Ex-Prisoner Becomes Mayor After Faith Program Breaks Cycle

A man who spent his teenage years behind bars just celebrated his second term as mayor of Leavenworth, Kansas, and he says a faith-based prison program made all the difference.

Jermaine Wilson was only 15 when he first went to prison for robbery. Growing up in a home marked by addiction and incarceration, he followed the path he knew best, landing back in prison at 19 for drug dealing.

Sitting alone in his maximum-security cell with an 8-month-old son at home, Wilson saw his future clearly. His father had been to prison, his brother was in prison, and his sister was in jail. He knew his son would likely follow the same path unless something changed.

"I cried out to God and said, 'God, I need help,'" Wilson told Fox News Digital.

He soon enrolled in Prison Fellowship Academy, a yearlong Christian program founded by former Watergate figure Chuck Colson. Through the program, Wilson learned accountability, responsibility, and integrity while building relationships with other men trying to change their lives.

A few months in, he gave his life to Christ. Wilson says that's when the real transformation began, not just in his mind but in his heart.

The program also helped Wilson reconnect with his family through Angel Tree, a ministry that lets incarcerated parents send Christmas gifts to their children through local churches. His son received a gift and handwritten note during Wilson's first Christmas in prison, restoring communication with his then-girlfriend Jessica and their son.

Jessica later became a Christian after seeing the changes in Wilson's life. The couple married after his release, and Wilson became an ordained pastor and community leader before being elected mayor twice.

The Ripple Effect

Wilson's success story just became part of something bigger. Prison Fellowship recently became the first nonprofit to receive an evidence-based designation from the Federal Bureau of Prisons for reducing recidivism.

A Texas study found inmates who completed Prison Fellowship Academy had a recidivism rate of less than 6%. Graduates were more than 50% less likely to return to prison than similar inmates who didn't complete the program.

The designation comes from the First Step Act, bipartisan legislation signed during President Trump's first term that expanded rehabilitation programs in federal prisons. It allows the ministry to expand programming and lets eligible inmates who complete the program earn time credits for earlier transition to community supervision.

Prison Fellowship now serves as the nation's largest Christian nonprofit helping currently and formerly incarcerated people. The organization plans to open a new academy in a federal prison in El Reno, Oklahoma, next month.

Wilson now serves as a mission ambassador for Prison Fellowship, sharing his story as the organization marks its 50th anniversary of breaking cycles and restoring families.