First Actions When Freed from the Cage:
1) Welcomed to the Free-world by Prison Minsters that I had worshiped with for years, a retired Prison Chaplain; a Faith-base Staff Member, retired Marine, and friend; and an ex-cell partner and close friend, and a friend of Mama's, and Mama herself.
2) Gave Thanks and Praise to God, and prayed for those still confined; many without support or anyone to pray for them...
November 19, 2014:Day of Release from the Walls Unit in Huntsville Texas
Discussion with a long time Prison Minister and Friend, concerning the GPS Tracking Monitor the founder wore for a year.
Founder
November 19, 2014:Day of Release from the Walls Unit in Huntsville Texas
The Founder was blessed beyond measure by the Prison Ministers, who faithfully brought the Love and Direction of God into the Darkness of the Land of Cage-Dwellers — Prisoners...
All were volunteers, unpaid, yet they continually prayed for him, year after year. They watched, supported, and rejoiced with him as the Lord moved mightily upon his heart and mind...
Romans 12:2 says: And be not conformed to the things of this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of the mind...
Only God can transform the mind, no one else. In the founder's case, God had to heal the brain, calm the rage, and cast out the fear...
A little over a year after a major car wreck that broke his skull into 4 large pieces and shoved them downward upon the brain (subjecting him to paralysis of the right side, seizures, blackouts, and major personality shifts), the founder committed the capital crime of murder during the course of a robbery.
He pled guilty to the lesser-included count in the indictment of murder (to avoid the possibility of the death sentence).
In exchange for his plea of guilt, he was granted a life sentence (though, at the time, he did not see that as the gift it was).
Before his release to the Super Intensive Supervision Program (SISP) parole on November 19, 2014, he served 35 years, 10 months, and 7 days, of continuous incarceration in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice System: Institutional Division.
John lived in the various cages of prison for 3½ decades (and rightly so). The first 15-20 years, John struggled with controlling his rage, developing his mind through educational programs, and with exhibiting the violence necessary to prove to the hardened, repeat, offenders – the habitual criminals – that this young man was better left alone...
For the last half of his 36-year span of incarceration, however, John studied the Holy Bible, in depth, and drew ever nearer to God.
God spoke the mission and the vision for this nonprofit organization during his morning prayers on the day John found out he had been granted parole... God told John that morning – after giving him the mission – that the decision to release him had already been made and implemented...
Please click the various links to read the pertinent parts, or simply read the Founder's Full Story & Vision page, if you want to know the founder completely. (Click the and download PDF here to print the story for reading at leisure.)
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Entered Prison at 18
Exited Prison at 54
Meet The Founder
At just 18 years old, the founder was convicted of murder in 1979 and sentenced to life in prison — a sentence that spared him from lethal injection. After spending 36 years behind bars, he was released in 2014 at the age of 54.
Delivered from both his past and the circumstances he once created, he now walks in a renewed purpose. God has transformed his life and sent him back into the world to bring hope, deliverance, and restoration to a forgotten people — the men, women, and youth of our inner cities.
The GNZ was born from this transformation and is dedicated to giving those whom society has cast aside a second chance at life, purpose, and community.
November 19, 2014: Day of Release from the Walls Unit in Huntsville Texas
November 19, 2014: Day of Release from the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas
After 35 years, 10 months, and 7 days of continuous incarceration within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice System, the founder walked out of the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas — a free man for the first time since the age of 18.
Upon release, he was greeted by prison ministers he had worshiped with for years, a retired prison chaplain, a faith-based staff member and retired Marine, an ex-cell partner and close friend, a family friend, and his mother. Surrounded by love and prayer, his first actions were to give thanks and praise to God, and to pray for those still confined — many of whom had no one else to pray for them.
As part of his parole conditions, he was required to wear a GPS tracking monitor for one year, a constant reminder of both his past and the grace that allowed his freedom.
Discussion with a long time Prison Minister and Friend and Mother, concerning the GPS Tracking Monitor the founder woud have to wear for a year.
The founder considers himself blessed beyond measure by the prison ministers who selflessly brought the love and direction of God into the darkness of the prison system. These volunteers — unpaid yet unwavering — prayed for him year after year, supporting and rejoicing as God worked powerfully in his heart and mind.
Romans 12:2 declares:
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Faith-based Prison Ministers, Chaplain, and founder's Mother, welcoming him to the freeworld.
Only God can truly transform the mind. In the founder’s case, God not only transformed his heart but also healed his mind — mending the wounds left by a devastating car accident that had fractured his skull in four places and caused paralysis, seizures, blackouts, and personality changes.
A little more than a year after that life-altering accident, he committed the capital crime of murder during the course of a robbery. To avoid the death penalty, he pled guilty to the lesser-included charge of murder and received a life sentence — a sentence that, though he did not realize it at the time, was a gift of grace rather than condemnation.
During the first 15 to 20 years of his imprisonment, he battled rage and violence, striving to survive among hardened repeat offenders. Yet, in the later years of his incarceration, everything changed. He began studying the Holy Bible in depth, devoting himself to prayer and drawing ever closer to God.
It was during one of those morning prayers — on the very day he learned he had been granted parole — that God revealed the mission and vision for what would become God’s Neutral Zone (GNZ). That same morning, God told him the decision for his release had already been made and set in motion.
The founder’s journey is a living testimony of redemption, transformation, and divine purpose. From darkness to deliverance, his life stands as proof that no one is beyond God’s reach, and that even the most broken stories can become instruments of hope and change.
To learn more, you may read the Founder’s Full Story & Vision, or download the complete account for reflection and inspiration.