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Stories of those Affected |
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Randy Sampson’s mother was watching the Phoenix TV news one night when she discovered a side of her son she had never expected. Nineteen-year-old Randy had been arrested for a murder committed during a robbery attempt.
For years he had shrugged off school, shrugged off the values of his parents, “and went my own way,” he says. But as he faced 17 to 27 years behind bars--an eternity to a young man just departing his teens--”I really began to think about my life.”
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The following testimony is taken from the Offender Aid and Restoration Spring 2008 newsletter, Transformations:
The environment in which I was born and raised, along with my drive for acceptance and appreciation among peers, eventually led me to join a gang just before finishing high school which shortly led me to my incarceration. I am now 27 years old and know that there is no excuse for gang-affiliation; I deeply regret not having been mature enough to say no to crime.
Prison gave me more than enough time to consider my life and the opportunity to become a leader, improving the lives of many who, like myself, had gone astray.
Throughout my incarceration, I spread love and hope to other gang-members, encouraging them to change and abandon their bad ways of thinking. In the prison ministry programs I participated in many constructive activities such as leading and guiding various Bible study and prayer circle groups. I also received awards in academia that have made me a very open minded and well rounded person.
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