Prison visitors played the ‘big circle’ game — and it revealed that not everyone has a fair chance in life

Our world has come to a grim point where one allegation is all it takes for society to abandon somebody. We presume guilt, and act with relentless cruelty towards anybody whose rationale doesn't match ours — especially when someone chooses a path of crime. If you look closely, however, it may turn out that they never had a choice in the first place, that their whole life with its taxing circumstances may have pushed them into a bad place. Fritzi Horstman, the founder of Compassion Prison Project, a non-profit organization, helps us understand the reality of causes behind someone developing a criminal tendency, through her YouTube video called “Step Inside the Circle.”

We're full of angst, championing the desire to take over control of others' lives, to categorize them as either 'right' or 'wrong'. What of the large grey area that exists in the dichotomy, and what of the systemic failings that made some feel like they had to do bad things in order to survive? We wish to punish more than to heal and the criminal justice system is one big example of this. Thankfully, individuals like Fritzi Horstman have taken the power they have been gifted with to heal what is broken. In this video, shot on February 12, 2020, she can be seen on the grounds of a prison surrounded by 235 male prisoners. They “gathered in the yard at a California maximum security prison,” according to the inset text.

The men were asked to form a big circle around Horstman, with instructions to take one step inward if they could relate to a situation Horstman was about to discuss. She addressed the crowd by saying, “It’s time now, everyone. We’re going to do a compassion trauma circle. Is everyone ready to face their past? With compassion?” She starts the exercise after hearing a loud, collective, “Yes.”

She begins by asking her first question, “While you were growing up during your first 18 years of life, if a parent or any other adult in the household, often or very often sweared at you, insulted you, put you down, or humiliated you, step inside the circle.” Surprisingly, almost all of them did. “If a parent or any other in the household often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped or threw something at you,” she added, “Step inside the circle.” Once again, many stepped in.

She proceeded by asking if an adult ever hit them hard enough to leave them injured or bruised, if no one in their family ever “loved them or thought they were important or special,” if they lived in “extreme poverty,” and shockingly, the circle grew noticeably smaller with each question as more and more inmates stepped closer to the circle's center. “When you study prison populations, you see a common preponderance of childhood trauma and mental illness. The two go together. So, what we have in prisons are the most traumatized people in our society,” read a quote by Dr. Gabor Mate, mentioned in the video.

The video proceeds with some of the prisoners opening about their traumatic childhood experiences and careless upbringing, sitting in a small circle with Horstman, inside the prison. She shared her experience and prior criminal charges which had landed her in juvenile prison. However, she highlighted how her privilege as a white woman influenced her release. Due to her disturbing childhood as well, she realized how mental health and a life of crime are related, and that is when she chose to start this non-profit organization to help prisoners heal and not suffer in silence.

According to a report by the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, over 1.2 million people with mental illness are currently in the US jails. Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center wrote on their website how mental illness can leave a person feeling isolated, depressed, and neglected, leading them to commit crimes to gain a semblance of control over their lives.

Eric B. Elbogen, PhD, a psychologist and professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the Duke University School of Medicine, studying violence and mental illness, stated, “If a person has a severe mental illness, [they] may have other risk factors for violent behavior. So, it may not be mental illness that is driving the violence at all, but rather factors like having been abused as a child, being unemployed, or living in a high-crime neighborhood.” His study also highlights how it is essential to note that not every person suffering from a mental health disorder is harmful.

After watching the YouTube video, many people expressed their thoughts. @TheGoat-bh9on commented, “This video touched me very deeply. I remember when I was in there and we had similar group therapy. We called it (Man to Man). I have been free since 2012 and will never set foot [in prison] again! Much respect to all those men.” @gabrielasantos8289 expressed, “How is it possible to watch this and not cry your eyes out? That is so important. Thanks for doing this work!” Finally, @TheAflix wrote, “If every human being on earth had the compassion level of this woman, this would be a nice place.”