Prison journalism: From maximum to redemption: A journey of change and reflectionWesley Leong was incarcerated at the age of 15 in 1996 at Pollsmoor Prison. He is currently part of Restore's research and reintegration project.
by Wesley Leong
18-09-2023 12:42
in Prison Journalism
Wesley Leong was incarcerated at the age of 15 in 1996 at Pollsmoor Prison. He is currently part of Restore's research and reintegration project.
Image by unsplash
In this new article, I would like to share the repercussions I had to endure before I left the medium-security facility and all the difficulties I still go through after leaving prison.
--
Life Behind Bars: Maximum Security When I left the maximum-security facility to meet him, the facility felt very strange to me. The bus that took us from the prison had to stop about three times. Upon my arrival in the medium-security facility, I was issued an orange uniform to wear. I was used to wearing a red uniform, and the difference struck me immediately. The sunlight, the blue sky, the white clouds, the green grass, and the trees around me all felt very strange. You can imagine how hard it was for me to look into the sky; the sun was too bright, but I was grateful nonetheless. I took a step closer to getting home after my intermission and basically went to the cells.
ALSO READ: Prison Journalism: How Sticks escaped from prison to go to his mother's funeral
Transitioning to Medium-Security The setup in medium-security was completely different from maximum security. It was a different environment with different inmates and different protocols. The cells were a lot smaller, and there were windows. The lights went off at night, which was a blessing. My experience with violence in medium security was much less severe than in maximum security. I was wrong to assume that. The violence in maximum security was more drastic.
--
During my time in maximum security, I was constantly in single cells. I had a reputation for stabbing and fighting, and I almost got charged again for attempted murder while inside prison. My daily routine consisted of waking up in the morning and going to my usual spot to collect my knife for protection before the guards even opened the gates for breakfast. Then, I would proceed to the early morning greeting for the new arrivals, called sico. I would be on standby for my sergeant, and he would ask if everything was alright and if there were any issues out of the norm. After that, I would get breakfast and see what was on our agenda for the day. If there were any numbers involved, I had to defend my position as a member of the gang.
ALSO READ: Prison journalism: How a pen helped me escape prison
A Violent Turn of Events One morning, as usual, things took a turn for the worse. All of a sudden, a fight broke out, involving members of different gangs, and before I knew it, it was chaos. People were getting stabbed, including inmates, correctional officers, and cooks. It was madness. I recall stabbing two people that day, and by evening, I was laying in my bed, thinking about what had transpired throughout the day. I couldn't bring myself to sleep, knowing that I had caused pain and death to one inmate.
--
By the morning, I was summoned to the head of the prison's office. He wanted to discuss yesterday's events and whether I was involved in any of the stabbings. One inmate had died, and another was seriously injured. He also mentioned my history and my prior record, implying that he believed I was involved. I told him the truth, that I had no involvement in any of the stabbings. He made it clear that there would be an internal investigation, and the truth would come to light.
During the internal investigation, they questioned witnesses and anyone with information. A reward was offered, and one inmate decided to tell the police that I was involved in the stabbing of the two people. I was questioned repeatedly by the police, who claimed they had evidence of my involvement. I asked to see the evidence, but nothing came of it.
My brother took it upon himself to deal with the inmate who had informed the police of my involvement. When I look back on it now, where I am in life, I realize I would not have agreed to the consequences and the repercussions that the inmates had to endure. The one who got stabbed, thank God he's out today. I speak with him frequently on Facebook. As for the one who passed away, I tried to make retribution and console with the family after I was released from prison.
ALSO READ: Prison Journalism: From Despair to Redemption: My journey through prison and parole
Reflection and Redemption Sometimes in life, we are put in positions where we have to do things we don't want to do, things that make us uncomfortable, things that cause pain, hurt, and sometimes death. I live my life outside now, and I try my hardest to stay away from any form of violence. I respect life itself. Thank you for reading my article.
Should you wish to assist in the rehabilitation of former inmates and help put money into the pockets of those who have struggled to earn a living during and after incarceration, click HERE
DISCLAIMER: Submission published as received
RESTORE is an NGO based in Cape Town, South Africa, providing inmates at Pollsmoor Prison with restorative justice opportunities.
If you have any questions you would like to ask our prison journalists, WhatsApp us on 060 011 0211.
Do you have contact with a prison inmate who would like to write for The South African website? If so, send an email to info@thesouthafrican.com or a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211.
You can also follow @TheSAnews on Twitter and The South African on Facebook to get the latest prison journalism articles.
Are you a KAIZER CHIEFS fan? Click here
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
Prison journalism: From maximum to redemption: A journey of change and reflectionWesley Leong was incarcerated at the age of 15 in 1996 at Pollsmoor Prison. He is currently part of Restore's research and reintegration project.
