Many of our
juveniles are tried as adults.
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What's going on
in our legal system?
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Stay tuned to meet
someone on the frontlines
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of Justice Reform.
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My name is Yvonne Lewis
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and you're
watching Urban Report.
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Hello, and
welcome to Urban Report.
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Our guest today
is Cynthia Tolbert,
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attorney and CEO of
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Jabez Productions
and Management Company.
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Welcome to
Urban Report, Cynthia.
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Thank you very much.
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So good to have
you here in studio,
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so we don't
have to Skype you in.
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You know, you had
sent me some information
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about what you're doing.
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I'd like you to share
that with our viewers,
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because
immediately when I saw it,
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I thought, our
viewers need to see this.
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They need to know
more about what's going on.
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So first of all,
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let's get a little
background about you.
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Tell me who you are
and where are you from?
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Well, my name as you
stated is Cynthia Tolbert.
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I am an attorney.
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I have been an
attorney for about 14 years.
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And I'm also the CEO of
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Jabez Production
and Management Company.
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What kind of attorney?
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I have practiced in
every area of the law.
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You know, when you start out,
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you just kind of
open up the doors
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and you let anyone, everyone in
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and you do whatever
you can to help them.
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So I've practiced in
just about every area.
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I have about three or four areas
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that are my primary areas.
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But I've practiced in about
every area of the law there is,
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so I guess I would be
a general practitioner.
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I've also been
heavily involved in ministry.
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I was raised to believe that
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you need to give
back to your community.
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That you need to do something
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as far as the
world is concerned,
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on the world stage, world scene,
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where you are, you need
to partake in volunteering.
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And so I have been working
at the church as a volunteer
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with various ministries
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and also a religious volunteer
at the Marion County Jail
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for the past 14 years.
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So what have you found
working in the legal system
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and visiting the
jails as a Christian?
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What have you found?
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What is the
trend that you've seen,
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or what are the
trends that you are seeing?
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Actually, I was really amazed
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as far as within
the court system,
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the civil court system as
far as the dependency cases,
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the cases where
various family members
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are adjudicated
dependent, the kids are,
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because they are being
abused by family members,
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and not just community
members, but family members.
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And so I was amazed
to see the level of abuse
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that takes place
by mothers and fathers
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that's perpetuated
against their own children.
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So that was alarming to me
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when I actually
practiced dependency law.
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What is that?
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When you said
adjudicated dependency.
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What is-- what is that?
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For those of us who don't
speak legalese, what is it?
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Basically in our
dependency court system,
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you can have a trial
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or you can choose to enter
into some type of a plea-deal
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where you are deemed guilty,
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but it will not
go on your record
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as a conviction.
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So you can be adjudicated
with adjudication withheld,
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you can be adjudicated.
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So if they are adjudicated,
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basically it's
deemed guilty of the charge.
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So it was just amazing to me,
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I've represented the
parents on behalf of the state.
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And I also represented
the Guardian Ad Litem Program,
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they represent the
children in those proceedings.
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And so I was just amazed,
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because I had to
review the court files,
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when you read the
details about the abuse
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and the sickness
that goes on in homes.
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And like I said, it
wasn't just with the caretakers.
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It was with parents, mothers,
fathers, brothers and sisters.
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And so I was alarmed at that,
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and then I also simultaneously--
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volunteering in the jail.
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I first started out
with the ladies in the jail
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and we started a
ministry with them
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for about eight years.
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And what were
you doing with them?
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Basically I would
go in once a week,
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my work with the
team of three ladies,
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so we rotate and we would just--
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my message was hope.
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I have come to give you hope,
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there is hope for
you in your situation.
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This is one season in your life,
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do not allow it to define you.
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So that was the
message I'd taken to the ladies
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and I will take
various things in.
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I believe in being very
open and honest about my life,
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so what I was going through,
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let's say, if I went through
something during the week,
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I would share it with
them openly and honestly.
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If I read something in
the newspapers or any--
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and maybe in a
worship book or something,
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I would share it with them,
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so that was my
ministry to the ladies.
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So you would kind of
become not just a mentor,
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but you were showing
them the Christian walk.
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And that sometimes, I mean,
Christians have issues, too,
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we have things
that we go through, too,
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and yet this is-- and I
love the way you put it.
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This is a season,
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this is not their
permanent condition.
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This doesn't have
to be their destiny.
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This is a season and
you brought them hope.
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And what a beautiful thing
because so many of our people
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that are in jail and in prisons,
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feel hopeless,
they feel as though,
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you know, this is it.
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I have nothing, no
one cares about me.
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And so you were going in
and you were being transparent.
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Can you share a story
about an inmate whose life
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particularly impacted
you or you impacted her life?
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I would have to
say, in all honesty,
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it would have been
with the juveniles.
