A ONE-HOUR, AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY ABOUT EX-CONS RETURNING TO SOCIETY, NARRATED BY TIM ROBBINS

In a large meeting room in New Orleans, a group of men and women sit in a circle, sharing stories of painful pasts and their dreams of a future that is, at best, a question mark. The faces register a moving range of depth and emotion, from tears to laughter, anguish to hope. They are the faces of society’s castaways – men and women who were formerly incarcerated – who are trying to rebuild their lives and succeeding through a simple but staggeringly effective community/self-esteem building resource program called Project Return.

Scenes like this abound in Road to Return, filmmaker Leslie Neale and The Doors drummer John Densmore’s powerful, compassionate documentary exploring the serious flaws in America’s prison system and the crying need for “aftercare” programs like Project Return. The film addresses the complex, unique needs of prisoners returning to society and trying desperately, often heroically, to go straight in a world that only seems to put up obstacles at every turn.

Narrated by actor/director Tim Robbins (Dead Man Walking, The Shawshank Redemption) and featuring music by Densmore and composer Camara Kambon, Road to Return gives us a sobering – and at the same time uplifting – view of life as seen through the eyes of a number of men and women who have become caught in the vicious circle of poverty, crime, incarceration, release, return to crime, and return to prison. “It took me about five seconds to discover that there was a direct greased rail between being poor in Louisiana and going to prison and on to death row, “ observes Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking and 1998 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, in the film. “And the whole thing of ‘getting tough on crime’ – this is a symbol politicians use on people. It’s a sound bite. We’re actually not being tough on crime at all. There’s not a wholehearted bringing out of resources to deal with young people who have been in trouble. They go through the turnstile again and again, and then they do a horrific crime, and then we put ‘em into the adult prisons.”

Founded in 1992, Project Return is run by an unlikely partnership: Dr. Bob Roberts, a white professor at Tulane University, and Nelson Marks, a black, rehabilitated bank robber. “I was addicted in robbery,” Marks, who spent 12 years behind bars, candidly admits. “I was addicted to carrying a gun; it was a high.” Today, Marks helps others like the man he once was to find meaning, purpose, and dignity in life. As the camera captures the dismal life of inmates in Louisiana’s Angola State Penitentiary, Marks makes the telling comment, “We want punishment. We don’t want people to be rehabilitated. If you just take a person and abuse him year after year, abuse and disrespect him, and then turn him loose and expect something good to come out of it, it’s not going to happen.”

By contrast, Project Return gives participants a sense of self-respect and importance. “What makes Project Return unique among other programs throughout the country is community building, a group process model that was authored by psychologist Dr. M. Scott Peck (author of The Road Less Traveled),” says Roberts. “People need to have other people listen to their pain – the pain of an abusive childhood, of being abused in prison. Once they’ve been heard, then they can get down to thinking and problem solving. It’s what could happen in prison. Prison could create that kind of an environment. But it doesn’t.”

In one community building session, John Densmore leads Project Return participants in a spirited drumming session. “You can teach a couple beats and in 20 minutes everyone can feel the ensemble, the oneness that musicians feel,” explains Densmore. “And it’s perfect for bonding a group of people and getting down to sharing deep feelings and their stories.

Road to Return is a compelling argument for changing society’s focus from retribution to rehabilitation. One of the saddest and most frightening aspects of our criminal justice system is its failure to prevent repeat offenses. Road to Return hits home with the sobering quote from the 1996 Report of the National Criminal Justice Commission: “The criminal justice system creates more crime that it prevents through violence, isolation, lack of education and rape in prison.” The film profiles crime victims as well as criminals: a mother who lost two sons to street violence – and still does not condone the death penalty – and a photographer whose teenage son was murdered by a formerly incarcerated man who had been in and out of prison repeatedly for petty thievery.

The message is clear: the price we as a society pay in refusing to educate and rehabilitate offenders is far too higher, in terms of both lives and money. The cost of rearrest, arraignment, detainment, and sentencing is $100,000 – but the national recidivism rate is still a devastating 88%. By contrast, the cost of Project Return’s 90-day program is only $4,000, and only 5.3% of its graduates return to prison. As Road to Return eloquently illustrates, the road to return is not an easy one. While funding for aftercare and rehabilitation programs is woefully inadequate, billions are being spent on the construction of new prisons. “All across America, prisons are our fastest growing industry,” narrator Tim Robbins informs us. “Prison management companies have gone public. And for the first time in history, prisons are listed on the stock exchange. Warehousing criminals has become big business. But has this made us – and our children – any safer?”

Yet, as depressing as these statistics are, Road to Return is ultimately a message of hope and inspiration. The commitment and dedication of people like Dr. Bob Roberts, Nelson Marks, and the numerous formerly incarcerated individuals who are determined to lead productive lives provide the best evidence for the argument that when given half a chance, people can and do change. And when they do, all of us are the better for it