Amy Barch Shakiem Maxwell will tell you straight — he was headed down the wrong road, doing all the wrong things. At 22, he already had a rap sheet that included attempted armed robbery, forgery and drug crimes. He was doing time in the Charleston County jail when Amy Barch found him. Today, Maxwell is enrolled in … Read more
Sean Kittrell has been a federal prosecutor for more than two decades. He packs a gun in Charleston, South Carolina, where he’s known as a “traditional, old-school, tough-as-nails violent crime and drug prosecutor,” according to Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, a top Justice Department official in Washington. “I have spent a lifetime putting people in … Read more
The Justice Department’s second-highest-ranking official Thursday said that the federal prison’s most successful education and reentry program has “dramatically” shrunk in recent years, leaving more than 10,000 inmates on a waiting list for prison jobs and educational training. On the eve of the early release of thousands of federal inmates back to their homes, Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian … Read more
Selling drugs was just a way of life for Kelvin Dayse. Growing up in the Gadsden Green housing project in downtown Charleston, Dayse said he was taught to think with a pack mentality and to do whatever was needed to make money. He said he was charged with tax evasion and money laundering from his … Read more
Amy Barch doesn’t just take chances, she gives them. In 2011, Barch founded The Turning Leaf Project, a volunteer-led initiative focused on educating criminal offenders and preparing them for successful re-entry. After years of success inside the walls of the Al Cannon Detention Center, The Turning Leaf project has now evolved to include a new … Read more