These are the types of stories that I love to read. In sports there is too much law breaking among the star athletes that think they are above the law. And then you hear the story of Chris Paul. Definitely a star in the NBA, he's one of the elite point guards in the league right now. You just wouldn't expect to hear a story about how he is hoping to release his grandfather's murderers from jail.
Chris Paul had just signed for Wake Forest and the next day he found out his grandfather had been murdered. The killers were a group of 5 early teens who randomly chose someone to rob. It just turns out that that man was Nathaniel Jones, Chris Paul's grandpa. He gave Paul his first job at the service station he owned. That service station was also the first opened by a black man in North Carolina. He was known by everyone in the neighborhood as charitable and friendly, lending a hand wherever his circumstances would allow. He also supported Paul more than anyone in his basketball. So you would expect Paul to be furious and seek the maximum penalty. But that's not the case.
In an interview with ESPN's Rick Reilly Chris said "These guys were 14 and 15 years old [at the time], with a lot of life ahead of them. I wish I could talk to them and tell them, 'I forgive you. Honestly.' I hate to know that they're going to be in jail for such a long time. I hate it."
These kids have been in jail for about 9 years already and they're only 23. A few of them have the rest of their life to look forward to in prison. Hard to imagine, and very heartbreaking, for all parties involved. Hard to understand that Chris Paul is looking to free them.
"Even though I miss my granddad, I understand that he's not coming back. At the time, it made me feel good when I heard they went away for life. But now that I'm older, when I think of all the things I've seen in my life? No, I don't want it. I don't want it."
I highly recommend the full article. It's quite a story.
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