Episode #14: From Ex Felon to Returning Citizen
Are you free, really?
My guest today, forty-one year old Dawan Warren, has had a lot of time to think about this question. He’s spent half his life in prison.
Indicted at the age of eighteen for a series of robberies, Dawan was facing forty years.
Charged with sixteen years at the age of twenty, he served eight by the time he was released.
Eleven months later, he proceeded to commit bank robbery in which he was given a thirty-four year sentence. Dawan had no way of knowing that he’d be released twenty years early for good behavior, yet he found the courage to change his thoughts and behavior and turn his life around.
“A person can be free and be incarcerated in their mind;
A person can be incarcerated and be free in their mind, too,” he says.
“I was looking for peace. That’s what freedom is–peace. It’s not about the physical world; it’s about what’s going on inside of you. Clean yourself up on the inside, and it doesn’t matter what your circumstances are. You’ll still have joy.”
Here’s to following joy and finding peace…
Until next time,
Be Bold. Be Brave. Be Daring, and take a bite of courage.
See you next week.
Love,
Mo
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Hi Mo,
Dawan went down a path that has broken many similarly situated people. It is no small thing that with God’s grace he has been able to redirect his life. I believe the critical element in his renewal or rebirth is that he had the courage to trust that his encounters with the Lord in scripture and elsewhere were the real deal; that even tho he had years stretching before him he found it within himself to respond to grace. In effect, he found it within himself to carry his cross despite an uncertain future. As I said before, this is no small thing. It is a great thing.
What a beautiful sentiment! Thank you, GT.
Hi Mo,
Good story, and uplifting. It’s good to hear how a person can change and have a good life.
Hi Dorothy. I agree. This was one of our volunteers at the arts festival… Thanks for listening and for your feedback. Really appreciate it. 😘