While serving a 241-year prison sentence for armed robberies he participated in at age 16, Bobby Bostic signed up for gardening duty. His goal was simple: more time outside of his Missouri prison cell. Instead, the writer and teacher found solace in the soil.
“Weeding the garden became a form of therapy,” wrote Bostic, who was eventually released on parole at 43. “With every weed that I pulled out of the ground, I felt like I was pulling out a part of my criminal self.”
This essay, animated by Lily Padula and voiced by Sean Kyler, is part of “Inside Story,” The Marshall Project’s groundbreaking video series distributed online and in correctional facilities across the U.S.
Watch the latest season, with new episodes landing every Thursday at 11 a.m. ET on The Marshall Project’s website and YouTube channel. You can also watch episodes on the Scripps News network on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.
