Overview
Who are the New York Theological Seminary
Sing Sing Master's Degree Graduates?

Since 1981, the New York Theological Seminary (NYTS) has offered a Master's Degree program to selected New York State prisoners who have earned their bachelor's degrees. Each year, hundreds of candidates throughout the State's prison system apply to participate in this unique program ...

Incarcerated NYTS Graduates

Graduates of this program constitute the intelligentsia of the prisoner population, whose contributions toward assisting other prisoners are well known and respected.

These men currently hold positions in prison such as:

• Peer and Drug Counselors
• Teachers
• Organizational Leaders
• Program Facilitators

for almost every program in the State's arsenal of rehabilitative training.

Released NYTS Graduates:

Graduates of this program who have been released have gone on to become productive and prominent members of their communities, holding positions such as:

• Executive Directors of grass-root and mainstream organizations
• Ordained Ministors
• Radio Talk Show Host
• Production Managers
• College Professors, etc.

Major Accomplishements:

Recently, Julio Medina, the Executive Director of Exodus Transitional Community, Inc., and a graduate of the class of 1994, was invited to the State of the Union Address by the Bush administration, and sat in the audience near Mrs. Laura Bush:

Julio Medina (bottom row, second from right)

President Bush personally praised Mr. Medina for his efforts to help former prisoners make the transition from behind bars to life on the outside through his self-created Exodus Transitional Community.

President Bush was extremely impressed with Mr. Medina's work and stated the following in his State of the Union speech:

Mr. Medina is just one of the many success stories of the NYTS Sing Sing graduates. As a group, statistics show that NYTS Sing Sing graduates have a 96% success rate upon release. In other words, in the 20+ year history of the program, only 4% have returned to prison. Compare this to recidivism rates that reach 80% for the general population, according to some data, and it is clear these men are the best candidates for parole.

Unbelievably, NYTS Sing Sing graduates are being denied parole release en-masse. This is occurring, despite the fact that these men have taken responsibility and shown remorse for their crimes, and have engaged in the rehabilitative process to the fullest. In other words, they surpass the requirements of the Discretionary Parole Release standard of New York State Executive Law 259-i. Nevertheless, they are still being repeatedly denied parole.

To date, there have been slightly more than 300 graduates of this progressive program. Currently, there are approximately 141 graduates still remaining in the State's system. Please check out the profiles of these graduates, their stories, accomplishments and goals, and if you deem appropriate, help these man obtain adequate and fair consideration at their next parole board, meaning a hearing based on the tenets of the parole statute, and not the blind political agenda of the governor's tough on crime blanket policies, which makes no provision for a unique group of men such as the NYTS Sing Sing Graduates.

Parting Throught ...

Oprah recently visited a prison, and here is what she had to say upon returning from the facility, on a program which aired July 12, 2004:

Oprah Winfrey commenting on her recent trip to a prison ... “I’ve been to many prisons as a reporter, so I understood, but this was reaffirming for me, that people are all the same, and that what we (society) end up doing is judging the ‘mistake,’ and that there is a ‘whole life’ bigger than that one moment. That was the life changing moment for me.”

The families of NYTS Sing Sing graduates
thank you for your time and attention.

Please visit the Photo Gallery below to view Bios/Profiles ...