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After
ministering with the ladies
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for about eight years,
we received notice that
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juveniles are
also going to be here,
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and some of them are going to be
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sentenced as adults,
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would you like to
work with them as well?
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In all honesty, the
ministry to the juveniles
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has impacted me far more
than the ministry to the ladies.
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How so?
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Because when you're
looking at young people
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who are 13, 15, 17
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and they are there
and they are in red suits.
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Usually, we are looking
at the ones in the red suits.
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You know that they are
facing adult sentences.
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They are facing life
sentences in some cases.
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You may read about
it in the newspaper,
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but it's one thing to
read about in newspapers,
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another thing to go
in there and to see them,
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to look into their
eyes, look into their faces.
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And you know
that they are scared,
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you know they are afraid
because they are thinking
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this is the beginning
of the rest of my life.
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This is all that I
have to look forward to.
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And so for me that
was far more devastating
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than the ladies.
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A lot of the ladies were
not being sentenced as adults,
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okay.
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And there are far more
ladies I was dealing with,
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so probably very few of those
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would have been
sentenced as adults.
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The juveniles, because
there are fewer of them,
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more of them percentage wise
were being sentence as adults,
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receiving some
types of adult sentences,
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life, maybe 40 years,
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and so I found that
far more devastating
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than when I
dealt with the ladies.
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Also, the juveniles,
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some of them could
not afford to bond out
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or there was a no bond,
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because of the type of crime
they had been charged with.
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And so with the-- the no bonds,
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they were with me longer,
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sometimes eight months,
whole year, year and a half,
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one was with me
for an year and a half.
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So I got to know them on a level
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that I did not get to
know some of the ladies.
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And to be honest with you,
I thought about my own life.
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At the age of 13, 15,
I was not behind bars.
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That was something that was
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totally foreign and alien to me,
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to have to come and deal
with young people of that age
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and to have to
try to impart hope
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with the help of God,
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because I had never
had anything like that
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to be concerned
with at the age of 13.
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Absolutely.
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You don't even think about that.
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I mean, that's not a
part of your consciousness.
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You know, when
you were talking about
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the look in the
eyes of these young men,
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I-- sometimes, I go with our
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chief financial
officer here, Brian Hamilton,
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he has a heart
for prison ministry
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and sometimes...
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Oh, he is just--
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he and his
wife, Diana are just--
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they are just in the forefront
of prison ministry here.
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And so I sometimes go with
them and sing for the inmates.
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And I had to go to
the juvenile facility here
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in Illinois.
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And, Cynthia, I'm telling
you, I looked at these boys
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and I just wanted to cry.
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Because in their
eyes-- I think, you know,
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these could be my grandsons.
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These are young
boys, 15, 16, 17, 18,
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they could be my grandson.
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And I'm looking at their
faces and I'm singing to them
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and I'm feeling like I
just, I just want to hug them.
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And I know that some of them
have done some heinous things.
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Things that if
they could take it back,
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I'm sure they
would, stupid decisions
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that they made
for whatever reason.
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And some maybe
are in there through,
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you know, for no
real fault of their own,
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but they are there and
the looks on their faces,
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it just tears your heart apart.
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So I know exactly
what you're saying about
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when you work with them.
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And you have gotten
to know some of them.
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Have you found that
the trend legally now
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is more so than previously
to put away black boys,
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or do you feel
that it's changing.
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It's getting a
little bit less of that?
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Is it more or less,
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because we have a
mass incarceration issue,
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as you know, that
is disproportionate.
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And so where do
you think the trend is?
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Well, first and foremost,
the United States leads
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all developed nations
00:10:06.67\00:10:08.33
in incarcerating
individuals in this country.
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So we have a mass
incarceration issue period--
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Period across the board
transcending race, absolutely.
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Yes.
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But reality is, research
has proven, has shown that
00:10:19.74\00:10:25.26
those who are minorities
do tend to get sentenced.
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Stiffer
sentences, longer sentences
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than those who are
Caucasian, that is a true fact.
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And I definitely saw
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disproportion
amount in my classes
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as far as those who
are African-American,
00:10:41.66\00:10:44.22
who were receiving
the stiffer sentences
00:10:44.25\00:10:47.50
and even the life sentences.
00:10:47.53\00:10:50.85
So the trend now, of
course there are advocates,
00:10:50.88\00:10:54.92
there are people who are working
00:10:54.95\00:10:56.35
to try to bring change to that.
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And so the trend
has not changed yet,
00:10:59.80\00:11:03.38
but we are there, the trend--
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the research is
showing that there is
00:11:04.86\00:11:07.13
a disproportionate sentencing.
00:11:07.16\00:11:09.83
And so there is--
there are attempts being made
00:11:09.86\00:11:11.99
and I am one of
those individuals,
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I'm trying to bring this
information to the public,
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to the American people.
