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tv   [untitled]  RT  July 26, 2010 5:31am-6:01am EDT

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special training in order to make money. the prisons may be filling up but the schools certainly are not louisiana has the worst high school dropout rate in the u.s. and loses around forty students every day something your courage is i've not been able to stop. my greatest concern is what happens to the ones that are eleven and twelve and thirteen and fourteen fifteen years old that in the pipeline on their way to angola and as you can see in i was system we have a huge pipeline. and . we treat our children. who are
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worst of any state in the country overall way of the worst conditions for child welfare and then we punish them more severely than other states do we have the highest road so right of imprisonment so it's kind of a i've thought of it as being like oh like a reverse welfare system instead of taking care of them when we're young when they're young we ignore them when they're young and then we then we put them in prison and spend twenty thousand dollars a year keeping them locked in prison when i become adults it just seems like a very stupid social policy that made the we've done that for a long. jerry
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couldn't afford a lawyer and spent four years in county jail before his trial there he pleaded not guilty arguing self-defense but the prosecutor finally johnson with second degree murder. jerry was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. or. like jerry
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most inmates serving time at angola come from poor backgrounds and were represented by public defenders. public defenders do the best they can with what they have but sometimes it's not good enough the constitution of the state of louisiana requires our legislature to provide funding for public defenders but they don't right now the public defense in this state is funded by court costs mostly on traffic tickets it's amazing spirit to get a fair trial if you are convicted of a felony and the only access you have to your attorney is the morning that you're going to be going to court i mean that's not. that's not that's not very good representation because we have underfunded the indigent program. over the years i think you will find that many people like a proper defense particularly those from in the indigent population.
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was. terry to show was arrested for possession of marijuana but chance with racketeering . to show couldn't afford a lawyer and was sentenced to one hundred years in prison and a one million dollars fine he spent eighteen months at angola before winning his appeal thanks to outside benefactor. to life mark and also. other for i'm just not a drug. or working person we're no mourning if you don't have the money now you cough or walk away from our parish. we'll still try to go through this though you were. once arrested poor defendants like terry faced prosecutors
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with political ambitions and far greater resources than public defenders. john sinkfield this tough on crime prosecutor plans to run for district attorney of east baton rouge in two thousand and six. law and order gapped of punishment for murders and a strong stand against crime the what i've done for thirty four years that's been very successful for me in that i'm the best to do in my case one of the maybe. i could have been ruled and that's what it says. but it was exactly like the law one of them. and i'll look at that every every time i think about i was only case out of the me but i still had to fight because they were looking for a way. to give themself a big name. truck driver terry to show was lucky successful appeals like his very
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rare in louisiana this project been challenging you got him pictured daniel stanford is a criminal lawyer in lafayette he won the appeal for terry to show stanford dislikes a legal system that links politics and justice to the most powerful positions in any parish is the sheriff in the district attorney. they have all the power and so when you have all these people getting together statewide saying we want tougher laws we want the procedures changed in a way that favors us. it happens because that's popular in louisiana not only da's elected but also state judges are elected i think that's the best way to have a prosecutor are just be elected by the people because then you're responsive to the people and guess what people are losing don't solve prosecutors and they don't want to solve judges they don't kick you out if you're elected official and you've
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got elected under the premise of i'm going to be tough on crime. you commit crimes you're going to send you away as a matter of fact you will do we're going to jack up the penalties we'll put these guys away because that's what people have been told in this country in this state here so i'm just going to go along i'm not going to say the system is not working i'm going to stick to what got me elected you know tough on crime. to most life as the sentence actually means death by incarceration. louisiana has a pardon board that can theoretically recommend a sentence be commuted. but the board hardly ever does. in the last ten years only two clemency is were granted out a full thousand inmates serving a life sentence. a laugh summer should mean
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a laugh sometimes i think they should dad and go. it doesn't matter if they rehabilitate it they're there to be punished you commit a crime someone murders your mother your wife your daughter then you want them punished and if the punishment is a laugh some it's done they shouldn't get out after twenty five years if they rehabilitate it i think that's good for them i'm happy for them but that has nothing to do with punishment the sentences for punishment many people who are sitting in a goal with a natural life sentence. or easily rehabilitated. but because of our laws there are laws or or kane and their ancient. people who could come out and be productive in society will never have that opportunity. they're going to sit in angola for the rest of their lives they're going to die
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nicola and if their family doesn't come in and remove the remains will be buried there so you have nothing to give all the timony. act i didn't. have any oh no. would you go and do it but it. needs to go oh i didn't. mean all we mean but. you know when a person commits a crime no matter how many times people see you after they don't seem you they see the crime committed over and over and over again when it's really not there when. i
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killed a man because i thought he was going to shoot me i cried and i prayed i was so remorseful i didn't want to live for a while. what do the people want to do to me for my actions do they want me to kill myself do they want me to rot in prison for sixty years what will make them feel that i'm remorseful for my actions. maybe if he keeps winning things maybe if he can be a good model prisoner or maybe somebody to take an interest in him and live you safe. it.
