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Chainbreakers strive to make better sons, brothers, and husbands

The Blade - 2/23/2018

Feb. 23--LONDON, Ohio -- Inside a prison about 30 miles southwest of Columbus, a group of inmates are determined to one day walk out better men.

London Correctional Institution (LoCI) is a medium security facility home to more than 2,200 male prisoners. About 250 of them are currently involved in an eight-week program focusing heavily on accountability, responsibility, and development.

WATCH: Chainbreakers hosts Bishop Rance Allen at the prison in London, Ohio

The prison and the inmates of the Chainbreakers and Cultural Awareness program are holding several events in February to celebrate Black History Month and educate the inmate population, which is 47 percent African-American. A recent presentation about historical African-American figures covered icons from Frederick Douglass to Barack Obama.

Chainbreakers participants -- barring an extraordinary turn of fortune -- won't be president. Convicted felons can't hold the nation's highest elected office.

Instead, they strive to be something maybe even more important: better sons, brothers, and husbands.

"We're on a crusade to change men," said institutional inspector DeCarlo Blackwell, who runs the Chainbreakers program. "The first thing we have to do is be accountable to one another. It's also designed to help them realize the importance of manhood, fatherhood, and being husbands."

Recidivism, inspiration, and hope

The Chainbreakers started a handful of years ago after two LoCI inmates were released, only to end up back in prison just months later.

It's a common occurrence for the incarcerated known as recidivism, defined by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction as a former inmate's return to a state prison following conviction of a new criminal offense or a technical violation.

Even in Ohio, where the recidivism rate is lower than the national average, more than 29 percent of offenders are again locked up within three years of their release, according to the department. A 2014 U.S. Department of Justice study -- tracking more than 400,000 state prisoners in 30 different states -- found two-thirds of prisoners released in 2005 were rearrested within three years, and more than three-quarters were rearrested within five years.

The University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute during a 2015 study found, among other things, that participation in reentry programs reduced the odds that an inmate will return to prison after their release, especially in cases where inmates participated in and completed more than one program.

Warden Norman Robinson took over in LoCI in November, and said he wants inmates to find inspiration and hope.

"A lot of folks volunteer their time to come in and really try to talk to the inmate population," Warden Robinson said. "We also want to give them that hope to say, 'Hey, whatever your situation is, this gives you hope that you may get out or whatever the goal may be.'"

James Smith-Tucker has been incarcerated since 1995 when he was sentenced on an aggravated murder charge for a crime committed in Franklin County. Smith-Tucker, 51, said he was involved in a bar fight that led to a security guard getting shot and killed.

He's eligible for parole in 2020, and said working with the Chainbreakers has brought him closer to his daughters.

"I didn't know how to talk to them because I've been away for so long," Smith-Tucker said. " There was something missing. You have to reach out to them and let them know you love them for real."

'That other you'

Aside from the inmates donning their navy jumpsuits, the chapel at LoCI looked nothing like something found at a prison during a recent Chainbreakers event.

There are no bars on the windows of the brand new building; just vibrant stained glass. On the right is a pulpit. To the left, a large stage. Behind it, a projector screen.

On this day, Bishop Rance Allen,who founded New Bethel Church in central Toledo in 1985, graced the stage. He's one of several influential African-Americans invited to the prison to speak during Black History Month.

About 250 inmates piled into the chapel to hear the bishop, who was welcomed by the LoCI choir. While some prisoners sang and clapped, others played drums, guitar, and keyboard.

Bishop Allen took the stage to a standing ovation. He preached for about 40 minutes, with cries of "Amen" and "Hallelujah" coming from the crowd throughout.

"I want you thinking about this for the rest of the month, rest of the year," Bishop Allen said to the room. "What are you going to do with that other you?"

An inmate shouted "Oh, wow" in response before the chapel erupted in cheers and applause.

"I don't care what you've done to get in here," the bishop continued. "Please take this from me, a person who truly loves you. I know that it is not God's will for you to be locked up in here. Allow the man inside to empower the man on the outside so you can get out of here and do the will of God."

In addition to guest speakers, LoCI held singing and poetry contests, and inmates performed skits to celebrate Black History Month. Philosopher Julius Bailey gave a presentation covering important African-Americans in history, from Martin Luther King, Jr., to Kendrick Lamar.

Inmate Smith-Tucker said he didn't learn about prominent black figures in school, but he's learning about them now.

"If you don't know your past, you definitely can't know your future," he said. "Langston Hughes was 19 years old when he had his first poem published. I didn't know that. By studying these men, it's like if they did it, we can do it, too. It gives you hope."

Bishop Allen said he believes America is still the best country in the world for African-Americans, especially youth. He said the experience talking to the inmates was "Utopian."

"When you think about people like Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, or my own bishop -- the late Bishop C.H. Mason," Bishop Allen said. "To have me come on the same stage these people would have spoken from, it is truly an honor."

Healing

LoCI values education and goes to great lengths beyond Chainbreakers to equip convicts with tools for a successful life after release.

The prison offers various educational programs, including those designed for inmates to earn a GED or high school diploma. Special education classes are available for those 22 and under.

Crystal Brown is an intervention specialist at LoCI and teaches many prisoners.

"Some of them are not doing as much time, so we have a very small window to try to get them educated and get them a skill before they go out in the community," Ms. Brown said. "We take every amount of time we have with them, and put it to not just education, but having programs like [The Chainbreakers] where they can also get educated in a way other than a textbook."

Apprenticeship programs are also available, and Mr. Blackwell said the ultimate goal is to convert inmates to restored citizens. His son has received several haircuts from a former prisoner who attended the barber college.

Inmate Smith-Tucker has worked as a cook in the kitchen and taken part in the masonry program. He plans to work on his son's farm when he gets out of prison, raising chickens and cows.

Smith-Tucker applied what he learned while incarcerated and started his own program at the prison. Inmates who obey the rules invite their loved ones to Smith-Tucker's Family Day at the chapel.

"They come in and sit down with ministers and the inmates to talk about the gap that's been between them while they've been in prison," Smith-Tucker said. "There's usually never a dry eye in the place. When the family see the man reaching out and being real, it touches them. A lot of them are scorned because their father or brother has been in prison for so long, they feel left behind. So it heals that and it's very powerful."

Contact Jay Skebba at jskebba@theblade.com, 419-376-9414, or on Twitter @JaySkebbaBlade.

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