The Great Prison Debaters Win
Dec. 14—Few people get a second chance to make changes in their lives and very few are hired to return to their former prison to teach fellow inmates. The story of Craig Caudill is an unlikely one that began initially in Oakland, Calif., where he was born in 1969.
The family moved to Mobile, Ala., and later to Edmond, Okla., where Caudill graduated from high school and joined the Army. Caudill reported to combat duty during Desert Shield and Desert Storm with a discharge in 1993, after serving four years.
Caudill married his high school girlfriend and two children were born to this union.
"I was so messed up after my discharge, I was fearful of how I could possibly treat my family so I left," said Caudill. "We divorced and I have not had contact with them. My PTSD was severe and my childhood traumas provided a smooth landing for it. The substance abuse became the solution to ease the battle in my brain."
Caudill landed in Houston, where he worked as a DJ and states he did very well while still battling PTSD, which was masked with heavy drugs and alcohol. He was subsequently fired and became homeless but needed to feed his drug habit.
"I began robbing stores to get money to buy drugs and was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery because the clerk believed I had a gun," said Caudill.
Caudill was sentenced to 15 years in Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in 1999 and was paroled in 2007. He re-offended 30 days after his release and was returned to prison with a 25-year prison sentence.
"Doing drugs was all that I knew how to do. I had married a friend my last year in prison but within 90 days of my first parole release, I was back in prison," said Caudill.
How do you manage PTSD in prison?
"Sometimes you don't," said Caudill. "And you piss off the wrong people and pay the consequences."
Caudill was committed to do things different this time around. He reportedly took every class or program offered in the prison and secured a CDL. He was initially housed at the Ferguson Unit and was later transferred to the Walls Unit.
One of the programs he raised his hand for was Lee College Huntsville Center debate team.
Adam Key, a Texas A & M doctoral student at the time and full time speech instructor, started recruiting students for the inmate debate team.
In October 2016, a team of 12 prisoners practiced for a year before they faced off against college students from Texas A & M.
Caudill was one of the leads for the prison (Lee College) team, whose argument was 'presidential candidate Donald Trump achilles heel was his lack of foreign policy knowledge.'
The A & M team argued that Trump's weakness was his temperament. Each team was given the same research material and 30 minutes to study before their presentation. The judges consisted of a professional wrestler, a local pastor, retired warden, former Texas legislator, and volunteer chaplain.
The judges voted Lee College winners 3-2.
"The success of the debate team had a great impact on my life," Caudill said. "We also won against Wiley College."
Caudill was paroled in August 2021 to the home of his sister, who had recently moved to Texas, after seeing Caudill's debate on the internet.
They exchanged letters and she testified at his parole hearing. They have recently purchased a home together north of Austin.
Caudill volunteers around the state to speak to inmates, institutional parole officers and conferences about his journey and how far he has come.
"I had to attend nine months of post release treatment in addition to the treatment programs I attended incarcerated."
"I go my CDL in TDC and started driving trucks for a beverage company, after my parole. I realized I was too old to unload trucks, so I bought a truck and started a company. I now have five trucks and 15 owner operators under my company. I started a service and supply company and I am doing very well," Caudill said. "Several of the drivers were in prison with me and their Parole Officer is aware of this employment. My biggest accomplishment is that Lee College has ask to me to come work for them and coach the debate team. The team was disbanded due to COVID but we are in the process of selecting a new team. I was cleared by the prison administration to enter the Walls Unit, to come once a week to teach."
"I believe everybody in prison has the capacity to live a happy life if they fill themselves with joy. I started building trust with the prison administration 10 years before my release. Some of these individuals have been promoted over the years and observed my positive growth. I don't want the individuals (Lee College VP, Dean-Donna Zuniga and Warden Kelly Strong) who put their trust in me, to be disappointed. We hope to have the first debate in September 2024."
Craig Caudill is on parole until 2035.
