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
00:10:03.53\00:10:06.53
all developed nations
00:10:06.57\00:10:08.20
in incarcerating
individuals in this country.
00:10:08.24\00:10:11.07
So we have a mass
incarceration issue period--
00:10:11.11\00:10:14.64
Period across the board
transcending race, absolutely.
00:10:14.68\00:10:17.98
Yes.
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But reality is, research
has proven, has shown that
00:10:19.65\00:10:25.15
those who are minorities
do tend to get sentenced.
00:10:25.19\00:10:29.52
Stiffer
sentences, longer sentences
00:10:29.56\00:10:31.96
than those who are
Caucasian, that is a true fact.
00:10:31.99\00:10:37.13
And I definitely saw
00:10:37.17\00:10:38.33
disproportion
amount in my classes
00:10:38.37\00:10:41.50
as far as those who
are African-American,
00:10:41.54\00:10:44.11
who were receiving
the stiffer sentences
00:10:44.14\00:10:47.38
and even the life sentences.
00:10:47.41\00:10:50.75
So the trend now, of
course there are advocates,
00:10:50.78\00:10:54.82
there are people who are working
00:10:54.85\00:10:56.25
to try to bring change to that.
00:10:56.28\00:10:59.69
And so the trend
has not changed yet,
00:10:59.72\00:11:03.29
but we are there, the trend--
00:11:03.32\00:11:04.73
the research is
showing that there is
00:11:04.76\00:11:07.03
a disproportionate sentencing.
00:11:07.03\00:11:09.70
And so there is--
there are attempts being made
00:11:09.73\00:11:11.87
and I am one of
those individuals,
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I'm trying to bring this
information to the public,
00:11:13.57\00:11:17.17
to the American people.
00:11:17.21\00:11:18.77
So that we will not
continue with business as usual,
00:11:18.81\00:11:21.64
but we will do our
research, our due diligence,
00:11:21.68\00:11:24.25
we would get the facts
00:11:24.28\00:11:25.41
and that we will take our
stand against this injustice.
00:11:25.45\00:11:30.05
Absolutely.
00:11:30.09\00:11:31.45
You know, when you
think about the fact that,
00:11:31.49\00:11:34.56
you know, black
guys are four times
00:11:34.59\00:11:37.59
as likely to
get arrested, then--
00:11:37.63\00:11:41.50
or convicted for a
crime, then, you know,
00:11:41.53\00:11:45.97
you have to say
to yourself, okay,
00:11:46.00\00:11:47.97
what can I do to
make a difference?
00:11:48.00\00:11:51.27
And you are doing
things to make a difference.
00:11:51.31\00:11:55.61
And that's why I
invited you to come,
00:11:55.64\00:11:58.31
because I did want to
shine a light on the situation
00:11:58.35\00:12:02.35
and say, you know,
as Adventist Christians,
00:12:02.38\00:12:07.19
regardless of our race,
00:12:07.22\00:12:09.39
you know, as
Adventist Christians,
00:12:09.42\00:12:11.06
we should be out there
saying, you know, this is wrong.
00:12:11.09\00:12:14.46
There's
something wrong with this.
00:12:14.46\00:12:16.43
It's such big
business, that is the thing that
00:12:16.46\00:12:20.27
that to me is so compelling.
00:12:20.30\00:12:23.47
Prisons are big
business. Oh, yes.
00:12:23.51\00:12:26.41
So you've got a
lot of people employed,
00:12:26.44\00:12:28.54
you know, in the prison system.
00:12:28.58\00:12:30.18
You've got, you
know, all kinds of services
00:12:30.21\00:12:32.95
that are given, you know,
00:12:32.98\00:12:35.08
food services
and things like that,
00:12:35.12\00:12:36.85
phone services.
00:12:36.89\00:12:37.95
All these things
are for the prisons,
00:12:37.99\00:12:40.02
and I remember
seeing something recently
00:12:40.06\00:12:43.63
that really caught my attention.
00:12:43.66\00:12:46.33
They said that there
were several governors
00:12:46.36\00:12:48.53
who were given over $250 million
00:12:48.56\00:12:52.87
to build
prisons in their states.
00:12:52.90\00:12:56.81
And there were two
conditions, 20 years at least,
00:12:56.84\00:13:01.54
it had to be
around for 20 years,
00:13:01.58\00:13:04.15
and 90% occupancy.
00:13:04.18\00:13:06.65
So what does that say?
