The Journey of Healing in Angola Prison

It was several years before I decided to change my life. I had seen a lot of violence and was classified as a jail jouse lawyer and a militant, but it wasn’t until I had been confined to a maximum security cell (I had gotten caught with two knives in my possession) for about a year that I seriously began to think about my life, my family and everything that I had lost that the reality of my 75-year entence began to sink into my mind. At that point I hadn’t ever had the opportunity to see my daughter and that caused me a lot of anger and grief. It was also during that time of confinement that I decided to change and never go back to the life I had lived. It was the beginning of a long journey that would be filled with trials, set-backs and victories, but it was a journey that I wouldn’t turn away from.

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Ashanti Witherspoon spent 27 years in Angola Prison. In 1999 he was granted parole. Since leaving prison Ashanti has become a motivational speaker and is devoted to mentoring at-risk youth. He was featured in Jonathan Stack’s film THE FARM and THE FARM: 10 DOWN, which will be released June 16th, 2009 on National Geographic Channel.