'I wouldn't give up on him': Nonprofit works to keep inmates from reoffending

CLEVELAND, Texas (KTRK) -- A nonprofit group is working to keep Texan inmates from reoffending and ending up back in prison.

The Prison Entrepreneurship Program, also known as PEP, is a nonprofit mentoring program that supports inmates, starting with a grueling work-study in prison and continuing for years after release.

ABC13 spoke with Justin Jerman Hernandez, an inmate convicted of murder held at the Bell Unit in Cleveland, who is graduating from PEP.

His family was about to drive six hours to visit him for his graduation.

"They're like, 'Daddy, we're so excited, we can't sleep.' I said, 'I can't sleep, either.' 'I don't even know what to wear, Daddy.' I said, 'Well, I know what I'm going to wear,'" Hernandez laughed.

Johnny Castaneda, another inmate, is also graduating from the program.

"It's a battle when you're somebody you don't want to be. You go through so many things in life, and to finally see that you're actually transitioning," Castaneda said. "I'm not trying to be somebody anymore, I am that person, and it's beautiful."

"I care about him, and I wish he could do better, and he's doing better, "Johnny's father, Eugenio Castaneda, said.

"I'm just really proud of him for the progress he's making," added Johnny's daughter, Alexa Castaneda.

According to records, less than 10% of PEP graduates return to prison within three years, compared to the state's overall average of 20 percent.

"It's been very hard for me, the ups and downs," Marianne Castaneda, Johnny's mother, said. "But I wouldn't give up on him, I never will."

Families packed into a prison gym, waving signs of support. For many inmates, this is the first time walking across a stage, perhaps even the first time making their families proud.

Still, amid the cheers and smiles, there's still pain, sharp as the barbed wire barely visible from the ceiling.

"I kind of keep a piece of that pain in me to remind myself what kind of pain I caused myself, my family, and anybody who loves me in any kind of way," Johnny Castaneda said.

Seated next to his daughter: Johnny Castaneda's wife. He was convicted because he beat her up, he says, in a drunken, drug-fueled rage. He said this past year in prison is the longest he's been sober in nearly 20 years.

"I think we all just need to give each other grace and forgive," his wife, Valerie Ledesma, said.

Their futures won't be easy. Even if they are granted parole, they will likely have to live in halfway houses at first, meet with parole officers regularly, and will not be able to travel.

But this moment just might be enough to make even the most cynical hope.

"It's like for them to see an accomplishment, a milestone that I'm going to reach," Hernandez said. "It's so amazing."

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