When he was finally released from prison, he was a prisoner in his own body

When someone tells you they robbed 17 banks during their prime years… What’s your first thought? I guess mine was – Did you make a lot of money? My second thought… Sure, you can hop in my truck!

My friend Jerry and I were in Nashville when we met 64 year old Frank Webster. He talked about how he once robbed banks for a living while living in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Of course, he only had to get caught once for him to receive a pay cut. Needless to say, getting caught also equals out of work.

Mr. Webster was all smiles and laughs. Hard to believe you could even smile after being in prison for so long and when you finally get released – you are literally an inmate trapped inside your own body.

Mr. Webster was known as inmate 00092428 when he spent the late 1980’s into the 2000’s locked up in West Tennessee. In 2014, he had a stroke while in prison.

After the stroke, Mr. Webster was transferred to the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville. The specialized prison is for those with medical conditions, such as the aftermath of a stroke.

On December 29, 2017, just one day after his 64th birthday, he was released from prison. Finally, he was a free man. This would equal a wakeup call to a brand new world.

Nowhere to go he found himself on the streets of Nashville.

The right side of his body is about 75% paralyzed, so he scoots around on a wheelchair that was given to him. “I don’t have a doctor and I need help with stroke rehab,” he said with a thick mumble due to the stroke affecting his speech.

At night, Webster sleeps at the Nashville Rescue Mission. During the day, he watches cars go by while sitting quietly in his chair.

He pointed down the street suggesting there was a nonprofit he wanted to visit to get advice on where to go for help. It was obvious he could not make it in the wheelchair to 4th Avenue in downtown Nashville. So with a lift into the truck, thanks to Jerry Craddock, we headed towards his destination.

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. ”

— Helen Keller

Crime in Memphis, TN

61 Years old and on the streets of Memphis, Tennessee… one of the most dangerous cities in the United States. She stands just a hair over 4 feet tall, skin and bones.

The violent crime scale in Memphis rings in at 93 on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the highest. Violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The U.S. average is only at 31.1

FBI Crime Data shows that Memphis was rated as being the highest crime ridden city in America, according to their 2016 statistics.

“No amount of law enforcement can solve a problem that goes back to the family.” - J. Edgar Hoover

Children, a camera and a little protest

I sat down on the hot concrete with my camera and was instantly surrounded by about 15 kids. I was in the city of Caobal in the Dominican. 

As I snapped photos of the children hovering around me, each one wanted to see what the photo looked like after I took it. I don't think any of them had ever seen a regular camera before. Sure, they have all seen cell phone cameras, but a real camera, no. 

While we were behind the concrete walled and razor topped confinements of the elementary school, there was fear of a protest taking place outside the building. Evidently, one had occurred the night before that included the burning of debris in the streets that acted as a road block of sorts. The problem... a lack of electricity for about five days. Residents feared that the government had shut down the electrical grid to their communities over political arguments. 

While there was not a protest going on when we left, there was one later in the day. It was said that when National Police arrived to disperse the crowd, they fired they guns into the air. No one was hurt. 

The National Police force in the Dominican is the largest police force in the Dominican Republic under the control of the Ministry of Interior and Police. When the U.S Occupied the Dominican from 1916 to 1924, the United States Military helped to create the Dominican Constabulary Guard (DCG), which acted as national police. It later became the Dominican National Police.

A group known as "InSight Crime" reported in March of this year, "A top-level prosecutor in the Dominican Republic said the military and police are involved in 90 percent of organized crime cases, putting a hard number to official involvement in criminal activity after years of high-level corruption scandals."

InSight Crime is a foundation dedicated to the study of the principal threat to national and citizen security in Latin America and the Caribbean: organized crime.