After a tornado destroyed their village and left a mother and her three children stuck in their Oklahoma home for almost a week, a group of prisoners rescued them.
After the May 20 storm left the isolated road leading to the family’s rural Pittsburg property covered in fallen trees and debris, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections reports that the unexpected heroes of Mack Alford Correctional Center in Atoka jumped into action Tuesday.
With chainsaws and heavy equipment in hand, the ten-person crew, dressed in prison-orange jumpsuits, cleaned the impassable road in eight hours, a process that local officials estimate would have taken days.
“They just cleared a path to a house, and the lady hasn’t been out since last Monday,” Warden Margaret Green stated.
“I just feel like it was giving back to the community. The inmates felt the same way. It’s an army of orange. This one little section we’ve been watching – I’m really proud.”
Green claimed that after Pittsburg County officials posted a frantic call for assistance on social media, as local teams were overburdened by the extensive cleanup efforts, the minimum-security offenders offered without hesitation.
According to officials, only inmates who fulfill certain behavioral and security requirements are permitted to take part in the prison’s community service initiatives. They must also be constantly watched when they are in public.
“I think they are a great help to us,” JB Sharp, a Pittsburg County road foreman stated.
Read Also: Burger King Grad Who Worked Shift After Ceremony Receives $22K in Donations
“We are highly appreciative for them to come help us.”
In addition to supporting community recovery and public infrastructure, the program gives inmates significant opportunities to rehabilitate their lives and give back, according to prison authorities.
Working with the community has allowed inmate Brandon Boring, who is on the prison’s cleanup team, to make amends for his previous transgressions.
According to jail records, Boring, 47, is a recidivist serving a 20-year term for armed robbery. He stated, “All a man needs to do is atone, and they’ve given us a chance to do that.”
“If you let a man atone, we can actually go back and be great members of society. If it gives back to the community, man, I love it.”