00:13:06.68\00:13:08.08
We got to fill these prisons.
00:13:08.12\00:13:09.98
We got to keep them full
so that we can get that money.
00:13:10.02\00:13:14.12
And that's where
what you are doing
00:13:14.16\00:13:16.89
by shining a light on the system
00:13:16.93\00:13:20.23
and the inequities,
00:13:20.26\00:13:21.60
that's what I appreciate
so much as a Christian.
00:13:21.63\00:13:25.07
You know, because I believe that
00:13:25.10\00:13:26.67
Jesus would have us to do that.
00:13:26.70\00:13:29.27
What activities
are you involved in
00:13:29.30\00:13:32.77
to actually make a
difference within the system?
00:13:32.81\00:13:36.34
Yes, and I do want to
stress that in my class
00:13:36.38\00:13:38.91
that I have
members of various groups,
00:13:38.95\00:13:43.62
various ethnic groups and so--
00:13:43.65\00:13:46.09
In your class, in the prison?
00:13:46.12\00:13:47.42
In the-- well, yes, in
the-- with the local jail.
00:13:47.46\00:13:50.39
And so my focus is not on
those who are African-American,
00:13:50.43\00:13:53.76
it's on all of them.
00:13:53.80\00:13:54.83
My concern is for all of them.
00:13:54.83\00:13:56.26
I treat them all as if
they are the children of God,
00:13:56.30\00:13:59.50
as if they are all human beings.
00:13:59.53\00:14:01.34
Good.
00:14:01.37\00:14:02.44
And what we're trying to do,
00:14:02.47\00:14:03.77
the Supreme Court
actually issued a ruling.
00:14:03.81\00:14:06.88
The Supreme Court of
the United States of America
00:14:06.91\00:14:09.54
issued a ruling, it's
Graham V. State of Florida,
00:14:09.58\00:14:12.91
it's a Florida state case.
00:14:12.95\00:14:15.38
A lot of people are not aware
00:14:15.42\00:14:16.95
but the majority
of the young people
00:14:16.99\00:14:19.79
who are serving life
sentences, who are teenagers,
00:14:19.82\00:14:22.59
are in the State of Florida.
00:14:22.62\00:14:25.19
Yes. Really?
00:14:25.23\00:14:26.90
And so the Supreme
Court case is a Florida case.
00:14:26.93\00:14:31.17
And what the Supreme
Court came back with, they said,
00:14:31.20\00:14:34.07
that it is cruel
and unusual punishment
00:14:34.10\00:14:37.61
to give juveniles life without
the possibility of parole.
00:14:37.64\00:14:42.98
And so right now
what's happening is
00:14:43.01\00:14:45.18
that states like Florida,
they're having to come back,
00:14:45.21\00:14:47.88
they're having to take
a look at their statutes,
00:14:47.92\00:14:50.79
take a look at
their criminal laws,
00:14:50.82\00:14:53.39
they are having to
come into compliance,
00:14:53.42\00:14:55.52
or seek to come into compliance
00:14:55.56\00:14:57.29
to what the
Supreme Court has stated.
00:14:57.33\00:14:59.23
Because when you're looking
at it, the United States,
00:14:59.26\00:15:01.50
we generally state other
countries that they are--
00:15:01.53\00:15:04.17
they victimize people
00:15:04.20\00:15:05.57
and that they torture
them and things like that.
00:15:05.60\00:15:10.47
But the United
States, to be honest--
00:15:10.51\00:15:11.87
if you look at what the
Supreme Court has stated,
00:15:11.91\00:15:13.31
it's cruel and
unusual punishment.
00:15:13.34\00:15:15.08
What we're doing in our country
00:15:15.11\00:15:16.38
is cruel and unusual punishment.
00:15:16.41\00:15:17.78
They have issued this ruling.
00:15:17.81\00:15:19.18
The juveniles, their
brains are not developed
00:15:19.21\00:15:22.82
to think through
situations and circumstances
00:15:22.85\00:15:26.49
the way our brains are,
00:15:26.52\00:15:28.26
which is why God put
adults with children,
00:15:28.29\00:15:31.29
because they would
need someone to help them,
00:15:31.33\00:15:34.10
to direct them.
00:15:34.13\00:15:35.26
And so the Supreme Court now
00:15:35.30\00:15:37.07
has a medical proof that
their brains are not developed
00:15:37.10\00:15:40.54
the way ours are.
