The Monsters We Make

by Kali White

Connie made criminals into animals and monsters because those terms were easier to digest than the fact that criminals—all criminals, no matter the crime—were just people. People who did horrible, heinous things. They were bankers, lawyers, and car mechanics; they were spouses and siblings and parents. They were military men and assistant den leaders for the Boy Scouts. Sometimes they lived just four houses away. They could be in Connie’s Bible study group, and she’d never know it because it wouldn’t occur to her that it was even a possibility.