00:11:17.31\00:11:18.89
So that we will not
continue with business as usual,
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but we will do our
research, our due diligence,
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we would get the facts
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and that we will take our
stand against this injustice.
00:11:25.69\00:11:30.16
Absolutely.
00:11:30.19\00:11:31.55
You know, when you
think about the fact that,
00:11:31.58\00:11:34.66
you know, black
guys are four times
00:11:34.69\00:11:37.68
as likely to
get arrested, then--
00:11:37.71\00:11:41.63
or convicted for a
crime, then, you know,
00:11:41.66\00:11:46.09
you have to say
to yourself, okay,
00:11:46.12\00:11:48.09
what can I do to
make a difference?
00:11:48.12\00:11:51.38
And you are doing
things to make a difference.
00:11:51.41\00:11:55.73
And that's why I
invited you to come,
00:11:55.76\00:11:58.41
because I did want to
shine a light on the situation
00:11:58.44\00:12:02.44
and say, you know,
as Adventist Christians,
00:12:02.47\00:12:07.27
regardless of our race,
00:12:07.30\00:12:09.48
you know, as
Adventist Christians,
00:12:09.51\00:12:11.15
we should be out there
saying, you know, this is wrong.
00:12:11.18\00:12:14.54
There's
something wrong with this.
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It's such big
business, that is the thing that
00:12:16.59\00:12:20.37
that to me is so compelling.
00:12:20.40\00:12:23.59
Prisons are big
business. Oh, yes.
00:12:23.62\00:12:26.51
So you've got a
lot of people employed,
00:12:26.54\00:12:28.65
you know, in the prison system.
00:12:28.68\00:12:30.29
You've got, you
know, all kinds of services
00:12:30.32\00:12:33.04
that are given, you know,
00:12:33.07\00:12:35.18
food services
and things like that,
00:12:35.21\00:12:36.94
phone services.
00:12:36.97\00:12:38.06
All these things
are for the prisons,
00:12:38.09\00:12:40.12
and I remember
seeing something recently
00:12:40.15\00:12:43.72
that really caught my attention.
00:12:43.75\00:12:46.41
They said that there
were several governors
00:12:46.44\00:12:48.64
who were given over $250 million
00:12:48.67\00:12:53.00
to build
prisons in their states.
00:12:53.03\00:12:56.91
And there were two
conditions, 20 years at least,
00:12:56.94\00:13:01.64
it had to be
around for 20 years,
00:13:01.67\00:13:04.24
and 90% occupancy.
00:13:04.27\00:13:06.76
So what does that say?
00:13:06.79\00:13:08.19
We got to fill these prisons.
00:13:08.22\00:13:10.10
We got to keep them full
so that we can get that money.
00:13:10.13\00:13:14.23
And that's where
what you are doing
00:13:14.26\00:13:16.98
by shining a light on the system
00:13:17.01\00:13:20.33
and the inequities,
00:13:20.36\00:13:21.73
that's what I appreciate
so much as a Christian.
00:13:21.76\00:13:25.18
You know, because I believe that
00:13:25.21\00:13:26.80
Jesus would have us to do that.
00:13:26.83\00:13:29.39
What activities
are you involved in
00:13:29.42\00:13:32.88
to actually make a
difference within the system?
00:13:32.91\00:13:36.44
Yes, and I do want to
stress that in my class
00:13:36.47\00:13:39.02
that I have
members of various groups,
00:13:39.05\00:13:43.73
various ethnic groups and so--
00:13:43.76\00:13:46.20
In your class, in the prison?
00:13:46.23\00:13:47.53
In the-- well, yes, in
the-- with the local jail.
00:13:47.56\00:13:50.49
And so my focus is not on
those who are African-American,
00:13:50.52\00:13:53.85
it's on all of them.
00:13:53.88\00:13:54.92
My concern is for all of them.
00:13:54.95\00:13:56.40
I treat them all as if
they are the children of God,
00:13:56.43\00:13:59.63
as if they are all human beings.
00:13:59.66\00:14:01.45
Good.
00:14:01.48\00:14:02.56
And what we're trying to do,
00:14:02.59\00:14:03.90
the Supreme Court
actually issued a ruling.
00:14:03.93\00:14:07.00
The Supreme Court of
the United States of America
00:14:07.03\00:14:09.64
issued a ruling, it's
Graham V. State of Florida,
00:14:09.67\00:14:13.03
it's a Florida state case.
00:14:13.06\00:14:15.49
A lot of people are not aware
00:14:15.52\00:14:17.04
but the majority
of the young people
00:14:17.07\00:14:19.90
who are serving life
sentences, who are teenagers,
00:14:19.93\00:14:22.70
are in the State of Florida.
00:14:22.73\00:14:25.28
Yes. Really?
00:14:25.31\00:14:27.00
And so the Supreme
Court case is a Florida case.