00:15:40.57\00:15:41.67
And that therefore,
you cannot hold them
00:15:41.70\00:15:44.51
accountable the
way that you do us.
00:15:44.54\00:15:46.78
Reality is, you cannot
even, in certain states,
00:15:46.81\00:15:50.05
you cannot drive
until you're certain age.
00:15:50.08\00:15:53.38
You cannot drink,
00:15:53.42\00:15:54.35
not that I'm gonna
have a kid in drinking.
00:15:54.38\00:15:55.52
Right. Right.
00:15:55.55\00:15:56.65
But you see what I'm
saying, these are adult things.
00:15:56.69\00:15:57.55
Even the vote,
until you're certain age.
00:15:57.59\00:15:59.42
And yet we have individuals
who are 13 and we're stating,
00:15:59.45\00:16:01.56
well, you're gonna serve life.
00:16:01.59\00:16:02.96
You're gonna serve life.
00:16:02.99\00:16:04.03
We're gonna treat
you like an adult.
00:16:04.06\00:16:05.09
But you don't
treat them like an adult
00:16:05.13\00:16:06.33
when they're trying to drive,
when they're trying to work.
00:16:06.36\00:16:08.56
You know, they had
to be of certain age.
00:16:08.60\00:16:10.07
And so Supreme Court has stated
00:16:10.10\00:16:12.53
that we have to take a
look at what we're doing.
00:16:12.57\00:16:15.14
Reality is that
this did-- these laws,
00:16:15.17\00:16:17.67
these stiff laws
came as a result of
00:16:17.71\00:16:19.91
the fact that in the '80s
00:16:19.94\00:16:22.14
we had the crack wars
and you had a lot of crime
00:16:22.18\00:16:24.78
and things of that nature
00:16:24.81\00:16:25.88
and so there was a
backlash in society
00:16:25.91\00:16:28.22
and they were need to be.
00:16:28.25\00:16:29.55
I was out on the
streets at that time working,
00:16:29.58\00:16:31.79
I'm in some of the projects
00:16:31.82\00:16:33.12
trying to help
where there was crack,
00:16:33.15\00:16:34.46
trying to help
00:16:34.49\00:16:35.56
where people were being
victimized and everything.
00:16:35.59\00:16:37.43
But what happened was
we passed very stiff laws,
00:16:37.46\00:16:40.03
Florida was one of those states
00:16:40.06\00:16:41.80
and now things are not
the way they were before.
00:16:41.83\00:16:45.43
And we have information
we did not have at that time
00:16:45.47\00:16:48.20
about the
juveniles and their brains
00:16:48.24\00:16:50.47
and it's really
unjust when you consider that
00:16:50.51\00:16:52.61
they can't be rehabilitated.
00:16:52.64\00:16:54.61
A lot of them
actually can be rehabilitated,
00:16:54.64\00:16:57.41
whereas maybe some
older adults cannot.
00:16:57.45\00:16:59.91
And therefore we must
give them an opportunity
00:16:59.95\00:17:02.38
to be rehabilitated and
not just lock them away,
00:17:02.42\00:17:05.12
throw away the key.
00:17:05.15\00:17:06.82
Reality, God, what
we're trying to do,
00:17:06.86\00:17:08.99
we have a movie
we're trying to make.
00:17:09.02\00:17:10.33
It's called The Awakening.
00:17:10.36\00:17:11.36
And what God would have
all human beings to know
00:17:11.39\00:17:14.83
is that even if you went down
a road that God never intended,
00:17:14.86\00:17:18.70
that He still has a plan.
00:17:18.73\00:17:21.24
And a lot of
times we don't realize,
00:17:21.27\00:17:22.60
we all make mistakes,
00:17:22.64\00:17:24.27
but then when
it's not our mistake,
00:17:24.31\00:17:26.04
we're like, oh, no,
there is no hope for you,
00:17:26.07\00:17:27.18
it's over, that was
horrible what you did.
00:17:27.21\00:17:29.08
But I always tell to
juveniles, look at Paul,
00:17:29.11\00:17:31.98
look at Paul, Paul
helped to murder Steven,
00:17:32.01\00:17:35.52
he held the coats
while they murdered Steven,
00:17:35.55\00:17:38.12
they stoned him to death,
00:17:38.15\00:17:39.29
a good Christian
deacon, you know.
00:17:39.32\00:17:41.79
And Paul helped to
run down Christians,
00:17:41.82\00:17:44.03
men, women,
children, and they killed them,
00:17:44.06\00:17:46.70
did all kinds of things to them.
