

Though I believe that Colb and Oliveira meant well, nevertheless, throughout the article, they used the term “convict” eight times to describe positive-thinking “inmates”!

“Convict” is a term used to describe prison thugs and want-to-be tough guys living behind prison walls—not to describe George, Jason and other inmates similar to them who are looking for wellness and a new start in life.

Oren Elow, Egleston Square 

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