[algernon]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

According to the Early Show interview he found God in the last year, which could be inferred that's when he started to turn his life around. However, he has been clean for 2.5 years, so maybe that's when he turned his life around.

Under either premise I'd be hard pressed to believe a homeless man wouldn't have any of the charges he was accused of. Theft, loitering, drugs, not really a shock if you're living on the streets. Steal for food or drugs, as drugs could be more accessible and give the illusion they're better bang for your buck sort of speak.

I don't think he simply said "Screw you family, I'm going to live on the streets, pee in front of a Lowe's and shower in the rain next to a tire store, hahahaha suckers!" He probably got mixed up in alcohol, and then drugs and ended up on the streets because of it.

That said, maybe he was scum of the earth, perhaps he still is. But I don't think you should jump down the throat of a homeless man over mistakes he's made in his life. Addition is a horrible thing which lead him there, based on his desire to immediately go visit his mother he probably does have feelings for family.

I'm not shocked the first words out of his mouth were "I abandoned my 9 kids and have committed crimes while living on the streets!" I mean, would they be yours? He did outright say he's done things he's not proud of, he said he doesn't want to dwell on them but not forget them either.

Maybe he will be on the streets again, but I don't think you can really condemn a homeless man, who ended up on the streets because of drugs and alcohol for making poor decisions when he was addicted.

Heck if I was living on the streets I'd commit half those crimes to survive on the streets, and the other half to get caught to spend the winters in prison so I could eat and not freeze to death in the winter.

You subtract that!