00:17:46.73\00:17:47.76
Paul was there.
00:17:47.83\00:17:48.70
He was silent that
time, but guess what,
00:17:48.73\00:17:51.13
he then went on
with the help of God
00:17:51.17\00:17:52.87
to become one of the
greatest apostles to ever live
00:17:52.90\00:17:57.04
and greatest
evangelists to ever live.
00:17:57.07\00:17:59.87
So I always tell them,
00:17:59.91\00:18:01.68
it doesn't matter
where you are now,
00:18:01.71\00:18:03.75
it doesn't matter what they said
00:18:03.78\00:18:05.01
about you is true,
00:18:05.05\00:18:06.01
it doesn't even
matter how horrible it was,
00:18:06.05\00:18:08.58
look at what God did
for Paul in his life.
00:18:08.62\00:18:11.85
That's right.
00:18:11.89\00:18:13.19
It is-- on this
program, all the time
00:18:13.22\00:18:16.99
I talk about the plan that
God has for each individual,
00:18:17.03\00:18:21.23
what He has for you
00:18:21.26\00:18:23.20
is different from
what He has for me,
00:18:23.23\00:18:24.40
which is different
from the next person,
00:18:24.43\00:18:26.07
but there is always a plan. Yes.
00:18:26.10\00:18:29.17
We know that
from Jeremiah 29:11,
00:18:29.20\00:18:31.81
we know that God has a plan
00:18:31.84\00:18:33.74
and that it is a
plan to prosper you,
00:18:33.78\00:18:36.91
to give you a future and a hope.
00:18:36.95\00:18:39.25
And so what you're doing is
00:18:39.28\00:18:41.58
giving these children some hope.
00:18:41.62\00:18:43.62
And now you know, viewers,
00:18:43.65\00:18:46.29
that we are not
saying that crime is okay,
00:18:46.32\00:18:50.19
we are not advocating crime,
we are not justifying crime.
00:18:50.23\00:18:54.66
But we're saying
that these young people
00:18:54.73\00:18:57.23
who have gotten
involved in crime
00:18:57.27\00:18:59.50
have done so
00:18:59.53\00:19:01.07
without having the capability
that we have as adults
00:19:01.10\00:19:05.97
to actually
process consequences.
00:19:06.01\00:19:08.91
And so they kind of go
through things in a way
00:19:08.94\00:19:12.25
that might be in
an uninhibited way,
00:19:12.28\00:19:16.18
and an impulsive way,
and they make these mistakes.
00:19:16.22\00:19:19.99
So are we justifying it?
00:19:20.02\00:19:22.19
No. No.
00:19:22.22\00:19:23.29
Are we saying
that it's okay? No.
00:19:23.32\00:19:25.69
What we're saying though is that
00:19:25.73\00:19:28.30
there has to be a
way to look at this
00:19:28.33\00:19:32.07
that gives them,
00:19:32.10\00:19:34.80
that gives them
hope that they're not--
00:19:34.84\00:19:36.84
if you are 13 and you
did something heinous at 13,
00:19:36.87\00:19:41.78
you truly did not
have all that you needed,
00:19:41.81\00:19:45.15
like you mentally, like
you would if you were 35.
00:19:45.18\00:19:48.52
True.
00:19:48.55\00:19:49.62
It's a
different brain chemistry.
00:19:49.65\00:19:53.09
And so what
you're doing is amazing.
00:19:53.12\00:19:56.79
How did you get into
00:19:56.83\00:19:59.33
getting involved in the
prison system particularly?
00:19:59.36\00:20:02.03
I know you are
involved in the justice system
00:20:02.06\00:20:05.33
as an attorney,
00:20:05.37\00:20:06.57
but to go into the
prisons, how did that happen?
00:20:06.60\00:20:09.47
Well, as our church has
a jail and prison ministry,
00:20:09.50\00:20:13.68
I am, currently,
00:20:13.71\00:20:15.08
I'm the prison
ministry's director
00:20:15.11\00:20:17.81
and when we got
started I was as well.
00:20:17.85\00:20:20.12
I've actually had
several different ministries
00:20:20.15\00:20:23.15
I've been over in
the church, you know,
00:20:23.18\00:20:24.49
you have to
rotate and shuffle around
00:20:24.52\00:20:26.35
and help out where you can.
