I couldn't forget this one, even if I tried.

Today I met a boy. He was around 17, with a cute, round little face, and his hair was half cut, but with a big fluffy bit at the back because the haircutting equipment had failed. He told me that he used it as a pillow because the pillow he has isn't very comfortable.

He was solidly built, with the gentle awkwardness children turning into adults often have about them. He had a smile that lit up the room and a canny sense of humour. He was clearly very intelligent and knew exactly what I was talking about as I babbled away in legal jargon. When our conversation ended he thanked me profusely and smiled his big childish grin as I left.

This boy is in jail. He is a crystal meth addict. When he was four years old, he tried to kill his father by replacing his methadone with bleach so that his dad wouldn't bash up his mum, and when he was 10, his mother killed his baby sister when she mistook the methadone for babies milk and fed it to the 1 year old.

This story, is one that I will never ever forget.

A life of crime?

Crime... where have you been all my life? I don't want to go out and commit crimes. Oh no no no, that would be very wrong indeed. But since quite early on in life, I have taken an interest in the world of crime. I follow it in the news, I stalk it on the internet, I watch murder mysteries on TV and I read intricate books about the world of criminals. I also believe in liberty, justice and human rights.

I guess it is only natural then, that I have fallen into the world of criminal defence law. Protecting those who the rest of the world seems to be against, brings a strange kind of satisfaction. It's a little bit of a wake up call. A little bit of a kick in the guts to the justice system. Everyone deserves a fair trial, everyone deserves to have their rights protected. Everyone deserves liberty. Those who are guilty generally have a story to tell, and it isn't a pleasant one. It is sad, and long and it very often starts with a mistake.

So should one little mistake, cost you your liberty? Should a lifetime of sadness end with your basic human rights being taken away from you? Should one bad choice, leave you with no more choices?

I guess what knowledge I have gained in practising criminal law, is that everyone has a secret.

 I have learned to have some faith in the phrase "beyond reasonable doubt."

 I have fuelled a passion to fight for the voices that don't get heard.

You own the sky.

Every shooting star is a wasted wish, because you are never coming back. Every time I see your face I have to remember it can only ever be a memory. When we were young we were so carefree and somewhere along the way your world crumbled and before I could blink, you were gone. But here's the thing Alex...

I feel you in every heartbeat.

I see you in every dream.

I wish I could have told you that before it was all too late.

You own the sky.