Podcast explores father and daughter's experiences with the prison system and reentry

A father and daughter duo released the first episode of a podcast drawing on their experiences from his time in prison and afterward.

Story Producer Sherma "Nonie" McKinney said she wanted this to be her father's opportunity to tell his story and share what they both have learned from the experience to potentially help others. The podcast, “Family Fortune,” will cover topics like family, reentry, entrepreneurship and mental health.

McKinney's father, Sherman Singleton, 54, spent 32 years in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder in 1991. Second-degree murder carries a life sentence, but New Orleans Judge Robin Pittman ended Singleton’s sentence after being presented evidence that his conviction was based on a lie by former New Orleans police officer Len Davis.

McKinney said when her father was convicted, she was always promised he would come home for Christmas, so the holiday has a special significance for her. He was released, December 15, 2022, and the podcast released its first of seven episodes Tuesday, Dec. 26 on Youtube.

The episode can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ_ig_xHcu4. Each episode will be 30 to 45 minutes and will release on Mondays.

"We feel as though now is his time to share his story," McKinney said. "I just feel like everything he's doing is a great example and really a beacon of hope to all of the other families that are fighting for a loved one's freedom or fighting with their loved one on the outside to just kind of make their way or carve out a new path in this world."

Reentry work

Singleton has been out for a year now and works with the New Orleans District Attorney's Office as a Reentry Services Coordinator to help others with their reentry into society after leaving jail.

The podcast will share advice for reentry into society, an experience Singleton not only had, but now helps others to succeed at. He has helped 16 others reenter, none of whom have gone back to jail to date and who are all gainfully employed.

He said there's an initial adjustment a former prisoner's mind has to overcome when they are released. Time and the world have moved on.

"Everybody you know is either dead, like your mom, your dad, and everybody you were really lookin' forward to gettin' out and seeing. Your kids, you know, they have their own life, and it's two or three generations later, because that's how much time you been done spent," he said. "At first it's paranoia more than anything, and then there's always those questions in your mind that you planned… is everything going to fall into place?"

Prior to his 1991 conviction, Singleton made money selling drugs. He had a successful hustle then, and when he was released, he left that chapter behind. Those reentering have to overcome the temptation to return to the familiar, he said.

"The mental aspect is you have to be strong comin' out. You think you have to be strong in there, you have to really, really, be strong when you reenter society," he said. "Because it's almost as if people expect you to fail… some want you to get back into the drug life or whatever you left doing."

Singleton explained that those who face a violent crime involving the death of another have to start somewhere new. When someone has died, his or her family and friends will never forget, Singleton said. The person reentering is unlikely to succeed if he or she must always look over their shoulder.

Family

The experience of a loved one spending time in jail affects more than the imprisoned, it impacts the family, McKinney said. Growing up with her father in prison, McKinney said she didn't understand what she was missing out on, for her it was normal. She likened the experience to a mother and father being divorced and living in two separate households.

"It wasn't just him behind the bars, it's not just the inmate who does the prison system. It affects the families so much," McKinney said.

McKinney said families get dressed up to visit their loved ones, similar to going to church. When she would visit her father they would sit in a cafeteria area, or in the prison's park. The park had a barbeque and basketball courts, and visitations lasted two hours. McKinney even spoke highly of the food, saying it rivals the best that can be found in New Orleans.

Now at 35, and having her father on the outside, she can see what was lost. Nothing can replace the immediacy of a father in one's life, she said.

"My father tried his hardest to be a prison father… we always sent letters, we always visited, we always had phone conversations but what I didn't know was missing was his presence in those times where I needed him immediately," she said. "Now I can just pick up the phone and call him… which is always something I longed for. Now I don't have to schedule anything, I can just go to his house and see him for a few days."

Singleton said that having a daughter who wanted him in her life inspired hope and kept him going day-after-day. He said he allows her to set the pace of how much she wants him in her life, but he still occasionally gives too much advice. A mistake he said with a laugh that his daughter promptly lets him know.

"The parent job is never done," Singleton said.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Podcast shares family's experience with prison system and reentry