I owe my success to a caring judge

Wang Ming (not his real name), a 24-year-old ex-offender who now studies in France.

When I stole mobile phones and cash during my high school days, I never thought of myself as a criminal — I just wanted to show courage and stop other people from looking down on me.

I knew little about the crime of robbery, let alone the punishment, until I was arrested in 2011 and told by police officers that the penalty could be 10 years in prison.

In the detention house, I was like a bomb that could explode at any second, because I realized the seriousness of my offense and felt hopeless at my lack of legal awareness.

The time awaiting trial was a bitter period, but it also made me realize how important freedom is.

During that period, when my classmates were preparing for the gaokao — the national university entrance exam — I felt as though I had lost my future. I could not imagine how I would feel if I were jailed for several years.

To my surprise, the judge at Beijing Haidian District People’s Court gave me a suspended sentence, which meant I could not only take the exam, but also avoid going to prison.

The judge trusted me, cared about my feelings and tried to make decisions that would help me. She sealed my criminal record in line with the law, reducing the disruption to my life and studies.

It would be a lie if I said the experience didn’t affect me. I failed to gain a place at my preferred university, and I had to regularly review my behavior and report my situation every week during the period of probation.

I was often depressed at college, and rarely participated in group activities, but thanks to the judge, I got my confidence back.

We have been in contact since she heard my case. I would like to share my feelings with her and even visit her during the summer or winter vacations because I regard her as a friend.

It was her patient assistance that freed me from my past life and raised my legal awareness, while her lenient punishment and protection gave me the chance to travel overseas and fulfill my ambitions.

In his book, The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Eric Hoffer writes: “The superior individual, whether in politics, literature, science, commerce or industry, plays a large role in shaping a nation, but so do individuals at the other extreme — the failures, misfits, outcasts, criminals, and all those who have lost their footing, or never had one, in the ranks of respectable humanity.”

That quote and the judge’s help changed me; they were a real source of encouragement and guided me to do something meaningful with my life.