Originally published in July 27, 2008 – Earnest Graham wrote a letter to a judge last summer about his younger brother’s prison sentencing.

Graham made no mention of his occupation — he’s a running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He did not urge the judge to give Brandon Graham a lenient sentence for drug dealing.

Earnest Graham instead asked the judge to give Brandon enough time in prison to learn the life lessons he needs in order to re-enter society changed and reformed.

Brandon Graham, 26, received a 70-month sentence Aug. 20. That day, Earnest, 28, practiced with his Buccaneer teammates, preparing for a preseason game against the Miami Dolphins.

“Honestly, my brother has escaped a lot of troubles,” Earnest wrote to the judge. “In today’s world, it’s sad to say, but people were drawn to him because of this, and I think my brother misjudged the attention he was receiving.”

“As his brother, I do have to say I am hoping that the courts give him enough time to learn his lesson, nothing more, nothing less. He is ready to change, and I can tell that he has already started the process.”

As part of that process, Earnest and Brandon Graham decided to share their story. It is a story of brotherly love, of making mistakes and, ultimately, of paying for them.

It is a story that centers on choices — how one brother made the right choices and how the other now must atone for the wrong choices.

It is a story they want to share, in the hope that the youth of Fort Myers — and their parents — pay attention.

Violent lifestyles prevail in various areas of Fort Myers. Five local teenagers were arrested and charged with the murder of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor last year, and a rash of violent crime this year has prompted the Graham brothers to tell their story.

“If one mom can be spared what I have had to go through, it will be worth it,” said Sandra Smith, mother of Brandon and Earnest as well as their older brother and sister, Shawn Pope and Alfreka Bullard.

Smith loves all of her children equally. She said she would not wish the heartache she feels when visiting Brandon in prison on anyone.

“Some people take longer to get to where they’re going in life,” Smith said, referring to Brandon, whom she deems a good person who made grave errors in judgment. “People have the right to their own opinion. I just think people have misjudged Brandon.”

All four of Smith’s children graduated from Mariner High School in Cape Coral, where Pope, Earnest and Brandon were star running backs. Earnest graduated in 1998; Brandon in 2000.

Three of her four children stayed out of trouble.

Brandon, her youngest, strayed from the right path, and Smith has no answer for it.