00:20:26.39\00:20:27.69
And so to be honest,
00:20:27.72\00:20:29.39
I am over the
ministries in general,
00:20:29.42\00:20:33.80
I'm actually in the
jail with the juveniles,
00:20:33.83\00:20:38.13
that's the one that I
am actually involved in.
00:20:38.17\00:20:41.40
I left the ladies
about eight years ago,
00:20:41.44\00:20:42.64
I am still over all the ones,
even the ones with the men,
00:20:42.67\00:20:45.37
we have the men to men's group.
00:20:45.41\00:20:46.68
But I'm actually there
00:20:46.71\00:20:48.38
overseeing the
one with the juveniles
00:20:48.41\00:20:50.48
and I'm actually,
with the help of God
00:20:50.51\00:20:51.98
passing my
baton as you will now,
00:20:52.01\00:20:55.45
because there are four ladies
who are taking my place there
00:20:55.48\00:20:58.29
because I'm going to try to help
00:20:58.32\00:21:00.06
make this movie
called The Awakening.
00:21:00.09\00:21:02.02
And let's talk about that.
00:21:02.06\00:21:03.89
Yes, which is the realization
00:21:03.93\00:21:06.09
that every human
being is special,
00:21:06.13\00:21:09.80
every human being has a purpose,
00:21:09.83\00:21:12.87
every human being is unique.
00:21:12.90\00:21:14.74
God has given you from birth,
unique genes, unique talents,
00:21:14.77\00:21:20.14
and skills that He has
not given to someone else,
00:21:20.18\00:21:22.64
and even your life experiences.
00:21:22.68\00:21:24.71
I think a lot of people
00:21:24.75\00:21:26.18
if they would just take a moment
00:21:26.21\00:21:27.45
and think and look
back, look over their lives,
00:21:27.48\00:21:31.19
they would see, with God's help
00:21:31.22\00:21:33.59
God directing their
course and their path
00:21:33.62\00:21:36.76
even when we in our stubbornness
00:21:36.79\00:21:39.46
ventured off course,
00:21:39.49\00:21:41.40
we could see God
pulling us back in,
00:21:41.43\00:21:43.20
riding us back in.
00:21:43.23\00:21:44.87
And I think if
every human being--
00:21:44.90\00:21:46.37
and that's what
The Awakening is about,
00:21:46.40\00:21:47.84
it's about, no matter your age,
00:21:47.87\00:21:49.40
no matter how old you
are, how young you are,
00:21:49.44\00:21:51.27
God has a purpose
even if you once knew it
00:21:51.31\00:21:53.98
and now because of circumstances
00:21:54.01\00:21:55.94
and situations have veered you,
00:21:55.98\00:21:57.68
you've gotten off path,
life as we say has happened
00:21:57.71\00:22:00.78
and now you no longer are
aware of what you're here for,
00:22:00.82\00:22:03.22
what you're doing, you're
just spiraling out of control.
00:22:03.25\00:22:05.49
The message is for everyone,
God has a purpose for you.
00:22:05.52\00:22:10.96
You were sent here to do
something unique and special,
00:22:10.99\00:22:13.80
and if you do not do it,
00:22:13.83\00:22:15.50
it is going to be a
detriment to society,
00:22:15.53\00:22:18.97
to this entire world
if you do not realize
00:22:19.00\00:22:22.67
what your purpose is
00:22:22.70\00:22:23.71
and if you do not get
in alignment with that.
00:22:23.74\00:22:25.37
That's right.
00:22:25.41\00:22:26.34
If you don't have a
sense of your purpose,
00:22:26.37\00:22:29.18
that is just basic, that is key,
00:22:29.21\00:22:32.41
and there is a
purpose for everybody.
00:22:32.45\00:22:34.88
A lot of people think, well,
00:22:34.92\00:22:36.25
I don't have any
gift, I don't have--
00:22:36.28\00:22:38.65
No, God gave you, as you said,
everybody has unique gifts,
00:22:38.69\00:22:42.69
it's like a big puzzle.
00:22:42.72\00:22:44.73
If the puzzle is missing
a piece, it's incomplete.
00:22:44.76\00:22:49.60
If you are not walking
in your divine destiny,
00:22:49.63\00:22:53.44
your piece of the
puzzle is not in that puzzle.
00:22:53.47\00:22:56.84
We need for you to
walk in that destiny
00:22:56.87\00:23:00.04
and you need to
walk in that destiny
00:23:00.08\00:23:01.98
so you know
what your purpose is.
