It took my husband at least two separate times at the dinner table to convince me to fully take the leap of faith. “This is what you are meant to do,” he’d told me. “This. This right here. You’re doing the right thing. Don’t worry about anyone else.”

You see, not everyone in my life understood why I’d sell all my assets and shut down a 14-year career to volunteer in a women’s prison. “But how do you get paid?” was the #1 question I’d get. And still do.

I don’t need to have seven digits in the bank to feel like a millionaire. Showing incarcerated people that they can write a great novel and hold it in their hands is seriously my American dream. No white picket fence needed.

The Life of a Death Row Chaplain: An Interview with Jimmy Martin

Lethal injections and last words—meet the chaplain who provided comfort and compassion to Texas death row inmates and their families.

Jimmy Martin is no stranger to death. As a young man, he watched one of his childhood heroes receive the death penalty after murdering three people in cold blood. It shook Jimmy to his core, and that catalyst resurfaced in his life years later when he became the death row chaplain and witness support liaison for the state of Texas. 

As the head chaplain at the Coffield Unit in Anderson County, Texas, Jimmy was present for 43 execution dates. He served the death row inmates’ families as well, offering them comfort, compassion, and protection—on the worst day of their lives. He heard the last words, saw the last breaths of men who committed capital crimes. He ministered to death row inmates and their loved ones. 

But it turns out, that was only half the battle.

The empathy he had for the incarcerated and their families was so great that it took an emotional toll on him. Jimmy is a rough-and-tough Texas cowboy with a heart the size of his home state. He had a job to do, but how would it affect him? 

Today, you’re going to meet one of the best guys on this planet. But . . . that almost didn’t happen. Episode 5 of Crime & Compassion Podcast was originally recorded in May 2023, but due to a technical mess, it can’t be published. Jimmy and I redid the interview, and trust me when I say: the universe does not want this episode out. 

I believe the biggest reason this episode has been so difficult to publish is due to Jimmy’s retelling of the worst execution he ever witnessed. Without spoiling it, Jimmy wanted revenge toward this person, but that isn’t how it worked out. Jimmy’s heart changed, and hearing someone talk about compassion and forgiveness when vengeance is preferred isn’t always a popular conversation to have. The message behind this hard-to-hear story is beautiful and convicting. 

I am honored to know Jimmy, and I think you’ll feel the same way when you hear his story.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Crime & Compassion Substack (it’s free), or you can become a paid member to support this cause.

Crime & Compassion strives to shake up how we view and treat the incarcerated. Podcast host Shayla Hale asks difficult questions to gain a more compassionate understanding of those who were written off. The podcast serves as a safe space for the formerly incarcerated, currently incarcerated, their families and loved ones, and those who work with men and women in US jails and prisons. Crime & Compassion’s goals are 1) to show love and kindness toward the captives, 2) to help bring their stories and art into the world, 3) to completely flip the narrative on the US justice system by having tough conversations, 4) to educate society on why people commit the crimes they do, and 5) to reframe how people see, treat, and think about the incarcerated.

Subscribe: https://crimeandcompassion.substack.com

Could you forgive your son if he got behind the wheel while high and killed a beloved teacher?

On May 25, 2016, in Santa Clarita, California, 28-year-old Lucas Guidroz got into his car while high on heroin and hit and killed a bicyclist. He fled from the scene of the crime, abandoning his vehicle. Roderick Bennett was 53 years old when he died on that road, and his wife Valerie was left “in a fog without him.” Roderick was a beloved math teacher and band director. 

Within a couple days, Lucas turned himself in, and the Guidroz family found themselves faced with a tragedy they couldn’t wrap their heads around. On November 7, 2016, teary-eyed Lucas listened as the judge sentenced him to ten years in state prison for “gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and hit-and-run driving resulting in death.”

How does a family navigate that?

Faced with the challenge of his son’s incarceration, Ken Guidroz embarked on a last-ditch effort to connect with Lucas by writing letters. And . . . it worked. It led to a transformative change in their relationship over several years. The profound impact of this experience inspired Ken to share his journey in his award-winning book, Letters to My Son in Prison. 

Ken and I discuss the crime, its aftermath, and his sheer willingness to help his son, and to love and forgive him. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Crime & Compassion Substack (it’s free), or you can become a paid member to support this cause: https://crimeandcompassion.substack.com/

Crime & Compassion strives to shake up how we view and treat the incarcerated. Podcast host Shayla Hale asks difficult questions to gain a more compassionate understanding of those who were written off. The podcast serves as a safe space for the formerly incarcerated, currently incarcerated, their families and loved ones, and those who work with men and women in US jails and prisons. Crime & Compassion’s goals are 1) to show love and kindness toward the captives, 2) to help bring their stories and art into the world, 3) to completely flip the narrative on the US justice system by having tough conversations, 4) to educate society on why people commit the crimes they do, and 5) to reframe how people see, treat, and think about the incarcerated.

