EPISODE 19
"JUST
WORDS"

Welcome to JUST WORDS.  The stories of working people in our community.

I'm Marc Steiner

Last week we met Terry, an ex-felon in his 40’s who served eight years in prison and has been out since August 2006.

His journey from prison began when he was released to do his last 18 months on home detention.

He wore an ankle bracelet and could only venture outside when going to work.

And one day I am going to work and am at State Center subway station, and I am going up the escalator, and I turn around, and I looked down and at the bottom of the escalators is this beautiful young lady all the way down at the bottom. And I was like, man she is gorgeous. I got to the top and waited there for her to come up, and I said, do you ride the subway everyday? She said, same time same place everyday. I said, well tomorrow I am going to ask you for your phone number is that alright with you? She looked at me and said, Ill think about it. And the next day, I get on the subway and she got on the same car, and she had to sit right across from me, and she looked up and saw me. I said HI! I said, don’t you have something for me? She said, I haven’t thought about it yet. But as we got off the train and going up the escalator, I walked her to her job, she looked back at me and said, come here, and gave me her phone number. And I couldn’t wait to get home the next day to call her.

Not only did Terry need to tell this lady he has served time, he had to reveal that he was STILL serving time.

I was trying to figure a way, I need to tell this young lady I am locked up, but I don’t want to tell her because I don’t want her to say, forget you. One particular night we were talking on the phone and I told her I had something to tell her. I said I’m on house arrest. Is that going to be a problem for you? And she said, no, it’s not a problem.

I made all the way to my last ten days of that 18 months, and the corrections officers came to the house and they knocked on the door and said I was out of range for two hours, in other words, they said I was out of the house for two hours. It’s not true, I was in the house with her for the whole time. So, they took me down and the Lt said, we kept calling and calling you, and you ain’t answered. I said, miss that’s not true,. I was home almost 18 months and I never had a problem. I was upset about that one because it kept me in there until my time was up.

Last ten days in jail or not, Terry’s time was up. He was now free to remove the ankle bracelet and begin living a normal life. Next week, we’ll learn about his difficulties finding a good job, and the news that threatened to destroy everything he had worked so hard to build.

Just words is a production of the Center for Emerging Media, produced by Jessica Phillips, through a grant from OSI-Baltimore: investing in solutions to Baltimore’s toughest problems, with audacious thinking for lasting change, on the web at OSI-Baltimore.org.
Visit JUST WORDS on the web at centerforemergingmedia.org, or
email us, at justwords@wypr.org

Music: Donna Summers, She Works Hard for the Money