00:23:02.01\00:23:05.31
When you know
what your purpose is,
00:23:05.35\00:23:07.05
there is to me--
00:23:07.08\00:23:08.38
for me this is my--
dare to dream is my purpose,
00:23:08.42\00:23:12.89
this is why I was
put on this planet
00:23:12.92\00:23:15.22
to do this work.
00:23:15.26\00:23:17.13
I believe that
what you're doing,
00:23:17.16\00:23:18.66
you're doing
things in media, too,
00:23:18.69\00:23:20.23
which is very
interesting to see.
00:23:20.26\00:23:22.96
You are legal and doing things
in media, doing this movie.
00:23:23.00\00:23:27.30
This is your purpose,
00:23:27.34\00:23:30.47
you're walking in
your divine destiny.
00:23:30.51\00:23:32.67
This is why God has
put you on this planet,
00:23:32.71\00:23:35.28
and once you know that,
00:23:35.31\00:23:37.65
there is nothing
that is more fulfilling
00:23:37.68\00:23:40.65
than walking with God
in the purpose that He,
00:23:40.68\00:23:44.19
in the destiny
that He has for you.
00:23:44.22\00:23:46.55
And such a blessing,
your Jabez productions,
00:23:46.59\00:23:50.43
tell us about that?
00:23:50.46\00:23:51.53
How did that come to be?
00:23:51.56\00:23:53.36
Well, basically after
I had been an attorney
00:23:53.40\00:23:56.00
for about maybe
eight or nine years,
00:23:56.03\00:23:58.67
and heavily
involved in ministry,
00:23:58.70\00:24:00.37
I mean, as a child, you know,
00:24:00.40\00:24:01.97
I was, I mean, in my religion
00:24:02.00\00:24:03.77
you're supposed to be
involved in the ministry,
00:24:03.81\00:24:04.74
so I've always been
involved in the ministry
00:24:04.77\00:24:07.51
everywhere that I went.
00:24:07.54\00:24:09.04
And God started
to show me, look,
00:24:09.08\00:24:11.88
these people need more than
just you to be their attorney
00:24:11.91\00:24:16.52
or just you to be
there in the jail.
00:24:16.55\00:24:18.69
There is a message
I need for you to get,
00:24:18.72\00:24:21.09
impart to these people,
00:24:21.12\00:24:22.12
but to other
people in the world.
00:24:22.16\00:24:24.06
And film, film
is the way to do it.
00:24:24.09\00:24:27.13
And so I started
the production company
00:24:27.20\00:24:29.20
and I have been trying to get,
00:24:29.23\00:24:31.63
I have some things I have done
00:24:31.67\00:24:33.27
as far as to the next generation
00:24:33.30\00:24:36.10
and that's one that we did
00:24:36.14\00:24:37.57
and we did one,
The Conflict Zone
00:24:37.61\00:24:39.34
and dealing with
conflict in your life,
00:24:39.37\00:24:41.61
well, amazing things God
showed me about conflict.
00:24:41.64\00:24:44.35
Conflict is going to happen,
00:24:44.38\00:24:46.05
it's okay, but learn
from it, grow from it.
00:24:46.08\00:24:48.48
So we've done a few shows
for the internet, Youtube,
00:24:48.52\00:24:52.69
we've actually had one
00:24:52.72\00:24:54.52
with the Michelle
Alexander mass incarceration.
00:24:54.56\00:24:57.53
We actually have
that on television,
00:24:57.56\00:24:59.19
we had a panel
discussion on television.
00:24:59.23\00:25:01.46
But God showed me that
people, first and foremost,
00:25:01.50\00:25:04.57
they need to know who they are,
00:25:04.60\00:25:06.03
they need to
know who's they are,
00:25:06.07\00:25:07.97
they need to know why
they are on this earth.
00:25:08.00\00:25:10.27
Otherwise, they will feel
like they do not want to live,
00:25:10.31\00:25:13.91
they will feel like
they're gonna spiral,
00:25:13.94\00:25:16.38
there are certain
situations we would not get in
00:25:16.41\00:25:19.85
if we knew who's we are,
00:25:19.88\00:25:22.25
there are certain
things we would not do
00:25:22.28\00:25:23.82
if we realize who's we are.
00:25:23.85\00:25:25.35
And the young
people at the jail,
00:25:25.39\00:25:26.65
they would tell me quite often,
00:25:26.69\00:25:29.39
why did God allow
this to happen to us?
