My eyes and lungs burned. I wanted to cough, vomit, anything to get rid of the burning sensation deep inside my lungs.   We shuffled down the hallway, each of us coughing, wheezing, desperate for breath, trying not to puke. Fred called out to me, “Mr. Spence, you okay?” I was trying to act like the pepper spray deployed moments before hadn’t bothered me, but the jig was up. I coughed a warbled reply, “Yeah.”   Our first class was not off to a good start.   A loud voice echoed down the...

“There’s no calvary coming. No white knight riding in on a horse. No politician, no movement, nothing. Nada. Zilch. It’s up to you.”   The men nodded along solemnly. I prayed my words would find a place in their hearts. I prayed that this time would be different, that someone would heed my cry, that someone would step up.   The old adage is true. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. I’d led the horses to water. Now it was up to them to drink.   I’ve shared some...

I cried.   I am not ashamed to admit it.   I cried. And not a little either.   One man, Cody, had graduated from HeartBound’s Malachi Dads program at Walker State Prison.   His fellow graduates had elected him to be the testimonial speaker for the program. He stood resolutely behind the podium, nerves steeled, brimming with confidence. He spoke with pride and clarity. A model speaker if I’ve ever seen one. He’d been taught well.   Here are his words.   “I always wanted to be a dad. I waited...