00:14:27.03\00:14:31.27
And what the Supreme
Court came back with, they said,
00:14:31.30\00:14:34.17
that it is cruel
and unusual punishment
00:14:34.20\00:14:37.72
to give juveniles life without
the possibility of parole.
00:14:37.75\00:14:43.10
And so right now
what's happening is
00:14:43.13\00:14:45.27
that states like Florida,
they're having to come back,
00:14:45.30\00:14:48.00
they're having to take
a look at their statutes,
00:14:48.03\00:14:50.87
take a look at
their criminal laws,
00:14:50.90\00:14:53.49
they are having to
come into compliance,
00:14:53.52\00:14:55.63
or seek to come into compliance
00:14:55.66\00:14:57.38
to what the
Supreme Court has stated.
00:14:57.41\00:14:59.32
Because when you're looking
at it, the United States,
00:14:59.35\00:15:01.61
we generally state other
countries that they are--
00:15:01.64\00:15:04.28
they victimize people
00:15:04.31\00:15:05.69
and that they torture
them and things like that.
00:15:05.72\00:15:10.60
But the United
States, to be honest--
00:15:10.63\00:15:12.00
if you look at what the
Supreme Court has stated,
00:15:12.03\00:15:13.42
it's cruel and
unusual punishment.
00:15:13.45\00:15:15.20
What we're doing in our country
00:15:15.23\00:15:16.50
is cruel and unusual punishment.
00:15:16.53\00:15:17.87
They have issued this ruling.
00:15:17.90\00:15:19.28
The juveniles, their
brains are not developed
00:15:19.31\00:15:22.93
to think through
situations and circumstances
00:15:22.96\00:15:26.59
the way our brains are,
00:15:26.62\00:15:28.34
which is why God put
adults with children,
00:15:28.37\00:15:31.37
because they would
need someone to help them,
00:15:31.40\00:15:34.22
to direct them.
00:15:34.25\00:15:35.40
And so the Supreme Court now
00:15:35.43\00:15:37.20
has a medical proof that
their brains are not developed
00:15:37.23\00:15:40.66
the way ours are.
00:15:40.69\00:15:41.78
And that therefore,
you cannot hold them
00:15:41.81\00:15:44.63
accountable the
way that you do us.
00:15:44.66\00:15:46.89
Reality is, you cannot
even, in certain states,
00:15:46.92\00:15:50.16
you cannot drive
until you're certain age.
00:15:50.19\00:15:53.47
You cannot drink,
00:15:53.50\00:15:54.53
not that I'm gonna
have a kid in drinking.
00:15:54.56\00:15:55.63
Right. Right.
00:15:55.66\00:15:56.69
But you see what I'm
saying, these are adult things.
00:15:56.72\00:15:57.75
Even the vote,
until you're certain age.
00:15:57.78\00:15:59.51
And yet we have individuals
who are 13 and we're stating,
00:15:59.54\00:16:01.64
well, you're gonna serve life.
00:16:01.67\00:16:03.05
You're gonna serve life.
00:16:03.08\00:16:04.12
We're gonna treat
you like an adult.
00:16:04.15\00:16:05.18
But you don't
treat them like an adult
00:16:05.21\00:16:06.54
when they're trying to drive,
when they're trying to work.
00:16:06.57\00:16:08.70
You know, they had
to be of certain age.
00:16:08.73\00:16:10.20
And so Supreme Court has stated
00:16:10.23\00:16:12.65
that we have to take a
look at what we're doing.
00:16:12.68\00:16:15.25
Reality is that
this did-- these laws,
00:16:15.28\00:16:17.79
these stiff laws
came as a result of
00:16:17.82\00:16:20.03
the fact that in the '80s
00:16:20.06\00:16:22.24
we had the crack wars
and you had a lot of crime
00:16:22.27\00:16:24.87
and things of that nature
00:16:24.90\00:16:25.97
and so there was a
backlash in society
00:16:26.00\00:16:28.32
and they were need to be.
00:16:28.35\00:16:29.65
I was out on the
streets at that time working,
00:16:29.68\00:16:31.90
I'm in some of the projects
00:16:31.93\00:16:33.22
trying to help
where there was crack,
00:16:33.25\00:16:34.56
trying to help
00:16:34.59\00:16:35.62
where people were being
victimized and everything.
00:16:35.65\00:16:37.53
But what happened was
we passed very stiff laws,
00:16:37.56\00:16:40.12
Florida was one of those states
00:16:40.15\00:16:41.92
and now things are not
the way they were before.
00:16:41.95\00:16:45.55
And we have information
we did not have at that time
00:16:45.58\00:16:48.32
about the
juveniles and their brains
00:16:48.35\00:16:50.60
and it's really
unjust when you consider that
00:16:50.63\00:16:52.72
they can't be rehabilitated.
