During the update show, Lisa Ling revisted 26 year-old Nicholas to see how he was doing. Here is the link to the recap of the show. Enjoy the clip!
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prison
Where are they now? This week OWN’s Our America with Lisa Ling paused to reflect back on the most memorable stories and people of the 2nd season. It is hard to believe that the season has already ended, but I look forward the future stories that she and OWN bring to our attention.
Updates on Extreme Parenting: Original Story
This recent episode sparked the conversation about parenting and the question of how far is too far? Whether un-schooling, pushing them excessively to succeed or forcing them into beauty pageants, all of these parents were considered extreme. Clearly there was one mom that stood out – the beauty pageant mom. However, after spending over $10,000 on pageants for her daughter, Kelly was finally ready to stop. Yet it wasn’t due to the cost. Instead she had an awakening. She finally listened to her daughter and admitted the pageants were really for her and not in the best interest of her daughter. Cementing the choice, the family put the pageant dresses on eBay and moved forward. Although mom isn’t opposed to pageants in the future, she informed us that it would be the choice of the children and would no longer be about her.
Updates on Incarceration Generation: Original Story
This episode was very informative. We often forget the lost people in our society. Once people are released from prison we expect them to do better, but do we really want them to succeed? It doesn’t appear so. Most convicts find it is impossible to get a job. Once they check the box indicating they do a record (it is on every application), they fail to get the call back. It is a horrible problem in society. Lisa checked in with Royal, Nick and Carl to see how they were doing. A month later, Royal joined community members in the park to exercise. Working hard to get his business, Royal Fitness, off the ground, he officially became a physical trainer. Bartering his services to make it happen, his dreams were coming true. Only two weeks after they filmed the update, he was leasing his own studio. While he is patient for the growth of the business he wasted no time on catching up with his family. He was determined to change his life permanently. The next update wasn’t as uplifting. Nick had been searching for a job and hasn’t been able to find anything. Still battling legal charges, you can tell his spirits are low. I worry that he may give up and settle for what he fears. Once again, a painful reminder that society still puts walls around those who were in prison.
Updates on Modern Polygamy: Original Story
As the film crew came back to the community, Warren Jeffs was back in the news and receiving a life sentence for sexual assault. With the spotlight on Jeffs, the community decided it would be a good idea to bring in the state child protective services for a seminar on abuse. The entire community came together, including the children – an incredibly pro-active gesture on their behalf. I applaud them for taking a step in the right direction. When the original episode ended, Michael and his three wives were in the middle of uncertainty. His third wife, Teresa, had moved out and wasn’t sure if she’d be coming home. The infighting between the women was just too much. By the time the cameras left, it had been five months and Teresa was moving back to give it another try. It appeared that now things are running more smoothly and the women are communicating better. Teresa didn’t want her children raised outside of the home and away from their father. To commemorate the occasion, they took their first family photo. Isaiah’s family was also doing well. They had moved into a larger home which would allow for them to grow their family. In the meantime, Marlene gave birth to their fifth child.
Updates on Invisible Wounds of War: Original Story
I loved this episode. The topic is so important and the conversation needs to be happening all over the country. This secret is killing our men and women. They gave everything to keep us safe and we owe them our support. It is the least we can do. Four months, Jim was dealing with a lot of firsts. He and his wife were moving into their first home, for the first time his son was spending the summer with him, and for the first time he was able to part with the past. Ripping his name patch off his uniforms, he made a pile symbolizing the desire to rid the past. As he moved forward, he found himself encountering a setback. He was diagnosed with a form of PTSD that involves epilepsy. However, he has found an unlikely angel in all of this…his new service dog. The unconditional love of an animal is amazing. But to have an animal that can sense when his anxiety is up and be there for them, that is priceless. Knowing how effective this treatment has been for Jim, he and his wife formed a program called “Paws and Stripes” that trains dogs and connects them with other veterans with PTSD. It was great to see Jim turn this into something so positive. I was hopeful that Lisa would give us a positive update on Peter. His breakthrough and calling on his soul broke my heart in the original episode. However, once they returned home he became even more repressed than he had been before he left for the retreat. The good news was they had a built a support network with the other veterans from Angel Fire. He especially connected with Singing Bear who helped him at the retreat. He has become an apprentice for him learning to become a spiritual healer. Peter seemed to be at peace alongside his friend. His wife shared that each day is a choice for her and so far she hasn’t left. I can only imagine how difficult all of this is for her. I only hope that Peter continues to communicate and stops the walls from surrounding him.
