Alejandro Martinez Receives his Diploma.
This is a picture of those who participated in The Actors Drama Presentation in Avenal State Prison on July 24th, 2024.
The participation by inmates in these types of programs helps them act different types of scenes and characters that helps them in their rehabilitation.
Alejandro receives on-going teachings from us now at this prison. We stay in contact with many inmates at different state prisons through an app called Getting Out. You can see Alejandro’s testimony Praise Reports when he was part of our ministry at Lancaster State Prison before his transfer to Avenal.
I have been in prison for now 13 years. I grew up without a father and my mother tried her very best to help me but I listened to the “Street” rather than my mother’s advice. I was living a criminal lifestyle as a careless and reckless and dangerous kid. I had turned to gangs to find a sense of myself, love, acceptance, self-worth, and empowerment. Being immature and impulsive, I committed a lot of crimes out of resentment and anger, I got deeper involved in the gang life. My aim was to become the most dangerous gang member to build a reputation for myself on the streets. In doing this I believed that I was going to gain the love from those who I want to be accepted and respected and feared by. I grew up with a callous heart and my affiliation with gangs was fueled by anger and hurt towards myself and my family. This destructive lifestyle I chose let me to commit to assault and a murder wrongly killing another gang member. A month after I turned 18 years, I was arrested, tried and convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the crimes I committed.
The class is part of Arts in Corrections (www.artsincorrections.org), which is funded by California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and administered by the California Arts Council.