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Former prisoner in solitary confinement, David Hudgens, left, teaches Bible study on Sundays.

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A Spiritual Beacon Shines after Prison

At Rising Hope, two ex-offenders embark on new life journeys.

His first day locked in solitary confinement, David Hudgens, 48, serving two-and-a-half years for four nonviolent felonies, discovered a Bible under his mattress. Confused, raging, he hurled it against the wall. It fell to the floor of the narrow, cramped cell. Three days later, his fury ebbing, with no one to talk to, nothing else to read, he picked it up. Looking back, he recalls his motivation, “I’m going to read this like a John Grisham novel just to pass the time … but God had a whole different purpose.”

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