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| Prisoners contribute to musical CD for children |
| By The Akron Beacon Journal |
| Published: 07/13/2006 |
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AKRON, OHIO - Talk about a breakout musical performance. A new state-sponsored children's album recorded by prison inmates features songs and poems by murderers, robbers and kidnappers - and even musical consultation by a child rapist. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has touted last month's release of Wings of Hope as a family-themed compact disc that includes parenting tips, songs such as Old McDonald and This Old Man, and music composed by prisoners. But the disc - which is not available for public purchase - also credits music on two songs to inmate Raymond D. Towler, who was convicted in 1981 in Cuyahoga County of kidnapping two children and raping a girl under the age of 13. The state prison system selected the inmates for the project, and no one convicted of a sex offense or crime against children was supposed to be involved. Prison spokeswoman JoEllen Lyons said Tuesday that Towler served as a technical adviser and musical consultant for other inmates. So his role did not violate the criteria because he did not sing or perform, she said. But Bonnie Hedrick, director of the Ohio Resource Network for Safe and Drug Free Schools & Communities, said she regrets that the inmate was involved at all because it casts a negative shadow on a positive initiative. The Ohio Resource Network, a state funded agency in Cincinnati, paid about $5,000 to produce 15,000 of the compact discs for free distribution. The Ohio Resource Network and prison system had planned to hand out the discs to families of inmates, prison-related groups, children social services, public libraries and other community organizations. But now they will be limited to those with prison affiliations. The album was the brainchild of Ohio first lady Hope Taft, who was not available for comment. The original idea was to have the inmates perform lullabies for newborns, but the music - which includes several religious songs and some with hip-hop flavor - is geared more toward preschoolers. The inmates volunteered for the project and were not paid. The songs and poems were recorded last year at the Richland, Grafton, Trumbull, Franklin Pre-release and Warren prisons and the Ohio Reformatory for Women. The Ohio Resource Network recorded the parenting tips. The CD was an effective way for the Ohio Resource Network to deliver those tips to people at high risk for alcohol and drug problems, Hedrick said. It also provided an opportunity for some talented inmates to do community service, she said. The state-backed children's album is an unusual effort - if not a first - for a state prison system, according to the American Correctional Association in Alexandria, Va., and American Jail Association in Hagerstown, Md. ACA President Gwendolyn Chunn praised the Ohio prison system for progressive programs and applauded the album as an innovative way to help inmates and, at the same time, connect with high-risk families. |
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