
I should have is a story of a 15 year old who lives at home with his parents. His school work has slipped because he has occasionally been taking days off school to do his own thing. Some nights he gets out of his bedroom window and meets up with his older friends. When he is with them he misuses substances. He has started running away from home and spending time in the streets. He then gets convicted of crimes ranging from aggravated assault to murder. He’s now serving a life sentence. Behind bars, he recounts the crimes and the abuse he suffered as a child. The key moment comes when he reenact these soul-shattering moments with other inmates.
He finds himself in a vicious cycle, caught in a spiral of punishment and incarceration as he was harassed, profiled, watched, and disciplined at young age, even before he had committed any crimes, eventually leading many of them to fulfill the destiny expected of them. It is a story of horror and heartbreak, yet ultimately full of hope.