Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

ISSUE NO. 14

September 2025

ISSUE NO. 14

+

Sections

September 2025

Donate Here

Letters

Mistakes

By

Anthony

Anthony writes from a prison in NSW.

Willy Pleasance

Font Size
Font Size
Line Height
Line Height
Dyslexia Friendly
Black & White
Hide Images
Night Mode

Mistakes are made. Sometimes we don’t always know why or how these mistakes are made. Mistakes can’t be taken back. However, we can learn from them.

Sometimes they are minor, but sometimes they can also be major. Minor mistakes can often be fixed with an apology or a way of showing remorse. Major mistakes, can these be fixed so easily? No, not always. It does mean you have to work harder, earn back respect or earn back trust.

In 2024 I made a major mistake which landed me in prison. This cost me everything – everyone I love turned their back on me, and everything I owned was stolen. This was the worst time of my life.

You can’t turn back time, nor can it be erased. While I’m here, I’m losing time and I’ll never get it back. Although it’s 100 percent my fault that I’m here, while I am here it makes it hard to prove to the ones I care about the most how sorry I really am.

It also makes it hard to earn the trust back, also to earn the love and respect back.

The part I hate the most is I can prove to the justice system how sorry I am, how remorseful I am or even how much I’ve changed, but the justice system wasn’t the ones I hurt.

Then sometimes as we get older we realise that we only get one chance at getting things right, like being a good husband, father or friend. These are the times that there is no room for mistakes.

Mistakes are made. Sometimes we don’t always know why or how these mistakes are made. Mistakes can’t be taken back. However, we can learn from them.

Sometimes they are minor, but sometimes they can also be major. Minor mistakes can often be fixed with an apology or a way of showing remorse. Major mistakes, can these be fixed so easily? No, not always. It does mean you have to work harder, earn back respect or earn back trust.

In 2024 I made a major mistake which landed me in prison. This cost me everything – everyone I love turned their back on me, and everything I owned was stolen. This was the worst time of my life.

You can’t turn back time, nor can it be erased. While I’m here, I’m losing time and I’ll never get it back. Although it’s 100 percent my fault that I’m here, while I am here it makes it hard to prove to the ones I care about the most how sorry I really am.

It also makes it hard to earn the trust back, also to earn the love and respect back.

The part I hate the most is I can prove to the justice system how sorry I am, how remorseful I am or even how much I’ve changed, but the justice system wasn’t the ones I hurt.

Then sometimes as we get older we realise that we only get one chance at getting things right, like being a good husband, father or friend. These are the times that there is no room for mistakes.

Leave a Comment

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
0 Comments
Author Name
Comment Time

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere. uis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Send Us a Letter

Your contributions are the centerpiece of the paper. If you would like to contribute to our Letters section, please send your letters to the below postal address:

About Time
PO BOX 24041
Melbourne VIC 3000

The Importance of Solitude in Rehabilitation

By Mick

It is not a pleasurable experience. It is very difficult to face all those emotions and reflect over the course of your whole life.

Letters

ISSUE NO. 16

2 MIN READ

Drawing My Way Out of Prison

By Edward

I was always drawing as a kid, and when the opportunity came up to do an art course at age 17 I went for it.

Letters

ISSUE NO. 16

2 MIN READ

How Metal and Punk Music Saved My Life

By Aidan

I remember our living room used to be filled with hundreds of CDs. My mum is where my love of music came from.

Letters

ISSUE NO. 16

2 MIN READ

Gratefulness and Grit

By Daniel

You can have as many support workers and parole officers as you can get, but it will never make you stop doing crimes. It has to come from within yourself.

Letters

ISSUE NO. 16

3 MIN READ

Get the full paper in print each month.

6-Month Subscription:

Physical copy of About Time delivered to your home or organisation each month for six months. Paid upfront.

Subscribe for $70

12-Month Subscription:

Physical copy of About Time delivered to your home or organisation each month for twelve months. Paid upfront.

Subscribe for $125

Newsletter

Be the first to learn about our monthly stories, plus new initiatives and live events

You've successfully registered!
Something went wrong when we tried to register your details. Please try again.

Support Australia's First National Prison Newspaper

A place for news and education, expression and hope

Help keep the momentum going. All donations will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.

All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. If you would like to pay directly into our bank account to avoid the processing fee, please contact donate@abouttime.org.au. ABN 67 667 331 106.

It's
About Time.

A place for news and education, expression and hope.

Help us get About Time off the ground. All donations are tax deductible and will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.

Donate Here

Welcome to About Time

About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

Your browser window currently does not have enough height, or is zoomed in too far to view our website content correctly. Once the window reaches the minimum required height or zoom percentage, the content will display automatically.

Alternatively, you can learn more via the links below.

Donations via GiveNow

Email

Instagram

LinkedIn

Newsletter

Be the first to learn about our monthly stories, plus new initiatives and live events

You've successfully registered!
Something went wrong when we tried to register your details. Please try again.