Updates on Twin Lives: Original Story
The next story that was revisited was that of two brothers, Ed and Jim. For 28 years, they have attended the twin festival but it hasn’t been easy. Nine years earlier Jim was diagnosed with cancer….only being given a few years to live. Three months later, Jim was still fighting and his health has begun to deteriorate. The doctors have told them there is nothing else they can do aside from keeping him comfortable. He and his wife recently told their sons and it was becoming all too real for everyone. Watching Ed cry as he spoke of losing his brother, Ed was determined to be by his brother’s side. I held my breath as Lisa wrapped the story fearing she’d update us with sad news, but she didn’t. As the youngest of three (and not a twin) I can’t imagine losing one of my sisters. I pray that the brothers are enjoying each other’s company and doing well.
Updates on 3AM Girls: Original Story
The final story Lisa updated us on involved the pimps and sex trafficking. We left off in the episode with Andrea searching for a young girl. The police had offered little help and she was desperate to find her. Less than a month after filming, she finally found her in jail. Once released, the young girl entered a treatment program far from the watchful eyes of her abusers. Hopefully this new beginning will bring joy and peace into her life. The original story was powerful and thought-provoking. I posted the link above to the original story and it has a link to resources if you need it.
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Our America has the highest incarceration rate in the world. We lock away more people than anyone else and most of those men are African-American. Although black men only make up 6% of Americans, they make up a third of the prison population. You can’t look at these statistics and not question how we got there as a nation. Arguments can be made for racial profiling, discrimination and social class ceilings. However, the reality is that we have a problem. Our young children are trapped in horrific cycle of poverty and prison. From dreams of being a biochemist to gangbanging, how does this happen to our young men? No child is born bad. I don’t care how much people try to convince me. We all are born “tabula rasa” – the blank slate theory. If a child grows up to be a banger, then somewhere along the way they got lost. Then people tend to get lost in the blame as they work to distance themselves from another’s failure. It was his fault…his parent’s fault…the school’s fault, but in reality we all are to blame. We ALL need to start caring and changing our great nation.
“One in twelve African American men have all been incarcerated and for African American boys born in the last decade that number is expected to rise to one in three.” – Lisa Ling
Lisa took us behind bars to meet a young 26 year-old prisoner, Nick, who was preparing for release in a few days. A father of four, he has been in jail most of his children’s lives. He has over 10 incarcerations. And he is only 26. How is that even possible? It is like he left and did a U-turn before he even hit the parking lot. As he struggled to find the reason this time will be different, Lisa helped us to better understand his path that led him there. The son of an absent drug-abusing father and a mom who had to work long hours to keep a roof over their heads, Nick was left to wander the streets. Everywhere he turned drugs were being sold. When that is all a child sees, that is all a child knows – tabula rasa, people. By age 9 he joined a gang and dropped out of school by 14 years-old. So when he went to jail for the first time, he had been on the streets for years without hope…doing what he knew.
Now he was on the verge of release and his focus was on trying to get a job. The only problem is he doesn’t have any job skills. I am not saying he can’t find a job, but when we release a man we want him to succeed. It is in our best interest. Yet, we don’t provide short-termers with any opportunities to learn a skill. Imagine hitting the street with nothing and being told to find something….it makes it far too easy to fall back at what you know – what got you to prison in the first place. When Lisa asked him about whether he was optimistic about his chances out of jail, Nick was honest and said no. He knew there would be times when he would need money and have nowhere to turn. Those times are dangerous…making it easy to find yourself taking the wrong path.
Turning our attention to Carlis, Nick’s girlfriend and mother of two of his children, Lisa explored the obstacles she had in providing for her children. Many people forget those who are left behind when someone is imprisoned. Single moms struggle to make ends meet but many find themselves falling into poverty. Carlis worked 16 hours a day, 6 days a week, and was dedicated to making a better life for her children. With one child with asthma, she desired for Nick to come home and help her…the legal way. This wasn’t a new way of life for Carlis. Her father and brothers were also in prison. When asked why she believes so many African-Americans are in prison, she replied, “I don’t think that they just intentionally become, you know, drug dealers or gangbangers. You know, it starts in the home for one”. Her father had eight kids to feed and a regular job wasn’t enough. Then, her brothers thought…well, daddy did it. The cycle is like a wave. It comes around and swoops up the next generation as they stand there and watch – a continuous cycle of hopelessness. She knew that Nick’s influence would make a huge difference. If he doesn’t do what is right, she knew she’d have to make it alone.
