After spending 21 years in prison for murder, Sean Walker was released in 2014. Since then, he has been working to help others, and Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has cited his successful rehabilitation as a sign of what’s possible when inmates are offered the supportive programs they need to re-enter society and live productive lives. In this letter, Sean writes about how the Peace Education Program helped him get his life on track.
Volunteer Scott Polenz facilitates the Peace Education Program (PEP) at prisons near Fresno, California. He says, “Participants tell me how much the PEP is affecting them and changing them in practical ways.”
“Light Behind Bars” chronicles the transformation of incarcerated women in Tires, Portugal as they participate in the Peace Education Program and try to come to terms with the devastation of their past actions. It was produced independently by Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, the public service broadcasting organization of Portugal, which has shown it on television affiliates throughout the country.
This essay was written by an inmate who submitted it to TPRF on the condition of anonymity. It chronicles how the Peace Education Program (PEP) is helping him gain a new perspective on life. All of my life I have felt that I was different—a bit apart from the...
Inmates at Las Palmas Prison weren’t allowed out of their cells to attend last year’s Time for Peace Festival, which was held just down the road on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria. However, they didn’t let the steel bars keep them from expressing solidarity with the thousands of people who had gathered along the seashore for two weeks of events to promote and celebrate peace.
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