Forgiveness after a 19-Year Prison Sentence: How Claire Tak Practices Empathy for Her Brother

Isaac’s troubled past led to 19 years in prison for carjacking and accessory to murder. Now his sister, Claire Tak, writes about Isaac’s life—inside and outside of prison—to teach others empathy and forgiveness.

Reforming Claire’s Brother Isaac

In 2018, Claire Tak’s younger brother Isaac was sentenced to 19 years in prison for carjacking and accessory to murder. It was a gut-punch to the family. After a few years, Claire became an advocate for her brother, offering him help, support, and compassion.

As Isaac sits in the California Correctional Institution, Claire writes about her brother and his troubled past. After all, he certainly lived a life worthy of a big-screen adaptation. Her Substack, Stories About My Brother, is one of the most honest, engrossing publications I’ve ever read. Claire writes about her struggles in raising her little brother, his run-ins with the law, and her desire to help him behind bars. Her goal is to convey the need for more forgiveness and empathy for people who make mistakes. 

Claire believes that Isaac’s mistakes do not define him as a person. “Humans are three-dimensional creatures, capable of change and transformation,” she said. 

Today, we’re going to see how Claire is fighting for her brother to realize that, yes, he can be reformed. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Crime & Compassion Substack (it’s free), or you can become a paid member to support this cause.

https://substack.com/@crimeandcompassion

Crime & Compassion

Crime & Compassion strives to shake up how we view and treat the incarcerated. Podcast host Shayla Hale asks difficult questions to gain a more compassionate understanding of those who were written off. The podcast serves as a safe space for the formerly incarcerated, currently incarcerated, their families and loved ones, and those who work with men and women in US jails and prisons. Crime & Compassion’s goals are 1) to show love and kindness toward the captives, 2) to help bring their stories and art into the world, 3) to completely flip the narrative on the US justice system by having tough conversations, 4) to educate society on why people commit the crimes they do, and 5) to reframe how people see, treat, and think about the incarcerated.

Can someone really find true freedom inside the walls of a notorious prison? 

In 1987, David Mike swore allegiance to his country and joined the army—a goal he had worked toward since he was a teenager. His dream quickly slipped through his fingers once ecstasy was placed in his palm. Before he knew it, David was the prime seller of ecstasy on his army base. The army’s criminal division arrested him in 1989, and by 1990, he had landed at Fort Leavenworth—an infamous military prison in Kansas. The final nail in the coffin? David was dishonorably discharged for desertion.

His memoir, Dishonor: One Soldier’s Journey from Desertion to Redemption, details David’s journey as a new inmate at Fort Leavenworth. I met David at a conference in 2016 and had the privilege of helping him with his book. Now his book is read in dozens of prisons throughout the US, including the very one where I volunteer: Mabel Bassett Correctional in McLoud, Oklahoma. (Small world.)

Today, you’re going to learn how David found freedom in a dark, dark place. 

Created & Hosted by Shayla Hale

https://crimeandcompassion.substack.com

Crime & Compassion strives to shake up how we view and treat the incarcerated. Podcast host Shayla Hale asks difficult questions to gain a more compassionate understanding of those who were written off. The podcast serves as a safe space for the formerly incarcerated, currently incarcerated, their families and loved ones, and those who work with men and women in US jails and prisons. Crime & Compassion’s goals are 1) to show love and kindness toward the captives, 2) to help bring their stories and art into the world, 3) to completely flip the narrative on the US justice system by having tough conversations, 4) to educate society on why people commit the crimes they do, and 5) to reframe how people see, treat, and think about the incarcerated.

What if you were sentenced to death for a crime you did not commit?

Les Bower was sentenced to Texas Death Row in 1984, where he spent 31 years until the state executed him in 2015. His wife, Shari Bower, wrote a memoir about this tragedy called Before They Executed Him: A Wife’s Story of Death Row. I feel honored to have worked on her book, which was a catalyst for Crime & Compassion: without this story, Crime & Compassion would not exist.

Les and Shari’s firstborn daughter, Leslea, was just a young girl when FBI agents and Texas Rangers charged her father with four counts of capital murder. Today, she’s going to take us back to Grayson County, Texas, and share her side of the story in the first-ever episode of Crime & Compassion Podcast, Season 1.

Created & Hosted by Shayla Hale

https://crimeandcompassion.substack.com

Crime & Compassion strives to shake up how we view and treat the incarcerated. Podcast host Shayla Hale asks difficult questions to gain a more compassionate understanding of those who were written off. The podcast serves as a safe space for the formerly incarcerated, currently incarcerated, their families and loved ones, and those who work with men and women in US jails and prisons. Crime & Compassion’s goals are 1) to show love and kindness toward the captives, 2) to help bring their stories and art into the world, 3) to completely flip the narrative on the US justice system by having tough conversations, 4) to educate society on why people commit the crimes they do, and 5) to reframe how people see, treat, and think about the incarcerated.