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Jewish World Review
August 20, 2013/ 14 Elul, 5773
How honeybees are keeping men out of prison
By
Dave Ross
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Last week we heard that the United States prison population is now so large, and the cost so high, that the attorney general was pretty much forced to announce that prosecutors would no longer prosecute non-violent drug offenders under any law with a mandatory sentence.
That policy change comes too late for Amir Futrell.
"What did you do to get in trouble?" asks Correspondent Don Dahler.
"Cocaine," says Futrell.
"You got busted for selling?" Dahler asks again.
"Yes, sir," says Futrell.
"What kind of time did you do?" asks Dahler.
"Six years," Futrell responds.
Six years in prison usually means your job prospects are pretty bleak. Amir Futrell's seem pretty good. Dahler found him tending honeybees.
"I didn't want to revert to what brought me into the penitentiary, so I was looking for a new way. You have to try something different - and this was it," says Futrell.
It's a program in Chicago called Sweet Beginnings, created by Brenda Palms Barber. Barber hires former inmates and turns them into beekeepers.
"These are people who had served time for crimes, but could not get back into the labor market because of their backgrounds," says Barber.
You wouldn't think it, but it turns out Chicago is a great place for honeybees.
"There are lots of weeds on the West side, and there are weeds that produce nectar. And in fact, they produce some beautiful delicious honey, as well," Barber adds.
Dahler thinks there's a metaphor in there somewhere.
But more than a metaphor, there are also results. Only 4 percent of the former inmates raising bees at Sweet Beginnings return to prison.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment by clicking here. Dave Ross hosts the Morning News on Seattle's KIRO Radio weekdays from 5-9 a.m. He spends his down time tinkering with electronic projects, writing novelty songs, shopping at thrift stores, and playing squash. As an avid hiker, he's earned the title Energizer Bunny from his friends; while they all stop to see stuff along the trail, Dave keeps going and going and going. He enjoys traveling internationally for work and pleasure with memorable stops in Baghdad, Qatar, Israel, Prague, Germany (to cover the Berlin Wall), China, Soviet Union, Niger, Senegal, and Iran.
You can listen to his daily column in audio format by clicking here.
Previously:
• 08/19/13 Truth about Area 51 finally revealed
• 08/16/13 If you knew how much it cost to raise a child
• 08/15/13 The voice in the nursery
• 08/14/13 When license plates speak
• 08/13/13 The plant that wouldn't die
• 08/12/13 Class warfare at 35,000 feet is just fine
• 08/09/13 Want a good night's sleep? Become homeless
• 08/08/13 When eating too healthy becomes a problem
• 08/07/13 The Die Phone
• 08/06/13 Can't afford a doctor or medicine? There's always the Placebo App
• 08/05/13 Car prowlers taught lesson with call to mom
© 2013, Dave Ross
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