00:16:52.75\00:16:54.72
A lot of them
actually can be rehabilitated,
00:16:54.75\00:16:57.53
whereas maybe some
older adults cannot.
00:16:57.56\00:17:00.08
And therefore we must
give them an opportunity
00:17:00.11\00:17:02.49
to be rehabilitated and
not just lock them away,
00:17:02.52\00:17:05.22
throw away the key.
00:17:05.25\00:17:06.91
Reality, God, what
we're trying to do,
00:17:06.94\00:17:09.07
we have a movie
we're trying to make.
00:17:09.10\00:17:10.43
It's called The Awakening.
00:17:10.46\00:17:11.55
And what God would have
all human beings to know
00:17:11.58\00:17:14.94
is that even if you went down
a road that God never intended,
00:17:14.97\00:17:18.81
that He still has a plan.
00:17:18.84\00:17:21.36
And a lot of
times we don't realize,
00:17:21.39\00:17:22.73
we all make mistakes,
00:17:22.76\00:17:24.40
but then when
it's not our mistake,
00:17:24.43\00:17:26.15
we're like, oh, no,
there is no hope for you,
00:17:26.18\00:17:27.29
it's over, that was
horrible what you did.
00:17:27.32\00:17:29.19
But I always tell to
juveniles, look at Paul,
00:17:29.22\00:17:32.08
look at Paul, Paul
helped to murder Steven,
00:17:32.11\00:17:35.63
he held the coats
while they murdered Steven,
00:17:35.66\00:17:38.22
they stoned him to death,
00:17:38.25\00:17:39.38
a good Christian
deacon, you know.
00:17:39.41\00:17:41.87
And Paul helped to
run down Christians,
00:17:41.90\00:17:44.11
men, women,
children, and they killed them,
00:17:44.14\00:17:46.77
did all kinds of things to them.
00:17:46.80\00:17:47.89
Paul was there.
00:17:47.92\00:17:48.95
He was silent that
time, but guess what,
00:17:48.98\00:17:51.24
he then went on
with the help of God
00:17:51.27\00:17:53.00
to become one of the
greatest apostles to ever live
00:17:53.03\00:17:57.15
and greatest
evangelists to ever live.
00:17:57.18\00:18:00.02
So I always tell them,
00:18:00.05\00:18:01.77
it doesn't matter
where you are now,
00:18:01.80\00:18:03.85
it doesn't matter what they said
00:18:03.88\00:18:05.12
about you is true,
00:18:05.15\00:18:06.21
it doesn't even
matter how horrible it was,
00:18:06.24\00:18:08.69
look at what God did
for Paul in his life.
00:18:08.72\00:18:11.96
That's right.
00:18:11.99\00:18:13.27
It is-- on this
program, all the time
00:18:13.30\00:18:17.08
I talk about the plan that
God has for each individual,
00:18:17.11\00:18:21.36
what He has for you
00:18:21.39\00:18:23.32
is different from
what He has for me,
00:18:23.35\00:18:24.51
which is different
from the next person,
00:18:24.54\00:18:26.20
but there is always a plan. Yes.
00:18:26.23\00:18:29.30
We know that
from Jeremiah 29:11,
00:18:29.33\00:18:31.91
we know that God has a plan
00:18:31.94\00:18:33.85
and that it is a
plan to prosper you,
00:18:33.88\00:18:37.03
to give you a future and a hope.
00:18:37.06\00:18:39.34
And so what you're doing is
00:18:39.37\00:18:41.70
giving these children some hope.
00:18:41.73\00:18:43.73
And now you know, viewers,
00:18:43.76\00:18:46.37
that we are not
saying that crime is okay,
00:18:46.40\00:18:50.27
we are not advocating crime,
we are not justifying crime.
00:18:50.30\00:18:54.77
But we're saying
that these young people
00:18:54.80\00:18:57.36
who have gotten
involved in crime
00:18:57.39\00:18:59.63
have done so
00:18:59.66\00:19:01.17
without having the capability
that we have as adults
00:19:01.20\00:19:06.07
to actually
process consequences.
00:19:06.10\00:19:09.02
And so they kind of go
through things in a way
00:19:09.05\00:19:12.34
that might be in
an uninhibited way,
00:19:12.37\00:19:16.27
and an impulsive way,
and they make these mistakes.
00:19:16.30\00:19:20.07
So are we justifying it?
00:19:20.10\00:19:22.27
No. No.
00:19:22.30\00:19:23.40
Are we saying
that it's okay? No.
00:19:23.43\00:19:25.77
What we're saying though is that
00:19:25.80\00:19:28.42
there has to be a
way to look at this
00:19:28.45\00:19:32.19
that gives them,
00:19:32.22\00:19:34.92
that gives them
hope that they're not--
00:19:34.95\00:19:36.96
if you are 13 and you
did something heinous at 13,
00:19:36.99\00:19:41.88
you truly did not
have all that you needed,
00:19:41.91\00:19:45.24
like you mentally, like
you would if you were 35.
