It was a normal Saturday morning.
Alphonso was 17 years old, sitting on his mom’s porch in the summer of 1985, eating breakfast and talking about life when a police car rolled up.
The officer told his mom it was nothing serious…
They were just canvassing the neighborhood and wanted to ask Alphonso a few questions.
12 hours of interrogation later, they slid a document in front of him and said his mom was waiting in the lobby… all he had to do was sign and he could go home with her.
He signed it.
The next morning, he learned he’d been charged with first-degree murder.
Alphonso was sentenced to 105 years in prison for a murder he had absolutely nothing to do with.
What followed is legitimately one of the craziest ones I’ve heard on the show.
Here’s a tiny teaser…
Alphonso was thrown onto a “high profile tier” with serial rapists and convicted murderers… grown men twice his size.
After surviving an attack from a 300lb predator, Alphonso defended himself and was sent to solitary confinement for 5 years.
He was actually grateful to be there, because he didn’t have to defend himself anymore.
Then, one day, a prison chaplain named Emil started showing up at his cell.
Alphonso, full of rage at a system that had stolen his life, would fill a cup with his own urine and throw it in the chaplain’s face.
Week after week.
Every time, the chaplain would simply wipe himself off and say, “Alphonso, I love you. And so does God.”
After a couple of months of this, the chaplain showed up one day with a chair and an extra towel. Alphonso threw the urine on him again. The chaplain wiped his face, sat down in front of the cell, and said:
“Why are you angry?”
In Alphonso’s own words: “He loved the hate away from me.”
The chaplain became the first person in over a year to look Alphonso in the eye and say, “I believe you.”
He taught Alphonso (who couldn’t read at 17) how to read using children’s coloring books. He brought him a Bible. And from that moment in solitary confinement, Alphonso began to envision a completely different life.
Fast forward 32 years.
On February 14, 2017 Alphonso was released from prison with the help of the Wisconsin Innocence Project.
He had appeared before the parole board 21 times and refused to accept responsibility for something he didn’t do.
Crazy… and me writing this doesn’t even come close to doing the story justice. I can’t WAIT for you to listen.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Alphonso transformed the worst injustice imaginable into a life of unconditional love, forgiveness (including forgiving himself), and service.
- The mindset he used to refuse to accept the label of “offender” for 32 years… including the small daily acts of protest that kept his identity intact when the entire system was trying to crush it
- What he’s building now through Unfragile Farm, which is a place where formerly incarcerated people can heal, find work, and experience the kind of love that loved the hate away from Alphonso
If you’re someone who believes in the redemptive power of love, forgiveness, and the human spirit’s ability to transform unimaginable pain into wisdom… please don’t miss this one!
Links & Resources
- Alphonso James website
- Wisconsin Innocence Project – The organization that helped secure Alphonso’s release.
- Unfragile Farm – Alphonso’s healing and mentorship initiative for formerly incarcerated individuals.
- Prison Fellowship – Faith-based prison outreach program involved in Alphonso’s transformation.
- Watchman Nee – The Spiritual Man – Spiritual text Alphonso studied during incarceration.