Mar 18, 2022
James Payne finds a home at Redemption Place
Two weeks ago OurJourney helped James Payne, a prisoner at Sanford Correctional Institution in Lee County, find a place to call home just months before his expected release. James was grateful and began counting down the days until he could beigin his new life at Redemption Place, a nonprofit Christian ministry in Rocky Mount, NC, that offers residency and other assistance to men getting out of prison in the state.
So imagine his surprise when two days ago, March 16, James gets called to the sergeant's office at Sanford and told to pack his bags, he's being released!
Chris Hall, the Director of Redemption Place (pictured above, right, with James), had to scramble to make the 90 minute trip, while back at Redemption Place his new roommates hurried to make preparations for their new brother.
The ride from prison to freedom was "surreal," James said in a phone conversation with OurJourney Executive Director Brian Scott. "It hasn't hit me yet. It all happened so fast.”
So what did happen? Why did James's release date jump forward by several weeks? James said he knew all along that he was supposed to get out in March, but a mix up with the NCDPS delayed his release. It was frustrating, but James is so grateful that OurJourney and Redemption Place helped him overcome this first hurdle to freedom.