Ep 035: Blindspotting and Life After Incarceration
A counselor and advocate, Mark Power works with former inmates to help them reintegrate into life after prison. In Mark’s words, the slippery slope around “the company we keep” or worse “relational disconnection” re-emerges in most second chancer's stories. The pull to reunite with old associates, friends, and even criminal families is often the path of least resistance.
We discuss a wide range of topics today around justice, reintegration, and forgiveness. This includes conversations around the mental health implications of prison and the impact incarceration has on both those locked away and the families they leave behind. We also discuss programs such as Blindspotting and Orange is the New Black, amongst others. Mark’s dream is that we start building reintegration programs that are so effective that recidivism radically goes down, and we can start closing prisons.
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Music: Deppisch
Design: Perpetualnotion.ca
Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao
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My Name is Mark Power and ever since I was a kid, I've had a heart for hearing and sharing uplifting stories of people overcoming adversity. My mother suggested to me, "You should become a writer." However, my father objected and said, "No. There are too many people who need help. You're smart and a good listener. And there is better money in becoming a lawyer." Confused, though inspired by both my parents, I combined the skills of both professions and became a Counsellor and Advocate.
Throughout the years, I’ve worked with hundreds of people faced with trauma, addiction, and mental illness. And I've witnessed first-hand, the amazing resilience, healing, and growth of the human spirit.
I love the process of getting to know people and seeing them transform from believing they are a lost cause, to becoming stronger, wiser, and confident. More than anything, I simply want to remind people, they are loved, and capable of loving.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Love Well: Website, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube
Incarceration and the Impact on Families
Father Daughter Dance - ABC News Story, Ted Talk & Song - Illustrates the true story about the gracious concession made for daughters to participate in a Father-Daughter Dance. These events of grace and mercy are growing throughout the US. It’s so true, when a parent “does time,” so do their families.
ABC News Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MTAcY_QhyE
JJ Heller Song/Animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlbgWMRzVPQ
Ted Talk-Angela Patton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNhCvM5pjfs
Rehabilitation vs. Punishment
Where to Invade Next - 2015, Director, Michael Moore. Documentary Norwegian Prison Segment: This segment stuns people when they see it, especially former inmates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IepJqxRCZY
Mental Health and Incarceration
Orange is the New Black - 2013
An example of women who end up incarcerated includes those who are mentally ill. This sequence from Orange is the New Black, though loosely based on true events, illustrates how everyone lives a “subconscious question” looping in the back of our minds. Often people need therapy and support more than they require incarceration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r23e7ecWu50
Redemption:
The Rock - 1996, Director: Michael Bay
This scene from "The Rock" fortifies the fact of how “relationships” are the primary factor that makes a life either worth living or dying for. Sean Connery’s fatherly sentiments of “You’re almost the only evidence that I exist.” And “I’m not an evil man and if you can believe that, then it’s a start.” can be profound truths. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS-0-B-ANZY
Psychopaths & Serial Killers
Crazy, Not Insane - 2020, Documentary - Director: Alex GibneyGibney is the sociological documentary, crime king of filmmaking. In this film, he navigates the tightrope of helping the audience understand the minds of clinical Psychopaths and Serial Killers through the Psychiatrist, Dorothy Lewis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVrOVlS5TMU
Wrongful Conviction:
Wrongful Convictions are not as rare as one might hope.
Recent News Article - Toronto Star
The Hurricane, starring Denzel Washington. Directed by: Norman Jewison
This film is a benchmark for our country, because it was a Canadian “foster family” who largely helped exonerate Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter. Rubin Carter also helped establish Canada’s AIDWYC - Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (now Innocence Canada). Carter served as the Executive Director from 1983 to 2005
Current Prison Reform Discussions in Canada:
One issue in the Canadian Zeitgeist at the moment is Paul Bernardo’s transfer to a medium-security prison.
CBC NEWS-June 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FqJ4U2Sjhc
Restoration and Justice
Dear Zachary - 2008 Documentary, Director: Kurt Kuenne
The film shoots straight from the heart. After the film was screened in the House of Commons in 2010, Bill C-464 “Zachary’s Bill” was passed. It’s a set of laws to protect children after a parent who has committed a serious crime seeks asylum in Canada. After Bill C-464 was passed, new extradition laws were passed to prevent criminals from outside of Canada from residing here as a place of asylum and refuge. While this doesn’t speak to “reintegration” directly per se, it does open a larger conversation about how flawed and outdated laws, protect the offender more so than the victims. And how many guilty offenders, without oversight, walk free.
Dear Zachary Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZXatzQ1kzg
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