CATCHING THE CHAIN
Freedom, Education & Redemption
Fifteen nervous men in long black robes, surrounded by their families, friends and mentors, line up in front of a plate glass window with a view of plain cement buildings and fences topped with coils of barbed wire. Inside, glowering prison guards with cropped hair, arms folded across their uniformed chests watch their every move.
The men are preparing for their Master’s Degree Graduation, Seminary class of 1996, Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
This is a special day for the inmates, a major achievement in a hardened, notorious institution. The 15 men studied for one year, earning 36 credits while working with other inmates on various therapy skills within the institution. They each are now being honored with a Master’s Degree. This degree will reduce their recidivism rates dramatically.
One of these inmates graduating is Bobby Lane. He was convicted for a drug related murder and has crimes that date back to his youth. I follow his life from living in Harlem, to his murder charge and arrest, his parole, marriage, owning a house and working. Bobby was later arrested for Grand Larcny, a crime he didn’t realize he had committed two years earlier. He was sentenced to 2 years but due to his previous crimes, they extended it to 5 years. When Bobby was later released, he studied ministry yet instead of becoming a minister he now counsels and guides men & women who are released as well as those currently in prison. Bobby Lane has become an inspiration.
Bobby Lane is currently a supervisor at a Drug Rehabilitation Center. He also volunteers at prison programs and works with police reform groups which focus on gangs in upstate New York. He is one of the lucky ones. A large majority return to prison.
His friend Roy Bolus, also a long-time prisoner charged with a drug related homicide at 17 years old, met him in prison. They both taught classes in prison, studied and received numerous degrees and mentored many men while incarcerated. They both have contributed to the community, stayed clean from drugs, and found a new life. Roy was pardoned by Governor Cuomo in Dec. 2018. Roy had served 30 years of his sentence of 75 years to life in prison.
America has the largest prison population in the world with approximately 2.1 million people incarcerated in the United States in 2016.
The recent First Step Act, enacted in December of 2018 and other reforms which focus on drug rehabilitation, education, re-entry programs, employment assistance, housing assistance, religious support and mentoring have helped with recidivism but it is definitely not enough.
Covid is currently a catastrophic problem and kills and infects huge amounts of inmates. Some are being sent home early from prison for health or age reasons but it is devastating.
“Catching the Chain” (which is a prison slang for recently being released from prison), follows Bobby Lane over a 24-year period.
As Bobby Lane once said, “We don’t want to define ourselves by our worst moment.”
