CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Inside the Mecklenburg County Detention Center, a new music studio is giving inmates a way to express themselves while serving time. The state-of-the-art facility is part of a new program at the detention center. Program coordinator Dorian Johnson says, “Our studio is Studio Why. It’s the who, what, when, where, why and how of you.”
The program is called “Rhythm & Reflection: A journey to reformation.” Johnson says the goal is to encourage to inmates to explore their past, confront guilt and trauma and develop the self-awareness and emotional tools necessary for reintegration and renewal. Johnson says, “Our belief is that if you rehabilitate a person, help them understand what brought them into conflict with the law, that we will have increased public safety.”
Two inmates gave us a behind the scenes look at the studio. Marquel Pettiford has been in jail since December. Police charged him with murder after they say he shot and killed a parking enforcement worker at the Townes Apartments in east Charlotte. His fellow inmate, Adriel Hines, has been behind bars for a year. Hines’ charges include second-degree kidnapping and first degree burglary. The men say the program is a way to make sure people don’t end up in the same situation. Hines says, “A lot of music, they’re negative, so we can make it more positive. It not only influence us as as residents, but people who are outside of these walls.”…