Alumni Feature - Allison Trendle '18
Inmates are humans, too. That’s the conclusion Allison Trendle ‘18 came to after she spent her years as an undergrad communicating with various inmates, including Debbie* (name changed for anonymity) at Logan Correction Center in downstate Illinois. Allison began correspondence with Debbie through Faith Behind Bars, a course facilitated by Lewis University Professor Dr. Christie Billups. The course explores practicing faithful justice and explores communication with those incarcerated and those affected by crime using a Catholic perspective. Throughout their correspondence, Allison learned that Debbie held deep regret for the crime she committed, and witnessed Debbie’s humanity in the letters she wrote about her family and the day-to-day details of her life, albeit behind bars. “I started with Faith Behind Bars my sophomore year and it opened up an entirely new world for me. As a society, we are all too willing to cast aside the incarcerated population and think about...