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When Mark Cropp was 17, the New Zealander made the bad decision of pulling a knife on a tourist. Sadly, the prison sentence he faced for the crime wasn’t enough to convince him to stop making poor choices.
He made one more in jail that’s led to a permanent reminder of his stupidity.
Forced to plead guilty to the charges, the teenager began a 2-year stint in prison in 2015 for his crime. At least he had company, though; his brother was also doing time at the same prison…and in the same cell, no less!
While serving the sentence, Mark thought it’d be a good idea to get a tough guy tattoo to help ward off would-be trouble makers in prison. His brother, a tattoo artist of sorts, lent his services to Mark…but only after the two had secretly brewed (and consumed) an alcoholic concoction they made from leftover apples.
Just inebriated enough to impair sound judgment, Mark braced himself to get a tattoo on his face. What was supposed to be a small tattoo along his jaw turned into a full-face tattoo that reads DEVAST8 (devastate).
But what happens in prison doesn’t stay in prison….
When his sentence came to an end in 2017, Cropp exited the penitentiary and tried to enter the work force. Shockingly, the 19-year-old ex con had difficulty finding a job. “One employment place said to me ‘I wouldn’t employ you with that on your face. I wouldn’t even take a second look at you.’ I’ve had other people that just shrugged and laughed at me. I just want any job at the end of the day. I’m sick of being on [unemployment].”
Every decision has its consequences – even those made while we’re young.
Click here for the online report.
Topics Illustrated Include:
Alcohol
Choices
Consequences
Criminal
Decision-Making
Mistake
Stupidity
Teens
Young
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)