00:19:45.27\00:19:48.63
True.
00:19:48.66\00:19:49.71
It's a
different brain chemistry.
00:19:49.74\00:19:53.17
And so what
you're doing is amazing.
00:19:53.20\00:19:56.88
How did you get into
00:19:56.91\00:19:59.41
getting involved in the
prison system particularly?
00:19:59.44\00:20:02.15
I know you are
involved in the justice system
00:20:02.18\00:20:05.44
as an attorney,
00:20:05.47\00:20:06.67
but to go into the
prisons, how did that happen?
00:20:06.70\00:20:09.57
Well, as our church has
a jail and prison ministry,
00:20:09.60\00:20:13.79
I am, currently,
00:20:13.82\00:20:15.18
I'm the prison
ministry's director
00:20:15.21\00:20:17.93
and when we got
started I was as well.
00:20:17.96\00:20:20.21
I've actually had
several different ministries
00:20:20.24\00:20:23.25
I've been over in
the church, you know,
00:20:23.28\00:20:24.60
you have to
rotate and shuffle around
00:20:24.63\00:20:26.46
and help out where you can.
00:20:26.49\00:20:27.77
And so to be honest,
00:20:27.80\00:20:29.49
I am over the
ministries in general,
00:20:29.52\00:20:33.89
I'm actually in the
jail with the juveniles,
00:20:33.92\00:20:38.25
that's the one that I
am actually involved in.
00:20:38.28\00:20:41.52
I left the ladies
about eight years ago,
00:20:41.55\00:20:42.75
I am still over all the ones,
even the ones with the men,
00:20:42.78\00:20:45.47
we have the men to men's group.
00:20:45.50\00:20:46.77
But I'm actually there
00:20:46.80\00:20:48.49
overseeing the
one with the juveniles
00:20:48.52\00:20:50.59
and I'm actually,
with the help of God
00:20:50.62\00:20:52.07
passing my
baton as you will now,
00:20:52.10\00:20:55.55
because there are four ladies
who are taking my place there
00:20:55.58\00:20:58.39
because I'm going to try to help
00:20:58.42\00:21:00.16
make this movie
called The Awakening.
00:21:00.19\00:21:02.13
And let's talk about that.
00:21:02.16\00:21:03.97
Yes, which is the realization
00:21:04.00\00:21:06.20
that every human
being is special,
00:21:06.23\00:21:09.91
every human being has a purpose,
00:21:09.94\00:21:12.98
every human being is unique.
00:21:13.01\00:21:14.85
God has given you from birth,
unique genes, unique talents,
00:21:14.88\00:21:20.25
and skills that He has
not given to someone else,
00:21:20.28\00:21:22.75
and even your life experiences.
00:21:22.78\00:21:24.81
I think a lot of people
00:21:24.84\00:21:26.29
if they would just take a moment
00:21:26.32\00:21:27.55
and think and look
back, look over their lives,
00:21:27.58\00:21:31.27
they would see, with God's help
00:21:31.30\00:21:33.68
God directing their
course and their path
00:21:33.71\00:21:36.84
even when we in our stubbornness
00:21:36.87\00:21:39.54
ventured off course,
00:21:39.57\00:21:41.52
we could see God
pulling us back in,
00:21:41.55\00:21:43.32
riding us back in.
00:21:43.35\00:21:44.97
And I think if
every human being--
00:21:45.00\00:21:46.50
and that's what
The Awakening is about,
00:21:46.53\00:21:47.94
it's about, no matter your age,
00:21:47.97\00:21:49.51
no matter how old you
are, how young you are,
00:21:49.54\00:21:51.39
God has a purpose
even if you once knew it
00:21:51.42\00:21:54.09
and now because of circumstances
00:21:54.12\00:21:56.05
and situations have veered you,
00:21:56.08\00:21:57.77
you've gotten off path,
life as we say has happened
00:21:57.80\00:22:00.90
and now you no longer are
aware of what you're here for,
00:22:00.93\00:22:03.31
what you're doing, you're
just spiraling out of control.
00:22:03.34\00:22:05.60
The message is for everyone,
God has a purpose for you.
00:22:05.63\00:22:11.06
You were sent here to do
something unique and special,
00:22:11.09\00:22:13.89
and if you do not do it,
00:22:13.92\00:22:15.63
it is going to be a
detriment to society,
00:22:15.66\00:22:19.09
to this entire world
if you do not realize
00:22:19.12\00:22:22.80
what your purpose is
00:22:22.83\00:22:23.86
and if you do not get
in alignment with that.
00:22:23.89\00:22:25.50
That's right.
00:22:25.53\00:22:26.56
If you don't have a
sense of your purpose,
00:22:26.59\00:22:29.28
that is just basic, that is key,
00:22:29.31\00:22:32.53
and there is a
purpose for everybody.
