A Ray of Freedom

A ray of freedom
Since 1989, children with disabilities have relied on the inmates in the Folsom Project for the Visually Impaired to gain access to books they might otherwise have to skip. Tuesday one of those children repaid them.
By Laurel Rosenhall -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Murderers, kidnappers, robbers and drug runners serving time in Folsom State Prison heard an unusual message Tuesday when 18-year-old Amelia Diaz came to visit.
"I want to say thank you," Diaz said to the 15 men dressed in prison blues who were assembled in the visitors room. "You guys have really done a lot for me."
Diaz is blind. Since she was a little girl, inmates in a job-training program at the prison have been turning her school books into audio recordings and pages of Braille.
Now that she is 18, Diaz, of Anaheim, was allowed inside the prison for the first time. The occasion drew media and public officials to the old prison ringed with granite walls, where inmates demonstrated the program and Diaz sang words of thanks.
The program creates an odd partnership between society's most vulnerable and some of its most vicious - and brings benefits to them all, prison officials say. Children with disabilities gain access to books and videos they might otherwise have to skip. Hardened criminals learn job skills and develop compassion by doing good for others.
For nearly 10 years, Diaz has relied on the inmates in the Folsom Project for the Visually Impaired to help her read everything from storybooks to advanced French texts to the autobiography of her favorite singer, Celine Dion. Now she goes to California State University, Fullerton, and the Folsom inmates have made her a Braille version of the campus map to help her find her way around.
To thank them, Diaz sang a Dion song on Tuesday - "These Are the Special Days" - under the bright lights of the visitor's room. It was an emotional moment for some of the inmates. Some smiled, some cast their eyes down, and some rocked their heads to the slow beat of the music.
"When I do something good here and it reaches out and touches other people, it's something I'm proud of," said Lyale Shellman, 55, who said he's been in prison for 26 years for crimes including murder, kidnapping and drug running.
"I was a bad guy. I hurt people from coast to coast," he said. "I can't take back what I've done, but now I can give back."
Shellman said he is counting the days until his May parole date - and then he plans to launch a business making media accessible to people with disabilities. In the Folsom prison program, Shellman has learned to make Braille books, closed-caption videos and books on tape. He said he's already lined up a contract to make Braille books after he's on parole.
The good feeling from helping others, combined with the practical job-skills training, make the program popular among inmates, said correctional officer Bob Schmitz.
"Now they're paying back, and that's part of the rehabilitation process," Schmitz said.
The program serves 18 inmates and has a waiting list of others who hope to get in, he said. Only inmates who can pass an English test, behave well and show eagerness to work and cooperate can be admitted to the program, Schmitz said. No sex offenders are allowed.
Developed in 1989, the Folsom Project for the Visually Impaired has created 1,000 books on tape for K-12 schools and community colleges up and down California. It also produces closed-caption videos for the hearing-impaired and converts government documents into Braille and audio formats.
Prison officials say the program has a zero recidivism rate - those who participate never end up back in jail. It's supported by grants from corporations and social groups.
Inmate Marty Allen, 36, said he appreciates the opportunity to do meaningful work while serving his life sentence for second-degree murder.
"The whole prison experience has made me realize how stupid I was acting," Allen said. "It really makes you stop and think about the consequences of what you're doing."
And it helps the years pass more quickly, said inmate Mark Dorn, who is serving a life sentence for kidnapping and armed robbery.
"Not only does it break up the monotony, but the time flies by. ... There's always something new to learn," Dorn said. "We have guys who would otherwise be sitting in the yard with absolutely nothing to do and getting into who knows what."
Diaz came to Folsom on Tuesday with her mother, Rosa Diaz, and family friend Linda Claire. When the formal program was done, the women mingled with the prisoners and noshed on sandwiches. They said they were grateful that a program so helpful to Diaz could also help the inmates turn their lives around.
"It doesn't really matter why they're there," Diaz said. "They've helped people, and it's made a difference to me."
About the writer:
The Bee's Laurel Rosenhall can be reached at (916) 321-1083 or lrosenhall@sacbee.com.

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