- Georgia has over 350,000 people currently on probation or parole, with a 30% recidivism rate.
- "Restoring Honor" offers non-violent offenders a structured path to military service and mentorship.
- Watch the video to see how this initiative is getting started.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Carlos Hundley, a native of South Georgia, says his new initiative, Restoring Honor: Courts to Combat, does just that—turning criminal records into commitment, and probation into purpose.
"And then I heard a presentation recently by an individual who works for the Department of Education talk about the dwindling numbers, the shrinking numbers of the U.S. military. And I'm saying—with the Restoring Honor program, we can basically handle two factors on one."
The program offers non-violent offenders a path out of the system through military enlistment, mentorship, and structure—not as a sentence, but as a second chance.
And for Hundley, this work is personal.
"Being a native of Valdosta, born and raised in the Hudson Dockett housing projects and having overcome challenges, I just want to reach back and help somebody else."
And others in the community, like Valdosta City's School Board of Ed. Kelisa Brown, are ready to help him do just that.
"There are a lot of people in our community who are actually in need of a second chance—and unfortunately, those chances are limited for them. This program would be a good start to helping them back on the right track."
Supporters say the next step is simple: get the conversation moving.
"We'll start, you know, at first base—home base—and that is talking to your local elected officials, namely those in state government, but even local government."
And just how important is a program like this? According to the state Prison Policy Initiative, Georgia alone has over 350,000 people on probation or parole, with 30% rates of going back. In Valdosta, I'm Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.
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