00:22:32.56\00:22:34.99
A lot of people think, well,
00:22:35.02\00:22:36.35
I don't have any
gift, I don't have--
00:22:36.38\00:22:38.76
No, God gave you, as you said,
everybody has unique gifts,
00:22:38.79\00:22:42.77
it's like a big puzzle.
00:22:42.80\00:22:44.82
If the puzzle is missing
a piece, it's incomplete.
00:22:44.85\00:22:49.71
If you are not walking
in your divine destiny,
00:22:49.74\00:22:53.56
your piece of the
puzzle is not in that puzzle.
00:22:53.59\00:22:56.94
We need for you to
walk in that destiny
00:22:56.97\00:23:00.16
and you need to
walk in that destiny
00:23:00.19\00:23:02.08
so you know
what your purpose is.
00:23:02.11\00:23:05.43
When you know
what your purpose is,
00:23:05.46\00:23:07.14
there is to me--
00:23:07.17\00:23:08.50
for me this is my--
dare to dream is my purpose,
00:23:08.53\00:23:12.98
this is why I was
put on this planet
00:23:13.01\00:23:15.32
to do this work.
00:23:15.35\00:23:17.22
I believe that
what you're doing,
00:23:17.25\00:23:18.74
you're doing
things in media, too,
00:23:18.77\00:23:20.33
which is very
interesting to see.
00:23:20.36\00:23:23.09
You are legal and doing things
in media, doing this movie.
00:23:23.12\00:23:27.42
This is your purpose,
00:23:27.45\00:23:30.57
you're walking in
your divine destiny.
00:23:30.60\00:23:32.79
This is why God has
put you on this planet,
00:23:32.82\00:23:35.37
and once you know that,
00:23:35.40\00:23:37.76
there is nothing
that is more fulfilling
00:23:37.79\00:23:40.75
than walking with God
in the purpose that He,
00:23:40.78\00:23:44.27
in the destiny
that He has for you.
00:23:44.30\00:23:46.65
And such a blessing,
your Jabez productions,
00:23:46.68\00:23:50.53
tell us about that?
00:23:50.56\00:23:51.61
How did that come to be?
00:23:51.64\00:23:53.44
Well, basically after
I had been an attorney
00:23:53.47\00:23:56.12
for about maybe
eight or nine years,
00:23:56.15\00:23:58.77
and heavily
involved in ministry,
00:23:58.80\00:24:00.47
I mean, as a child, you know,
00:24:00.50\00:24:02.08
I was, I mean, in my religion
00:24:02.11\00:24:03.88
you're supposed to be
involved in the ministry,
00:24:03.91\00:24:04.98
so I've always been
involved in the ministry
00:24:05.01\00:24:07.61
everywhere that I went.
00:24:07.64\00:24:09.15
And God started
to show me, look,
00:24:09.18\00:24:11.97
these people need more than
just you to be their attorney
00:24:12.00\00:24:16.61
or just you to be
there in the jail.
00:24:16.64\00:24:18.79
There is a message
I need for you to get,
00:24:18.82\00:24:21.17
impart to these people,
00:24:21.20\00:24:22.23
but to other
people in the world.
00:24:22.26\00:24:24.15
And film, film
is the way to do it.
00:24:24.18\00:24:27.26
And so I started
the production company
00:24:27.29\00:24:29.31
and I have been trying to get,
00:24:29.34\00:24:31.74
I have some things I have done
00:24:31.77\00:24:33.38
as far as to the next generation
00:24:33.41\00:24:36.22
and that's one that we did
00:24:36.25\00:24:37.69
and we did one,
The Conflict Zone
00:24:37.72\00:24:39.44
and dealing with
conflict in your life,
00:24:39.47\00:24:41.72
well, amazing things God
showed me about conflict.
00:24:41.75\00:24:44.46
Conflict is going to happen,
00:24:44.49\00:24:46.15
it's okay, but learn
from it, grow from it.
00:24:46.18\00:24:48.58
So we've done a few shows
for the internet, Youtube,
00:24:48.61\00:24:52.78
we've actually had one
00:24:52.81\00:24:54.61
with the Michelle
Alexander mass incarceration.
00:24:54.64\00:24:57.62
We actually have
that on television,
00:24:57.65\00:24:59.28
we had a panel
discussion on television.
00:24:59.31\00:25:01.57
But God showed me that
people, first and foremost,
00:25:01.60\00:25:04.68
they need to know who they are,
00:25:04.71\00:25:06.15
they need to
know who's they are,
00:25:06.18\00:25:08.09
they need to know why
they are on this earth.
