I remember watching this series when I was young. Everyday I pass Rahway State on my way to work. Just to look at that place and wonder, we are out here free and inside those walls are another world with things going on that we can't imagine. To see how the Lifers group has helped change the lives of those youngsters is a great thing. To see how some of the men in that group have changed their lives is just as great.
I find it funny how they didnt even mention Ali's successful amature boxing achievements in the recordings, before drugs and alcohol destroyed his life.
This show was epic. Just about anyone who's over 40 probably remembers seeing the original "Scared Straight" as a kid. And if you did, you never forgot it! Thanks for posting this video.
All the other guys in the previous videos were making me feel aggressive, but being a daddy myself, this guy moved me to tears. Love him. What a great human being
I Think because they not getting real people with a message like dude they be using paid actors, weekend warriors, smokers, mfs with repeat misdemeanors (meaning they just talking to talk in hopes of getting out that day) the lifers n ppl with box time/phd ticket hearings n shit aka high profile inmates aka srg should be the ones talking not somebody who was locked up for stealing swiss watches and turkey outta walmart lol
I was locked up all my childhood,all the way up until I was 36 years old.I wasted alot of time,but I learned alot too..Now I have 4 kids and 2 Grandsons,a wife,a life,and most importantly;I have an unbreakable bond with our Lord and Savior.🙏💯
It's so endearing seeing crazy Chris and Ali show a calmer side to themselves and show they really care. They're more than just killers and monsters. They were human beings who stood in the same shoes that these kids were
I watched this when it first aired........one eyed Willie was very intimidating at 5'10 and around 147 lbs. Even though he said he was never getting out, I remember thinking that he was very street wise and intelligent and could really articulate what he was saying. He would have made a great drill instructor for the Marines. I'm glad Willie did get released and I am happy for him and his current situation.
Really moving. A wake up call and a terrible, hell-like part of someone's life. Someone maybe a bit more deprived than us on the other side of the tracks. Inspiring and humbling.
Sadly most won't learn and stick with this experience, I didn't wake up until I actually got arrested and went to prison. That is when I learned, coming from a white guy I get along with everyone no matter the race and having to go to a place where I could only speak and be with other whites it really is a life changing experience.
This program just shows something that every other culture seems to understand but America's: Listen and respect your elders. Listen to and respect each other. Period.
Dude at 5:26, Angelo Speziale, got 25 years to life for raping/murdering a teenage neighbor back in 1982 (Cold case file). He was convicted in 2010. Article: jjie.org/scared-straight-graduate-plays-starring-role/
MCEEsnowball Rape and murder is rape and murder regardless of what age the victim is. So much for this Scared Straight program being helpful, dude raped and murdered a teenage girl just 4 years afters after doing the Scared Straight program.
When I’m watching this video, I’m struck by how the inmates in the lifers program genuinely seem to want to help the troubled teens to stay out of trouble. My impression is that the inmates at one point were basically good people who made bad decisions, but that’s just my view.
I am white and remember watching this when it was on. I was a few yrs older than those kids and that show scared the shit out of everyone who watched it. There was nothing like that on TV and I know for a fact that it changed hundreds, if not thousands of peoples lives. Ali felt like nothing and said he would never be nothing BUT that dude litterally helped alot of people. HE DID DO SOMETHING WITH HIS LIFE. I never forget the dude with his eye out is all everyone said the next day after it aired
Being a muslims teaches you how to be kind to others, how to stop being a bad person, being muslim forbid killing any humans, being muslim makes you love each other, and being muslim teaches a person how to make good decision to avoid being in prison
wright on dude, I have been clean 13yrs, heroin in 1987 (ON MY OWN) . I get real no one goes on methadone. speed, coke, alcohol was the hardest, only cigs and weed.
Ali keep up the good work. By keeping kids off the street. I know that I don't know you but I know that if you see a kid taking the wrong side of the road I hope that you would help them or talked to them. God bless you. San Jose cailf
Scared Straight has the highest rate of recidivism out of any juvenile sanction, it makes sense at first to have pissed off inmate yell at juvenile offenders; however, multiple studies have shown scared straight has the opposite effect
The words of these inmates need to be respected because they have seen the highs & lows of life. Ali changed lives & it's because of this he may save even more..........
5m19s that Luigi guy actually murdered his girl neighbor a few years after the Scared Straight episode and didn't get caught until 2005. They found out when he got caught shoplifting and when they took his fingerprints or something, they found some DNA from the crime scene
The amazing part is when the kids, now grown up, see Ali again. Even twenty years later, even as grown adults, some of them still had a look of fear in their eyes when he came in.
That doesn't mean a thing. Being in a religion has nothing to do with how someone acts. It just has rules and morals. Nobody necessarily is obligated to do anything (Christians not going to church, jews not going to temple, etc.) What I'm saying is people make their own decisions overall and religion can't physically change that.
They're clapping because they got to see him again, and was excited. He was just saying what he said 20 years ago. If you watched all 10 parts, you would have noticed.
This is my prayer that president Obama will use his prerogative pardon power to set the Pioneers who who started this program in 1978 free if some are still in prison for life i am conviced that these men not only old by now but also given back to society what they took and it is clear the testimonies and the hope they have given to people who would have been dead or in jail by now my heart goes out to those dead you went to jail for a divine purpose before humans you were crinminal but God chose you for that path look today you made one of your boys a pastor glory be to God
Wow this is amazing, I remember watching this and then watching beyond scared straight when it reappeared and it was much less vulgar unless they had to dumb it down for tv lol, these dudes were terrifying and this Redemption story is very inspiring, I’ve loved the prison RU-vid scene lately with fresh out and some other channels that help keep people from making mistakes that will end them in prison
i have a question...wondering if any of the inmates in the program still living ...ever see your responses on here ...and why they havent responded ...just a thought
I'm going to school tomorrow.. I should have been sleeping right now, and imma have a hard time gettin' my ass out of bed tomorrow, but seeing all these 10 videos.. It was worth it. Thanke You "The Lifers".
I wish daddies would take the time to train their boys and girls. We single moms need help. A father in the home can help so much, of course, if he himself is not abusive. The children are suffering and are loosing their minds. What happened to families?? It's horrible:(
I have met people who were inside a Russian prison and they said that life was far worse for them. I saw the marks on their body and mind what the prison system has done to them and what they have done for themselves.
Its amazing how most of the convicts had major life sentences but only did between 20 to 30 years and im surprised only 1 died due to aids the way they were talking bout fucking dudes in the ass. This was very interesting and inspirational, I went through a program like this and it changed my life. I hope they all have better lives and God blesses and watches over them and I am so happy that I didn't get locked up and become a statistic and end up in jail thank God!!
If I had to go through something like Scared Straight I would have pissed my pants listening to the lifers. This is no joke watching this. To everybody you listen and you listen good.
Some young people need to be sent to prison to be saved.. like Ali. And to save some innocent people from getting hurt.. Some kids like to fight, bully and hurt other kids... they do nothing but cause pain to other kids... they belong in prison
knowing what I know now about Angelo it just makes me sick how he could sit up there and tell all the bold faced lies he did throughout this whole thing. Dunno..that's just hitting me for some odd reason.
I wonder (as of 2024) if Ali is still alive, and remains a free man who stayed out of trouble, after more than 25 years after this update of Scared Straight.