Thirty-six year old, Royal, was introduced to the show a month after his released from almost a decade in prison. He spent his days at the public library filling out applications. Averaging around 3 a day, he has yet to hear from anyone. “People don’t want to see your face no more. We just want to see what you look like on paper and a guy like me don’t look good on paper.” A convicted armed robber, no work history for 13 years, a felon – he completely understood why people weren’t willing to give him a chance. The problem with that is that if we don’t give people a chance, they have no choices. Survival kicks in and people will do what they have to do to survive. If no one will hire him, what is he supposed to do? I know he is to blame for his crime, but told him his time was served. How can we expect him to change if he doesn’t have a chance? It is a difficult situation. His crimes were violent and so was life on the inside. Unemployment is already a struggle for people who obey the laws and work hard to be good people. There are no easy solutions. [read more…]
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Here are couple of deleted scenes from “Incarceration Generation” from OWN. Enjoy!
Lisa meets the inmates.
Royal’s possessions.
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OWN continues to tell dramatic and important stories through their OWN documentary club. With the addition of “Crime After Crime”, viewers will get the opportunity to examine the intense legal battle to free Debbie Peagler, a battered woman who was imprisoned for over 25 years for her connection in the murder of her abuser. This documentary is sure to open our eyes a bit wider to a very important topic, domestic violence. This isn’t the first time that OWN has delved into women who are victims of domestic violence imprisoned for killing their abusers and I am glad to see them talking about it again. Once again….a fantastic pick by the Oprah Winfrey Network. Check out the previous videos I posted back in June.
Set your DVRs for Thursday, November 3rd at 9/8c…only on OWN!
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Colleen and Bob Shapel had a storybook marriage. Married for 32 wonderful years…until he was brutally murdered in February 2004. Colleen and their daughters have spent the last 7 years angry at the murderers, Jeremy Hosford and William Schorr. Bob specialized in selling high-end tools to local businesses. On the day he was murdered, he was headed home when he was flagged down by Jeremy Hosford and William Schorr. They entered Bob’s truck carrying handguns. They handcuffed him and took him to a vacant lot. They then put out the ransom call. They were holding Bob and wanted his pin numbers for his card. When his wife offered to go get the money and meet them they declined. Soon after the police and FBI were involved. The family was instructed to avoid the TV but Melissa snuck up and saw that her father’s truck was in flames. His body was found in a portable toilet. The men had taken over two and half yards of duct tape and suffocated him. It got worse. The men truly added a plastic bag and wrapped it again and then stomped on his head to be sure he was dying. A truly horrific murder. Both men were convicted and are serving more than 30 years in Washington State Penitentiaries.
As if it were yesterday, Colleen tells us that she has always wanted to meet William Schorr. She desperately wants to know if her husband mentioned them in his final thoughts. She wondered what his last words could have been. She requested to meet with both of Bob’s murderers but one declined. Only William Schorr agreed to the mediation. Although he doesn’t forgive himself and isn’t expecting them to forgive…he hopes that by meeting, the family can find some closure.
Colleen and her daughter, Melissa Haven, prepared for the meeting. Her daughter lost so much that day…her father and a little bit of her mother. Both struggling to release the anger, it is clear that Bob’s death is holding them prisoner in loss. Colleen and Melissa met with the mediator, Lorennn Walker, the day before the confrontation. They talked about what to expect and set a few respectful boundaries. As the day approached the emotions bubbled up and over. The emotions are still so raw for Colleen. Loreen then met with William to help him understand what to expect. Unsure of what to do, he wrote a letter to be sure he didn’t forget what he wanted to say. “Nobody is responsible for my actions but me.” All of the parties are feeling extremely overwhelmed.
