Pubdate: Sun, 05 Aug 2001
Source: Island Packet (SC)
Copyright: 2001,sThe Island Packet
Contact:  http://www.islandpacket.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1514
Author: January Holmes
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

PRISON INMATES SHARE IMPACT OF CHOICES WITH TEENS

He had a promising future ahead of him. He had served four years in 
the Air Force, received five full college scholarships and become a 
college athlete with a 3.0 grade-point average.

But the successful athlete instead found himself in prison serving 20 
years for distribution of crack.

"I did everything they told me not to do, and then it all went down 
the drain," he said.

This convicted criminal, who asked to not be identified, is one of 20 
inmates serving time at the Federal Correctional Institution in 
Estill who are involved in an intervention program aimed at deterring 
adolescents from making choices that could lead them to jail.

Members of the Teenage Awareness Program -- or TAP -- shared their 
life experiences with 80 youths from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hilton 
Head Island, Bluffton and Beaufort this past Wednesday.

"You have a choice, but the police are not gonna give you a choice," 
the ex-athlete said. The choices and freedoms you have -- they will 
take all that away from you."

Inmates discussed gang life and selling drugs -- things that are 
attractive to some of today's teens. But the stories they told about 
being involved in these activities were anything but alluring.

"My girlfriend said I had to get out of the gang," one inmate, who 
also asked to not be identified, told the teens. "I told her when I 
make at least 90 grand (from selling drugs) I'll get out."

The inmate said he wanted to get enough money to support his 
girlfriend and his children and buy a nice house and a car. When he 
reached $8,500, though, he said he felt the time was right to leave 
the gang.

On the same evening he quit, he said he gave the money to his 
girlfriend, who placed it in a safe, and then he went off with 
friends to have drinks. While out, the inmate said his friend's 
cousin broke into their apartment and demanded the money.

When the incident occurred, he said, his girlfriend was creating a 
new greeting on their answering machine.

"You could hear her say (on the tape), 'Don't shoot me! I'm 
pregnant!' " he said.

The next thing he said he heard on the answering machine were 
gunshots. His girlfriend was shot in the head, refusing to give the 
robber the money.

"All I thought I was doing right was wrong. I hope no one has to die 
for you before you realize how serious your choices are," he told the 
group of teens.

The youths did not get a chance to tour the whole facility, but many 
were impressed with what they did see, though it didn't reflect the 
rough life the inmates face behind bars.

Instead, it resembled a college campus decorated with manicured lawns 
and beautiful trees. A baseball field sat across from the prison 
parking lot.

The visiting room, where the teens sat during the program, also did 
not resemble a prison. A large, colorful mural of families standing 
near a lake filled a wall of the room.

"This is a beautiful building, but don't let that fool you ... it's 
torturous," an older inmate said to the teen-agers.

Many of the adolescents learned a lot from the inmates' stories.

"I learned what the real thing is in jail. It's not what you see on 
TV," said Nia Jordan, a teen in the Hilton Head Boys & Girls Club.

"I learned to never sell drugs -- you'll get caught," said Melvin 
Steven, another youth from the island club.

The Hilton Head and Bluffton clubs said they are planning another 
trip to the prison for other club members who did not attend.

"I hope the kids will be able to see the importance of making good 
choices," said Molly Smith, director of the Bluffton Boys & Girls 
Club. "If they choose not to see it, they will know where that road 
leads, too."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe