Carver High students
hear about second
chances in assembly
BY FELECIA PIGGOTT-LONG
PH. D. FOR
THECHRONICLF.
When Sean Taylor
walked onto the stage at
Carver High School on
Monday May 4, the first
thing he did was to ask for
a show of hands.
"All of you in the audi
ence today who are 17
years of age, please raise
your hands. (Several raised
their hands.) I was your age
when I went to prison. 1
spent 22 years in prison for
making the wrong deci
sion. At that time, I consid
ered myself a gang-banger,
a Blood, and I was very
indifferent to the value of
human life. The victim I
shot was also a 17-year
old. His name was Dean
Rahim. I am still haunted
today by what I did that
day," Taylor said. He
turned himself over to the
Denver police the next
morning after he commit
ted this crime.
I was trying to impress
my friends. I shot into the
house occupied by the
Crips and thought 1 would
only do damage to the
house itself, but I ended up
taking a life. If you find
yourself having to smoke a
blunt just to wake up every
morning, smoking just to
make it through the day,
smoking just to get to sleep
at night, you are making
the decision to go to jail,"
Taylor said.
"... Your parents, teach
ers, guidance counselors,
and principals have told
you to stop, but you are not
listening. Where do you
want to go in life? If you
are doing these things, and
you plan to go to college,
you will regret it. I have
come back from prison to
let you know you don't
have to go there," Taylor
said.
Taylor is now 42. He
was originally sentenced to
40 years to life. Without
gubernatorial intervention,
he could have been almost
60 when he was released
from prison. Then
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter
commuted Taylor's sen
tence and granted him the
opportunity for parole on
July 1, 2011. Under his
original sentence, Taylor
wasn't eligible for parole
until 2029.
When Carver Social
Studies teacher Jenna
Watson saw the documen
tary "Lost in Life," she
stood in awe at the three
people she met on screen:
Sean Taylor, Mary Ellen
Johnson and Sharletta
Evans. She showed the
documentary to her stu
dents at Carver, and talked
to her friend Malissa
Wood, who works with
Mary Ellen Johnson, exec
utive director of the
Pendulum Foundation.
This is a 9-year-old organi
zation dedicated to raising
awareness about the cir
cumstances of children in
Colorado's adult prisons,
gram.
In 2010, the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled it
unconstitutional to sen
tence minors to life without
parole for offenses other
than homicide. The court
found that juveniles are dif
ferent than adults in their
brain development.
Therefore, juveniles,
nationwide, serving life
without parole for cases
other than homicide were
ordered resentenced.
However, since the law is
not retroactive, there are
still 48 prisoners serving
life without parole for
crimes they committed as
juveniles.
The changes in the law
have come about in large
part because of the efforts
of the Pendulum
Foundation.
"We have had more
than 2,500 children sen
tenced to life without
parole, and they would
have died behind bars, if
the laws had not changed,"
Johnson said.
Another speaker, the
students particularly
enjoyed hearing on the
stage was Starletta Evans.
Evans lost her 3-year
old son in a drive-by shoot
ing in 1995. Seventeen
years later, she met in
prison with the man who
pulled the trigger. Evans
told the story of her journey
of grief and forgiveness,
and the power of the
Restorative Justice process
to provide healing for vic
tims, offenders and "the
community. Sharletta
organizes anti-gang pro
grams, advocates for judi
cial reform in Colorado and
across the country.
"Forgiveness is a spiri
tual experience," Evans
said. "I would not have
been able to build a bond
with the killer of my child
if I did not have the help of
the Holy Spirit," Evans
said.
"I think the program
went great," Watson said.
"... I wanted the students to
learn how to think before
acting as well as to learn
how to forgive.
Forgiveness is very power
ful and learning how to for
give can create true free
dom not only for the person
who did something wrong,
but also for the victim."
Principal Travis L.
Taylor wanted the speakers
to come to Carver "in
hopes of changing the
hearts and minds of the stu
dents and staff of Carver.
To get them to realize how
fragile and precious life is.
To take life seriously and
appreciate your life, your
experiences and the lives of
others."
Taylor noticed that
even a week later, students
were still discussing the
topics discussed on stage.
Submitted photo
Visitors to Carver High School spoke about second chances on May 4. (L-R)
Mary Ellen Johnson, executive director of The Pendulum Foundation;
Sharletta Evans, mother whose 3-year-old child was killed in a drive-by shoot
ing and Sean Taylor, who committed murder at age 17, are part of the documen
tary "Lost in Life."
MI ..? ;M^TV ?'? iT*i'itri'iaiihfMg?gaH???
Photos by Donna Rogers
V.S. Rep. Alma S. Adams' satellite office in
Winston-Salem is at 2301 N. Patterson Ave. The
entrance to the building is in the back.
Kay Tembo, VS. Rep. Alma S. Adams' constituent
services liason; and Earline Parmon, her outreach
director, show the entrance of the satellite office in
Winston-Salem.
Office
from page Al
Charlotte and Greensboro office might be out of reach for
some individuals, which is why I am happy to announce
the openings of the satellite offices in Concord, East
Spencer, Lexington, Thomasville, Winston-Salem and
High Point. 1 encourage anyone living in the 12th District
to stop by our satellite offices if you need assistance ."
The other five satellite offices in the 12th District are:
?
"Concord: Concord Regional Airport, 2nd Floor, 9000
Aviation Blvd, NW. Hours are the fourth Monday of each
month, noon to 2 p.m.
"East Spencer: Town Hall of East Spencer, 105 S.
Long St. Hours are
Thursdays, 9 a.m. to noon.
?Lexington: City Hall of Lexington, 28 West Center
Street. Hours are first and third Tuesday of each month, 9
a.m. to 11 a.m.
"Thomasville: City Hall of Thomasville, 10 Salem St.
Hours are first and third Tuesday of each month, 11:30
a.m. to 1 p.m.
"High Point: City Hall of High Point, 211 S. Hamilton
St. HouiS are first and third Tuesday of each month, 2 to 4
p.m.
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