Prior to the meeting, we are introduced to Toni Schneider, William’s mother. She showed pictures of William and talked about how he was a creative child and had been nominated for the gifted program in his school as a young boy. She then shared that at 14 years old William was molested by a teacher at school. After the traumatic event, he seemed to shut down and found himself getting into trouble. Her son’s crime broke her heart. Like most mothers, she wished she could undo her son’s mistakes. She decided she wanted to meet Colleen. I wasn’t sure how that would go…but as two mothers sat on a bench, they helped each other to heal. Toni understood her pain and expected nothing. She knew that Colleen needed to feel what she needed to. Helping Colleen to understand a little more about her son, they both found a common space….they both had lost.
As Colleen and Melissa drove to the prison, they saw Bob’s truck along the street…what they felt was a sign from Bob that he was with them today. Slowly making their way into the prison, they did their best to hold it together. William was expecting nothing but yelling and anger. It was time. He entered the room and there was silence. Melissa opened with a prayer as Colleen looked at William. She had been expecting to see more of a monster or an unkempt man who didn’t care about them or anything. He sat there clean-shaven and well groomed, something she wasn’t expecting. William began by telling a bit of his story. he shared that his parents divorced when he was 10 and that he had been bounced around from school to school. Colleen shared that she had been from a dysfunctional family. He then shared about the molestation at the hands of his school teacher – something his father blamed on William. Shocked that a father could do that to child, Colleen couldn’t help but say “how could he do that to you?”. Knowing that everyone has sad stories, Colleen knew that those were no excuse for his crime. She felt he was looking for pity. He went on to tell the story of how he died and claimed to be the guard as Jeremy killed him. After sharing stories of how he tried to kill himself multiple times, Colleen and her daughter took a break.
Frustrated that he was trying to throw a “pity party” Colleen decided it was time to share her story. William sat there quietly and listened. He then read his letter. His words seemed sincere and brought a little comfort to Bob’s wife and daughter. Melissa found herself feeling something other than hate towards him. Colleen wasn’t ready to forgive, but both her and her daughter felt they were able to move on a little. The session actually ended with a hug. I couldn’t believe it. BUT a huge burden lifted from their hearts. Both of them truly believed he was remorseful. I hope that he was, but even if he wasn’t Colleen and her daughters are relieved and living more. Their lives have changed and finally they have found some closure. No longer is all of their energy focused on their father…they are now focused on living. Within a couple of months, Colleen found that she was able to forgive. A huge change from the beginning of this process.
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OWNs Original Documentary, Serving Life – Finding Strength and Compassion in the Most Unlikely Place
With all the banter in the press about OWN programming, no one can complain about Oprah’s choice of documentaries. OWN is batting 3 for 3 and this viewer is in love. This past Thursday brought us OWN’s very first original documentary, “Serving Life”. Executive producer, narrator and Academy Award winner, Forest Whitaker, allowed viewers a chance to explored the depths of compassion in a place that confines those who typically represent the polar opposite…a state prison.
The average sentence in the Louisiana’s Angola State Penitentiary is 93 years meaning that over 85% of all prisoners will take their last breath behind bars. It wasn’t a matter of if someone would die, it was a matter of when. “I just felt sorry for these old men. They were up here dying and they were just abandoned and here was hospice….this was just a no brainer,” warden Burl Cain shared. “Hospice is a way to die with dignity with your family and this is their family.”
Once known as the “bloodiest prison in the south”, one would think that Angola prison would be an unlikely place to find hospice volunteers. However, administrators were able to find the “best of the best” in a prison full of the worst inmates in the state. The candidates were screened carefully and the program only selected those who met the strictest of criteria.
The documentary “Serving Life” followed the path of redemption for four inmates: Justin Granier, Charles “Boston” Rodgers, Ronald Ratliff and Anthony “Shaheed” Middlebrooks, Jr. All of them were new to the hospice program. This story followed their journey as they became part of a program that changed their lives.
The approach was interesting. The warden believed that the “only true rehabilitation was moral.” Realizing that most criminals are selfish, he knew he needed to find a way for the inmates to do the opposite and become givers. The hospice care program offered the perfect opportunity for them to find both compassion and redemption. It was all about giving unselfishly. Bathing a man, feeding him, dressing bed sores, cleaning up feces and preparing a body for burial….not the easiest of tasks. However, in the darkest of moments, we find out who we truly are and what we are capable of. [read more…]
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Forest Whitaker is not only the narrator of OWN’s newest documentary, Serving Life, but also the executive producer. Enjoy this exclusive interview!
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