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seems almost like the roman days roman gladney it was the people who went to see the lions eat up to this life. and so did you know my spin on the road i've never liked over there would like to really feel the cause of death because it's almost like people come to see you in your midst. it's important. to put their life. and time johnson and their insight come here every year are filled with love and great they don't have prison
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rodeos at any other prison in louisiana but angola why because angola is the only place where people are serving life sentences with no hope of parole no chance of ever getting out these guys who participate in the rodeo have pretty much exhausted every remedy possible they know they're not going anywhere so what do they have to lose nothing you know in the prison is taking advantage of that fact you know the prison knows full well that it in any event there's going to be a certain amount of guys didn't get it going to get severely hurt possibly killed but that's ok after all they're not human beings as it relates to the rodeo they're just convicts and that's why they dress them up in stripes to remind the spectators don't be a warm if somebody is made by bull it's only a convict. i don't care. if they're
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everything to lose their influence. and they think they have a good time. i think it gives them a few moments of feeling what real valued as it have for the average citizen of louisiana how does it make my community safer. how does it serve as an example by deterrent to some young person. who might end up in a life of crime. to have spectators going to be do is a real tough guy years a hundred bucks. it doesn't do any good other than perhaps the resources that it brings to the prison. but we fund a prison. in april two thousand and five bill cain defended his rodeo at the warden convention. the rodeo is another program that does a really good thing in that it brings the public in to see us is see that people can change it bring the public and just say that that the mh are daemons it brings
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the public in to say how we spend our tax dollars that we construct their lives a beautiful place is beautiful flowers it's an environment for chad it's not the. will cain season goal as a showcase present on the day of the rodeo he seems to have a point a hobby craft market is held along with the rodeo the trustees are allowed to mix with the crowd and sell their work this display of talent to good behavior helps angle of polish its image. medium security inmates are also allowed to sell their handicraft so this market is a win win situation for both the prisoners and the visitors as the visitors can buy cheap artworks and inmates can make money at. this rodeo here helps me out a lot with him coming in on the streets and brought to you it's been
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a blessing for me to be able to meet the guys on the beat and make some. sense you know. that's what history known. to me says. yeah it's great it's a great image people come in they see seventeen hundred prisoners at the rodeo so when hobbycraft are. taking photos or working concession booths and there's no problems i mean there's just no problems. this clever marketing and who comes out looking like the good guy who of course the ward because he's more killing himself to the legislature to the people in power saying hey because i did raise money for the prison i don't have to come and ask you for money you know i make i get the prisoners to help me generate funds the budget going to get it
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right almost two million dollars gross necessarily we have a lot of expense that we have to pay for the road pay for the facility we have to pay for everything we have there so the net is not that much that will net enough to build a chapel and that's what would we need to build another chapel would build churches with the profits from the rodeo non-denominational charities. and you can't miss them chapels built with rodeo money has sprouted all over and build. john robertson is head of the angola campus of new orleans baptist seminary bible college. the chapel. building program is more or less but it's so new. that is going to be amazing in the future a follow up study is going to show i predict great reversal. in the chapel fund. is going to may be. a place for
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inmate ministers to soar. that is going to be indescribably affected. we've only just begun to see you there isn't an oxymoron a church that preaches or the face that proclaims protecting human life you know the only born child all life is sanctity it is precious you know and yet it put these human beings in a position where they're going to get hurt possibly killed you know to raise money for the church is there a conflict of interest here is there a theological conflict no not at all every time i drive up here to teach a class are responding to my call. we're all going to live with certain risk. the rodeo is one of the few ways for these men to
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help. so they think in order to be able to tell it's worth the risk. will cain has been spreading religion throughout the whole penitentiary since one thousand nine hundred five. today and goal is dominated by religion and the bible college the only college education available in the penitentiary is inmates the do sign up for the four year course a set to become prison ministers. in the in this situation our only hope is gone we all you're doomed to die in this please. indeed destitute an outcast from society and it's not what it is because if we're being used by the creator of this universe we're all more blessed than people that are free idea to understanding that.
