Father-daughter dance inside notorious prison changes lives of incarcerated men: "She's my world"

Inside a notorious prison, a program is focusing on fatherhood and changing how prisoners see themselves.

Angola – the Louisiana state penitentiary, which is the largest maximum security prison in the U.S. – is home to men convicted of murder and armed robbery.

While most of the men have spent years being known for the worst thing they ever did, for one special day they wanted to simply be known as dad.

For a few hours a father-daughter dance was allowed to take place inside for 29 incarcerated fathers, who were invited to participate based on good behavior.

"I apologize for all the years I missed in her life and I hope she forgives me and I'll make it up to her with this dance," said Leslie Harris, who is incarcerated for armed robbery.

"She's 17. I've been gone 15. She's everything … she's my world," he said about his daughter, Kanyell Harris, who called the moment with her father "very special."

"When I walked down the aisle, seeing my dad in a tuxedo, I cried so bad, because he looked handsome," she said.

Promoting change

The dance was made possible by God Behind Bars, a ministry that works with churches to create moments of connection and hope for men and women in prison.

"I think that some people are never told what they're worth or that they have value," said Jake Bodine, the founder of God Behind Bars. "I genuinely try to overlook any prenotions or labels that somebody may carry. That's both inside a prison and out and … look to the heart of the individual and just look at them as people."

Bodine, the son of a preacher, said the dance was for the daughters, but he also hoped it would change the fathers' lives.

"If we want these environments to be places of change, corrections – then we have to show them and model ultimately the behavior in which we desire of them. And so I believe things like this, faith-based programming, educational resources, family reunification – all of those things is ultimately what promote change," Bodine said.

He added that moments like the father-daughter dance teach the incarcerated men that they can be strong and gentle in their lives.

"It's almost impossible not to when you see your little girl running down the aisle," he said. "Like, I call it washing the prison off of them. The ego, the hardness, the … callousness of anything that might be on the heart or the mind had literally just melted away."

The event has never previously been allowed at Angola. It only happened because assistant warden Anne Marie Easley believed they all deserved it.

"So often the children of inmates are forgotten about and we have to remember that they're doing time right along with their fathers," Easley said. "And although it's not the perfect circumstance for a dad to still continue to be a dad, fatherlessness in this country is epidemic and we need to work with them and have them be the best fathers that they can be despite where they are."

For those who say the incarcerated men don't deserve the opportunity, Bodine said, "I'd say that's fair. I'm not there to advocate for their sentence or for justice but I am there to advocate that you have purpose beyond this moment."

The day will always live on for Kanyell Harris, in a letter that her father wrote to her.

"I am writing this letter to express how much I love you, plus I also want to express my deepest and most apologies for not being in your life growing up. I understand the pain and fear I have caused by not being there. I'm committed to making amends anyway I can. I ask for the opportunity to show that you are my everything," Leslie Harris wrote in the letter.

Easley was happy with how the event went that she has already decided that she's going to approve God Behind Bars to go back to Angola to set up a father-son event.