Story Created:
Sep 25, 2012 at 6:08 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Sep 25, 2012
A group of inmates at the Webb County jail say they will do anything to stay out of trouble and never be in a jail cell again.
Our Annette Garcia spoke to an inmate who chose to take a class that will give him a chance for a better life when he gets out.
Adrian Bailey isn't the average student.
He's behind bars sentenced to five years.
He'll be eligible for parole soon and says he's ready for the world out there... thanks to an opportunity given to him in here as a GED student.
He says right now every job requires a high school degree or GED and he may at least use his time for something good while he's here.
“No other detention center has a GED program”
The Webb County Jail is the only detention center in south Texas to still have a GED program like this one.
The sheriff's office and the Laredo Community College helping inmates get ahead.
Mr. Morales has been teaching inmates for 15 years.
“We want to prepare our inmates to be better citizens when they leave the jail.”
“The goal is to open some doors for these inmates and make sure they never have to come in here again.”
“For them to have a career once they get out.”
“We want to teach them as much as we can so they don’t have to come back and see me here.”
Bailey says he knows there will be people who say he doesn’t deserve this chance. But he says they're wrong. he can still do something good, even though he's made mistakes in the past. he's human like everyone else.
He plans to go to college as soon as he gets out and become a veterinarian.
“Never give up. never give up. It doesn’t matter the obstacles. The barriers you can do it you can make it and we've seen it.”
Five out of every ten students who take part in the class graduate with their GED's.
The program is funded with the help of Laredo Community College and the TEA.
