Director's Cut--Violent Villain Turns Encouraging Hero

 Marcus is a funny guy who is fun to be around. He's a Marvel Comics nerd (his friend's fondly refer to him as "Spider Marcus") who can quote movies like nobody I've ever known before. He's also quiet, a great listener, and very courteous to others around him. He's a far cry from the person who killed someone else over a drug dispute nearly twenty years ago. 

Marcus was raised in a physically and emotionally abusive lower middle-class home as the youngest of six kids. His dad was an alcoholic, and both of his parents were apathetic about the dangers their children faced. Two of Marcus' brothers went to prison, and he figured he'd end up there too, or be killed first. Early on, Marcus learned that respect was earned through violence and money was earned through hustling. To avoid being seen as weak or being preyed upon by others, he copied the negative influences in his life. Tellingly, Marcus notes that he had nobody in his life to follow who emulated a positive influence. Although he reflects that he wasn't satisfied with his life and wanted to be a better person, he says he had nothing better to which he could compare his life. 

At twenty years old, Marcus was sentenced to parolable life in prison for killing a fellow drug dealer. At such a young age, Marcus was shaken by his actions, and he says that sitting in jail reflecting on what he'd done, he knew something had to change in his life. That change, though, didn't occur for a few more years when another prisoner led Marcus to become a Christian. That was when he finally had a way to renew his mind in a different way. He gave up drinking and smoking weed (yes, it's illegal but possible in prison), fighting, and cussing, and he learned to be vulnerable with others. He says he wishes he would have had the confidence to be himseslf when he was younger. He would tell his younger self to be a leader, not a follower, and to be mindful of other people's feelings. 

Today, Marcus is not the self-centered out-of-control person he used to be. He says his faith guides him to be empathetic and loving towards others and to trust people more. He also feels far more comfortable just being himself. It's obvious that his openness to others makes people relax being around him. He also says that he's learned to be more of a critical thinker, a skill he uses regularly as he works to earn his bachelor's degree in the Calvin Prison Initiative. Marcus is shocked that he's in college because he never thought he'd be a college student, but he's more shocked (and proud) that he did well in his oral rhetoric class, since he's terrified of public speaking. He's come a long way since proudly earning his GED shortly after coming to prison. 

For Marcus, it is important to honor his victim's memory by learning the difficult lessons his crime taught him. He says he has an obligation to be a better man, to live a life of repentance, and to strive to help others avoid the same choices he made. Television and movies do not tell an honest story about prisoners, so Marcus, who dreams of being a film director, wants to change that image. He wants to shatter the Hollywood norm and make films that have good messages, not films that glorify the worst parts of people and prison. "There are good people in prison," Marcus says. "Some guys are here because they made a terrible mistake, but they are learning from those mistakes and becoming better people." Using his love of films, Marcus aims to use his own prison experience to tell the compelling stories of those the world prefers to demonize. 

Someday, Marcus hopes to be able to care for his aging parents, the same ones who gave him such a rough start in life. Longing to be forgiven for his crimes, he's learned to forgive his parents, too. Since he's been in prison, his parents also became Christians, and he says their lives have changed dramatically. He has a great relationship with them now, and they have stayed involved in his life. Marcus hopes he can leave a positive legacy in life. He'd like to be remembered as someone who makes a positive impact in others' lives, not as the sum of the worst choice he ever made.