Research has shown that one out of every four prison inmates will return to prison within one to three years of his or her release, a phenomenon that does not say much for the rehabilitative effects of incarceration. Some blame the prison system, while others blame the inmates themselves for lacking the motivation to get on the straight and narrow. Regardless of who is at fault for the high rate of recidivism, however, one exception to the common pattern is Randy Kearse, an ex-con who chose to follow a different path.
Randy grew up in the Farragut housing projects in Brooklyn, N.Y. From the time he was young, Randy's parents tried to instill positive values in their son, hoping he would not stray from them as so often happens with those who grow up in the projects. They taught him the importance of education, and with their encouragement he did well in school. However, by age 17 things began to change. Bored with his studies, Randy desired a new outlet for his creativity and energy. Unfortunately, like so many others from his area, Randy turned his attention to selling drugs.
It was the lure of fast money that drew him. Crack cocaine was the drug of choice during the late 1980s and early '90s, and there was no shortage of addicts desperate to buy it. Unlike most drug dealers, Randy did not become a regular user himself. He realized from the start that a dealer couldn't make much money if he became dependent on his own product. Instead, he stuck to dealing, and within a short time his operation grew to encompass three South Carolina cities. By then, he had assembled a gang of 25 men who helped him traffic the drug, pulling in an estimated $100,000 per month. Randy would later say that the money came in so fast it was hard to keep up with how much he was making.
Randy's success as a drug dealer was destined to be short-lived. Few can play the game without getting caught, and in 1992, Randy was arrested for trafficking in crack cocaine. During his subsequent trial, the judge called him a "menace to society" and sentenced him to 15 years in a federal prison for conspiracy to distribute narcotics.
Unlike many inmates who choose to blame the system for their situation, rather than themselves for having landed in prison, Randy was profoundly affected by his conviction. The disappointment he saw on his mother's face cut him deeply. At 27 years old, he was beginning to understand the wisdom his parents had tried to pass down to him, and once again he began to value his mother's moral code.
On the day Randy began serving his sentence, another inmate was murdered, and this incident troubled him deeply. Not long after, a good friend and fellow drug dealer of Randy's was tortured and murdered. These two events were an eye-opener for Randy, and they strengthened his resolve to make a better life for himself. He did not want to become another statistic.
