The weight of the past can be a crushing burden, a shadow that stretches long and dark across the landscape of life.
For Victoria native Albert James Yancey III, that shadow was cast early, at the tender age of 17, when a moment of rash imprudence and mismanaged anger led to an irreversible act: murder. The prison doors slammed shut, marking the beginning of what was a life sentence not just of confinement, but of guilt and regret.
ƵIt was a result of the lifestyle I was living,Ƶ Yancey said in an interview with The Victoria Advocate. ƵThe more drugs that I sold, the more money that I had and the more material possessions I owned insulated me from the pain that I was dealing with. On Sept. 7, 1991, I selfishly and stupidly discharged a 9 mm in the direction of a Jeep that resulted in a 21-year-old manƵs life being lost.Ƶ
Yancey grew up on the Southside of Victoria, eventually falling in with the Southside Posse, which was the most infamous gang of the area at that time. The allure of securing a particular external image and easy, fast cash is what led Yancey to believing his gang-banging was his way of dealing with the detrimental and devastating loss of his father at 11 years old.
ƵItƵs not what was on top of the water that sank the Titanic, it was what they couldnƵt see. I was a crushed, confused little boy under a school uniform,Ƶ Yancey said. ƵI was an excellent athlete, I was an honor roll student. I wanted good things and I wanted to do right, but I didnƵt have anyone to come alongside me to say, Ƶhey everyone hurts, everyone has been through things, and let me help you navigate this.ƵƵ
Sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder in Feb. 1992 severely altered YanceyƵs life course. While the guilt and shame were already starting to take root, the 17-year-old continued to operate as he did on the streets: drugs, violence, and gang banging.
In time during his incarceration, Yancey found himself isolated from other inmates, his family and his friends. It was then he began to look inward and found he didnƵt like who he had become. He was far from who he wanted to be.
ƵI did enough negative stuff that I knew the only way I can undo what has been done to my life physically and emotionally was to try to expose myself to something different,Ƶ Yancey said. ƵI started to fill myself with positive stuff. I began to read material and I started to see GodƵs face.Ƶ
It was during this tumultuous time where a certain violent incident with another inmate forced Yancey to reconcile with his decisions and his situation. He spoke directly to God saying, ƵI donƵt want my chapter to end like this.Ƶ
Then came a momentous and memorable event.
ƵGod took me back to a place when I was five years old and I stood on Mission Valley Road in the driveway watching my mother be physically assaulted by her then boyfriend,Ƶ Yancey said. ƵI stood there in Spiderman underwear and cowboy boots with no shirt and tried to fight this adult. For a long time, I had always felt that my anger was a result of not having my father in my life. But what happened was the seed was planted at five years old that I am a provider and protector of my family. It made it a lot easier for me to catapult into the street lifestyle. ThatƵs when news came of my father and I didnƵt understand or know how to express my grief that my hero was dead.Ƶ
This pivotal introspective moment within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system sparked a burning resolve for the powerful transformation that would soon be a harbinger for him. Yancey launched himself into books, studies and classes, and he became determined to leave prison better than when he came in.
ƵI knew I couldnƵt bring back the life I took, but I could try to help other people become better,Ƶ Yancey said. ƵI didnƵt know if I was going to ever get out of prison, but I knew a bunch of the men around me would eventually return to their communities. Maybe not mine, but they would return, so I mentored them.Ƶ
Michael Roberson, a former lifer who was sentenced a little older than Yancey, became one of the many lives touched by YanceyƵs mentorship and his willingness to bestow his teachings and love. Roberson served 30 years before being granted parole, but attributes his life to YanceyƵs undying methodology and way of looking at the world.
ƵHe assisted with getting me placed in the faith-based dorm, and from that moment of him recognizing my potential, even when I did not recognize it, Albert and I formulated a brotherhood that exceeds prison,Ƶ Roberson told The Victoria Advocate. ƵAlbert is a type of individual who doesnƵt shun anyone; he meets them where they are and he doesnƵt judge, he just pours into each and every one, be it from experience, from education, from someone elseƵs experience, he tries to instill core values and principles that we can take from that moment and pay it forward.Ƶ
Roberson routinely accompanies Yancey through his organization, FBI Ministries (Faith Beyond Incarceration), which serves to put forth everything Yancey went through and what he learned into the minds and hands of people enduring similar experiences in the prison and juvenile detention systems. From providing newly released individuals with resources and opportunities to help acclimate to a better path forward, to routinely speaking to groups of juveniles and the incarcerated alike about his trials and tribulations on his path to redemption, YanceyƵs dedication has led to his recognition of keeping families together through FBI Ministries.
Albert James Yancey III walked out of prison with two college degrees on Feb. 8, 2019. But the road to freedom was not an easy one to bear, as along the way Yancey was denied parole after 15 years behind bars.
A previous inmate, whom Yancey had taken under his wing and mentored to the ability of making his own parole, came back and saw his former mentor was still incarcerated. He rallied pastors and prison officials behind Yancey, which led to then-Senator John Whitmire, current Mayor of Houston, visiting Yancey in prison and leading to his release.
ƵHe seemed like a leader among inmates,Ƶ Houston Mayor John Whitmire told The Advocate on Albert YanceyƵs behalf. ƵHe certainly served most of his adult life, hell, all of it at that point, and all I did was make sure he was getting a proper evaluation.
ƵItƵs in our interest as a community to give people a second chance,Ƶ Whitmire continued. ƵThereƵs probably other Albert YanceyƵs in the system that should be given a fair consideration and demonstrate they turned their lives around and that they no longer pose a threat to society.Ƶ
From the teenager who allowed a three-second decision alter the course of his life, to the man today who accepted the Best Family Program Award on Friday, April 27 at the 30th Annual GovernorƵs Criminal Justice Volunteer Service Awards Ceremony, Faith Beyond Incarceration is not just an ideal, but a legacy. Albert Yancey is more than his incarceration, he is the embodiment of turning abyssal regret into selfless service and proof that even in the deepest darkness, profound light can emerge to guide others.
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