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there is no rehabilitation other than more rehabilitation i can teach you to read i can teach you to write i just make a smarter criminal if i don't have morales in your heart this is horrid and anything else she would have to do in the prison so this is not some hope to get out they've told us many times we're not trying to get you out here we're trying to put you to be to lead as god has called you the right way you want. the end ot be. in the probe. the pro the wife amal the ballots to the bible the koran. that we're really trying to culture because we had so many
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people that would rating to be and moral that it was the rails in so it was just a disease they just thought oh and so the rest i'm so i'd say they started going to charge together they started love one another more they started they stopped didn't from one another they started being more people. if we were to have the root done in a mirror. and bully it was stored. in their prison. this particular prison has a own going on own going reduction of. the graft is always going down but it has drop since the outset of the school forty percent. and when warren kane says that the other prisons in america are taking notice that's what they're
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noticing is this dramatic change in the behavior of the inmates toward each other. and gola has changed. in the seventy's it was infamous for the rapes beatings mud isn't riots taking place behind its rays a while. today the level of violence has dropped and the prison seems to be calm. and i have a chance many times to go with churches in different places all over the place and tell the story of angola open to intrigue and what god is doing in this place and i want to tell you something as i tell that story what you were doing here is becoming evidence to people literally all over the world that where ever jesus he is there is. the bible college graduation.
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once they have their degree they're assigned to one of the six angola camps to minister to the other inmates and to become missionaries in all the prisons in louisiana. we're going to go out in every corner of this prison and in the end institutions in louisiana we're going to lead men we believe men and worship and prayer and we're going to preach the gospel and we will show it is of that away. we are allowed to do certain things that other inmates are not allowed to do because of our education and what our our mission is we are allowed to go into the cell blocks we're allowed to go and adama toys whereas other inmates can't do that but because of our training in our background in the word of god we're able to go meet the man at their point you know where they're at in minister to.
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god you think i was or anything i never did look will go and go and prove me wrong you know you prove me wrong he said no you were much more than you you know he began to grow again you can just see it in his eyes in his call to swallow his own memories and this to me is a new system present thank god i know in scene that guy has over here that is just so profound you see and people. are gather on a swing on a frightened for christ if that means they'll be alone. there are soldiers. there one of those guys walk across the stage this morning. and promise you. they'll go anywhere.
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if you scream and losing your car is oh really long again so simple and plain fun the peace the preacher released in the flames hails hot shot in the bomb his demons run enough from the inside bust in the stomach my prediction that been addicts in two thousand and jerry will probably never leave angola but he won't give up the rodeo plays a central role in his rehabilitation and get away from the people that trying and the father were the ones back to them. i see will you as an opportunity to get exposed you know and when you get is told you then those who know of course i was there to the want to listen to him while we're here because they'd be like man he's doing something you know look like a bad guy to me. jerry
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has started to attract the interest of the american media he believes that his fame will help him find a way out of my. money i think there have been no somebody. some people to have been in. the to.
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the best. culture is that so much i'm going to choose an issue on your democracy does pakistan face the prospect of becoming a failed state the u.s. claims it is an indispensable ally and its so-called war on terror.
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in some. grand hotel emerald. hotel in the big old. skinflint it's. twenty two. dollars. but the revelation on the internet. with me.
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no end in sight for russia's exceptional heat wave which poses a threat to the environment people. with small. plus the international space station ten years since its first became habitable when a russian module with life support systems docked with. moscow welcome to the program one of the biggest leaks in the u.s. military history has exposed several cover ups over the war in afghanistan and includes the deaths of hundreds of civilians the whistle blowing website wiki leaks .

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