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by pltm
(PLTM) - "When you finally end up here and they slam that door, bam! When that thing vibrates it wakes you up. Understand you’re in prison," said Ramon George. George is serving a 15-year prison sentence at Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) for invading the Road Town Police Station on November 24, 2010. The young man, who is also the lead singer of the prison band, was addressing a gathering at HMP for the recent launch of the educational and vocational programme. He urged his fellow inmates to take part in all the rehabilitation programmes. "From the day I went in the anger management programme, I couldn’t stop. I have seen everything became clear; it became like a hallway. You are here for a purpose regardless of why you came, but it is what you are going to do next," George said. George, who has already served 7 years of his sentence, said that some of the inmates, including himself, are seen as leaders to encourage others to better themselves. "What you did will influence your future, but you still have to take the initiative to make that future better. So by us doing what we have to within these programmes, it will flourish...To my inmates, we need to take that initiative, if we don’t do it, they (others) ain't going to do it." He said, "We need to let the public see that some of us are ready and some of us are working to become better citizens, productive, responsible citizens in the community." The prisoner believes that the rehabilitation programmes should be mandatory and introduced as the individual enters the penitentiary. "You already commit your crime and as you hit the reception counter, you should be told this is what you have to do, you have English classes. Etc.; given a schedule. If we have that in place, a lot of the mentalities and behavior, and a lot of the events that hit the news, sadly, would be avoided," George said. He further expressed, "If you put someone into a strange environment, most times they follow suit."
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