Major Richard Reese, Commissioner of the Correctional Services.- Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

Having spent eight years in regret, 31-year-old Dennis Gordon wished that his young adult years had been different, had he listened to the crucial words of advice from his aunt Monica.

Unable to turn back the hands of time, Gordon has written several songs expressing his sorrow.

Dennis, an inmate at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre, Kingston, has been jointly charged for a murder that occurred in Seaview Gardens in 1999.

"I have been sentenced to 25 years to life imprisonment. The witness did not see me with any gun or anything, but because I was an accessory to the crime, that's why I am here," he told The Gleaner last Friday at the launch of the Prison Radio Project.

Penal facilities

Speaking at the launch was Commissioner of Corrections, Major Richard Reese, who said: "If the project works at Tower Street, then it will work in other penalfacilities in Jamaica and, by extension, in the Caribbean."

Restorative Justice is aimed at rehabilitating prisoners into society, especially those who are serving shorter sentences.

The radio programme will give inmates the opportunity to re-enter society with the necessary certified documents required for inmates who want to pursue a career in radio.

Superintendent of Prisons in The Bahamas, Dr. Elliston Rahonraig, told The Gleaner yesterday that "he believes, society needs to understand the rehabilitation process may begin in prison, but it manifests itself on release."

He also stated that "the church, the state, the business and school community, as well as family, friends, and neighbours, all should step up to the plate in playing their part in the rehabilitation process."

With 17 years left to serve, Dennis, who is now motivating others through his music, said that from his experiences, he has realised that "prison can either break you or make you."

Wrong company

Gordon said that when he was three months old, he lost his mother, but had the love of his aunt even though he did not grow with his father.

"I was mixed up in the wrong company and now I am using music as a way to motivate others and myself," he said.

Dennis, who is actively involved in the programme Students Expressing Truth (SET), urged those who now have the opportunity to live a free life to make use of it in an appropriate manner.

'I have been sentenced to 25 years to life imprisonment. The witness did not see me with any gun or anything, but because I was an accessory to the crime, that's why I am here.' - Gordon