The prisoners in Virginia Richmond City Jail are men who made some bad choices, but on one special day they are given the opportunity to choose to be better fathers.
"I am definitely failing as a parent right now, just by being out of her life," says inmate Ronnell Glasgow. Ronnell is serving seven years for selling drugs.
Most of the men are in prison due to drug and illegal possession. Gerald Ward is one of those men.
"It's amazing what she understands. She understand that Daddy did something wrong, " Gerald says. Still, it's hard to connect with a child who doesn't get to see you in her formative years.
"It is hard for her to release and talk to me behind the glass," he said. This is why Virginia Richmond City Jail introduced father-daughter dances in 2012. We've seen horse training in prison before but never anything quite like this.
"They are not hard core criminals; they deserve a second chance," said Sheriff C. T. Woody Jr. "They can be very good citizens and the best way to make a good citizen is to make good fathers."
The Sheriff understands this more than anyone. Before he was in law enforcement he was a criminal.
"I did this because I know how important family is. Someone saved me. I haven't always been a law-abiding law enforcement officer," Woody said.
The men were given suits and tuxedos. They were released from their cells and for a few hours they got to dance with their little ones.
"I thought I needed material things to make my daughter happy, when what I needed was right in front of my face," said Ronnell.
See this beautiful story of healing below.
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