00:25:08.12\00:25:10.37
Otherwise, they will feel
like they do not want to live,
00:25:10.40\00:25:14.01
they will feel like
they're gonna spiral,
00:25:14.04\00:25:16.48
there are certain
situations we would not get in
00:25:16.51\00:25:19.95
if we knew who's we are,
00:25:19.98\00:25:22.35
there are certain
things we would not do
00:25:22.38\00:25:23.92
if we realize who's we are.
00:25:23.95\00:25:25.44
And the young
people at the jail,
00:25:25.47\00:25:26.75
they would tell me quite often,
00:25:26.78\00:25:29.47
why did God allow
this to happen to us?
00:25:29.50\00:25:32.01
Why did He even
allow us to come?
00:25:32.04\00:25:33.14
You tell me He knows everything,
00:25:33.17\00:25:34.60
why did He allow us to
come here to this earth
00:25:34.63\00:25:36.84
knowing that we would be--
00:25:36.87\00:25:38.06
some of them are molested.
00:25:38.09\00:25:40.47
Research shows
that a lot of people
00:25:40.50\00:25:41.58
in jail and
prisons have been molested,
00:25:41.61\00:25:43.67
they have been beaten,
00:25:43.70\00:25:44.73
they have been tortured, abused.
00:25:44.76\00:25:46.74
Why did God allow
these things to happen to us?
00:25:46.77\00:25:49.25
Why did He allow us to come here
00:25:49.28\00:25:50.31
if He knew they would happen?
00:25:50.34\00:25:51.65
And I would have
to let them know,
00:25:51.68\00:25:53.24
God knows all things,
00:25:53.27\00:25:55.61
even those horrible things
that have happened to you,
00:25:55.64\00:25:58.00
they are because
of human choices,
00:25:58.03\00:25:59.73
not God willing those things,
00:25:59.76\00:26:02.26
but God can and He
will use those things
00:26:02.29\00:26:06.05
that were painful, horrible,
00:26:06.08\00:26:07.85
humiliating for you in your life
00:26:07.88\00:26:10.46
and He will turn it around.
00:26:10.49\00:26:12.17
And He will make it
into something beautiful.
00:26:12.20\00:26:14.60
This is just a season, hold on.
00:26:14.63\00:26:17.94
And that is the message
that I try to take down to them.
00:26:17.97\00:26:20.52
How beautiful that
is. That is so beautiful.
00:26:20.55\00:26:23.36
We have a website for you,
we want to put it on the screen
00:26:23.39\00:26:26.32
so that our
viewers can contact you,
00:26:26.35\00:26:29.16
can find out more
about what you're doing
00:26:29.19\00:26:31.19
or how they can
help or whatever.
00:26:31.22\00:26:32.79
So we'll put your
information up on the screen,
00:26:32.82\00:26:36.32
the website up on the screen.
00:26:36.35\00:26:38.41
In 30 seconds,
00:26:38.44\00:26:42.81
where do you want
your ministry to go?
00:26:42.84\00:26:47.14
We know God has a plan,
00:26:47.17\00:26:49.16
but where are you hoping
that this ministry takes you?
00:26:49.19\00:26:53.84
Exactly where at the
movie that we're trying to make
00:26:53.87\00:26:56.62
says that we should go.
00:26:56.65\00:26:58.13
It's called The Awakening.
00:26:58.16\00:27:00.25
Helping as many human
beings as God can put before me
00:27:00.28\00:27:04.92
in my path to realize, to
become awakened to the fact
00:27:04.95\00:27:09.69
that they are
here for a purpose,
00:27:09.72\00:27:12.32
they are here for a reason,
00:27:12.35\00:27:14.17
and to start living out
that purpose and that reason.
00:27:14.20\00:27:17.97
Forget the fact
that you made mistakes,
00:27:18.00\00:27:19.72
it's okay to make mistakes.
00:27:19.75\00:27:21.37
Then learn and grow from
your mistakes and go forth
00:27:21.40\00:27:24.44
and do what God has
sent you here to do.
00:27:24.47\00:27:27.37
Absolutely.
00:27:27.40\00:27:29.35
Cynthia, this has
been so wonderful.
00:27:29.38\00:27:32.10
I thank you so much
for all that you're doing
00:27:32.13\00:27:34.78
for the cause of Christ.
00:27:34.81\00:27:35.85
You're going into the prisons
00:27:35.88\00:27:38.79
and working with those
children that need some hope
00:27:38.82\00:27:42.13
and need to be
shown that they are loved.
00:27:42.16\00:27:45.27
May God bless you as
you continue to work for Him
00:27:45.30\00:27:48.04
and I pray that you will get
all the support that you need.
00:27:48.07\00:27:51.84
Well, that's the end
of our program for today.
00:27:51.87\00:27:54.36
Thank you so much for tuning in.
00:27:54.39\00:27:56.28
Join us next time
'cause, you know what,
00:27:56.31\00:27:58.36
it just wouldn't be
the same without you.
00:27:58.39\00:28:01.93