From Staff Reports
During the latest Moral Recantation Therapy (MRT) graduation ceremony Bedford County Sheriff Austin Swing was surprised with a special tribute.
The ceremony for female inmates was held Saturday, March 1, at the United Pentecostal Church on Green Lane. Lt. Chris Cook of Bedford County Jail presented the tribute to Swing.
Bedford County Jail offers the MRT program, a nationally-recognized curriculum that helps teach inmates better decision-making skills and self-awareness, in hopes of preventing repeat offenses.
The local program, headed up by Cook under the supervision of Jail Administrator Ronnie Prince, was recently featured in a video series by a national expert on addiction as a positive example of a life-changing program.
Female and male inmates have separate MRT therapy sessions and activities and have separate graduation ceremonies.
During Saturday’s graduation, Cook altered the normal schedule by honoring the sheriff for his support of the program. Cook asked both the current class of graduates and prior graduates in attendance to come forward. In both cases, some of the graduates were still serving out their sentences while others have since been released from jail.
The jail has begun printing an internal newsletter, written by the inmates, and the first issue of the newsletter included an interview of the sheriff in which one of the questions had to do with what he would like his legacy to be. Cook noted the MRT graduates, and the collective impact they will have.
Several of the graduates are now working in recovery programs since their release from jail, and when Cook asked for a show of hands, several others indicated that they would like to work with or for such programs.
“That is an amazing legacy,” Cook said.
During the ceremony as a whole, several current and former graduates spoke about how MRT helped them break a cycle of repeat offenses and self-destructive decision-making.
Inmates who participate in MRT therapy sessions are eligible to also participate in various enrichment activities, some led by community volunteers, many of whom were in attendance at the graduation ceremony.
Female MRT inmates have a garden, while — starting this year — male MRT inmates will have the opportunity to start a nursery and learn arboriculture.