00:25:29.42\00:25:31.93
Why did He even
allow us to come?
00:25:31.96\00:25:33.06
You tell me He knows everything,
00:25:33.09\00:25:34.46
why did He allow us to
come here to this earth
00:25:34.50\00:25:36.73
knowing that we would be--
00:25:36.77\00:25:37.93
some of them are molested.
00:25:37.97\00:25:40.37
Research shows
that a lot of people
00:25:40.40\00:25:41.47
in jail and
prisons have been molested,
00:25:41.50\00:25:43.57
they have been beaten,
00:25:43.61\00:25:44.61
they have been tortured, abused.
00:25:44.64\00:25:46.64
Why did God allow
these things to happen to us?
00:25:46.68\00:25:49.14
Why did He allow us to come here
00:25:49.18\00:25:50.21
if He knew they would happen?
00:25:50.25\00:25:51.55
And I would have
to let them know,
00:25:51.58\00:25:53.15
God knows all things,
00:25:53.18\00:25:55.52
even those horrible things
that have happened to you,
00:25:55.55\00:25:57.89
they are because
of human choices,
00:25:57.92\00:25:59.62
not God willing those things,
00:25:59.65\00:26:02.16
but God can and He
will use those things
00:26:02.19\00:26:05.96
that were painful, horrible,
00:26:05.99\00:26:07.76
humiliating for you in your life
00:26:07.76\00:26:10.33
and He will turn it around.
00:26:10.37\00:26:12.07
And He will make it
into something beautiful.
00:26:12.10\00:26:14.47
This is just a season, hold on.
00:26:14.50\00:26:17.84
And that is the message
that I try to take down to them.
00:26:17.87\00:26:20.41
How beautiful that
is. That is so beautiful.
00:26:20.44\00:26:23.24
We have a website for you,
we want to put it on the screen
00:26:23.28\00:26:26.21
so that our
viewers can contact you,
00:26:26.25\00:26:29.05
can find out more
about what you're doing
00:26:29.08\00:26:31.09
or how they can
help or whatever.
00:26:31.12\00:26:32.69
So we'll put your
information up on the screen,
00:26:32.72\00:26:36.22
the website up on the screen.
00:26:36.26\00:26:38.33
In 30 seconds,
00:26:38.36\00:26:42.70
where do you want
your ministry to go?
00:26:42.73\00:26:47.04
We know God has a plan,
00:26:47.07\00:26:49.04
but where are you hoping
that this ministry takes you?
00:26:49.07\00:26:53.74
Exactly where at the
movie that we're trying to make
00:26:53.78\00:26:56.51
says that we should go.
00:26:56.54\00:26:58.01
It's called The Awakening.
00:26:58.05\00:27:00.15
Helping as many human
beings as God can put before me
00:27:00.18\00:27:04.82
in my path to realize, to
become awakened to the fact
00:27:04.85\00:27:09.59
that they are
here for a purpose,
00:27:09.62\00:27:12.23
they are here for a reason,
00:27:12.26\00:27:14.10
and to start living out
that purpose and that reason.
00:27:14.10\00:27:17.87
Forget the fact
that you made mistakes,
00:27:17.90\00:27:19.60
it's okay to make mistakes.
00:27:19.63\00:27:21.27
Then learn and grow from
your mistakes and go forth
00:27:21.30\00:27:24.34
and do what God has
sent you here to do.
00:27:24.37\00:27:27.28
Absolutely.
00:27:27.31\00:27:29.24
Cynthia, this has
been so wonderful.
00:27:29.28\00:27:31.98
I thank you so much
for all that you're doing
00:27:32.01\00:27:34.68
for the cause of Christ.
00:27:34.72\00:27:35.75
You're going into the prisons
00:27:35.78\00:27:38.69
and working with those
children that need some hope
00:27:38.72\00:27:42.02
and need to be
shown that they are loved.
00:27:42.06\00:27:45.19
May God bless you as
you continue to work for Him
00:27:45.23\00:27:47.96
and I pray that you will get
all the support that you need.
00:27:47.96\00:27:51.73
Well, that's the end
of our program for today.
00:27:51.77\00:27:54.24
Thank you so much for tuning in.
00:27:54.27\00:27:56.17
Join us next time
'cause, you know what,
00:27:56.20\00:27:58.24
it just wouldn't be
the same without you.
00:27:58.27\00:28:01.88