John & Autumn Woodland – Family Reunification (Life After A Second Chance Series #5)

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In Episode 6, the finale of the Life After a Second Chance series “John & Autumn Woodland – Family Reunification” you’ll learn about the relationship between John Woodland and his daughter Autumn.

John was on the inside for over 37 years, and that time left Autumn and her siblings without the physical presence of their father. However, that didn’t stop John from helping raise Autumn with her mother even though he could not be there in the way they both wanted. The way Autumn puts it during her childhood, her father being locked away nearly made her feel like she locked herself away – as if part of her was missing. Autumn shared that the best day of her life was when John finally came home, and he’s been more active in all of his kids’ lives since being out – making the most of his second chance. In this final episode of the series, family, opportunity and joy are the cornerstone, and wrap up the heartfelt journey of what it means to have a loved one finally home.

Learn more:

Maryland Parole Partnership

Video by Nehemiah Bester. Portrait photos by Nicole McCann and other photos provided by the Woodlands.

TRANSCRIPT

00:00 – 00:07
Nehemiah Bester
Who is John Woodland?

00:08 – 00:25
John Woodland
John Woodland first is a father. I was, incarcerated for 37 and a half years. The court released me in June of 2021.

00:25 – 00:35
Autumn Woodland
I'm Autumn Woodland. John Woodland is my father. When my father came home, it was honestly the greatest day of my life.

00:35 – 00:48
Autumn Woodland
So it's, gosh, I just I can only think about how his presence, has just made such a major difference in my life experience compared to how I was growing up when he was away.

00:50 – 00:53
Nehemiah Bester
What does a day to day look like for you since you've been on the outside?

00:53 – 00:01:06
John Woodland
Oh, wow. Well, it usually starts off with me making prayer, but, I think the main thing for me in my day is trying to communicate with my children. Right? And make sure that they are okay.

01:06 – 01:17
John Woodland
And, you know, for me, they have been a blessing. When I was incarcerated, Autumn was working with the ACLU with Sonia Kumar and them and with the family reunification thing.

01:17 – 01:29
John Woodland
And when Sonia, I would talk to her constantly about, you know, what they were doing, and Sonia would come into the prison, into The Lifers Program. And I was a part of The Lifers Program.

01:29 – 01:32
Nehemiah Bester
How did it feel knowing your father was on the inside?

01:33 – 01:51
Autumn Woodland
The majority of my peers were, the children of people who came from a lot of privilege and influence. Two parent households. You know, I'd always see them with their fathers and see my family members with their fathers.

01:51 – 02:07
Autumn Woodland
And it hurt. It hurt a lot because, I love my dad. I always have, you know, any opportunity I could talk to him or spend time with him growing up. It just. It meant the world to me. I, I might have even locked myself away.

02:11 – 02:37
Autumn Woodland
He was so active. He was always a part of my life. When I talk about the regular phone calls once a week. Sometimes more. I would talk to him, and my dad helped my mother raise me through phone calls, letters and visits, and he played such a major role in my life growing up.

02:37 – 02:42
Autumn Woodland
And I think that's what made things more challenging for me when I was a child.

02:45 – 02:57
John Woodland
I think it's important that they pass that Second Chance, legislation because it provides a guy inside with hope.

02:59 – 03:10
John Woodland
And I think that what the legislators should understand that it’s a lot of productivity coming from the Second Chance program. And guys coming home as returning citizens.

03:10 – 03:30
Autumn Woodland
I mean it just it makes sense if it's a second look, a second chance, that's what it means. And looking at a person and looking at all of their accomplishments and things that they've done that were productive while they were in prison, and seeing that the community will be a better place when this person comes home.

03:30 – 03:39
Autumn Woodland
Because there's a ripple effect. When a loved one comes home what do you feel? Joy. And when people have joy, they have hope.

03:39 – 3:47
Autumn Woodland
And when you have hope, you want to do positive things. You want to be more optimistic. And from my perspective, it can only go up from there.