{"id":36825,"date":"2024-04-04T17:34:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T21:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/?p=36825"},"modified":"2024-04-04T17:34:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T21:34:53","slug":"after-31-years-in-prison-this-man-is-a-semifinalist-for-55000-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/after-31-years-in-prison-this-man-is-a-semifinalist-for-55000-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"After 31 Years In Prison, This Man Is A Semifinalist For $55,000 Scholarship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eddie Fordham, Jr.\u2019s future looked bleak as he sat in a suicide-watch cell at the Escambia County Jail while awaiting his death penalty trial.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bitterness, sadness and fear welled up in the then 18-year-old\u2019s heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

But things changed one night, when someone slipped a letter under his door containing a message from Judge William White, Jr.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe said\u2026\u2019There will be consequences to your actions. But if you will accept personal accountability for your poor decisions, you have a story to tell other youth,\u2019\u201d Fordham recalls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the next 31 years, prison would be Fordham\u2019s home. But today, Judge White\u2019s letter of encouragement rings true.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fordham, who was released on parole in April of 2022, graduated from Miami Dade College\u2019s College in Prison Program last summer. In March, he was tabbed <\/span>a semifinalist<\/span><\/span><\/a> for the Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship.<\/span><\/p>\n

The national prize is awarded to 60 students each year. Recipients get up to $55,000 annually for living expenses, books and tuition as they pursue a bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/span><\/p>\n

Making Choices\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Fordham, who was born Larry Edwin Fordham, Jr. in December of 1972, grew up in Pensacola. In high school, he was perceived as a \u201cmama’s boy\u201d and yearned for acceptance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That sparked a domino effect of poor choices\u2014stealing, driving recklessly, climbing balconies and hanging with the wrong people.<\/span><\/p>\n

By his senior year, Fordham\u2019s life took a turn for the worst when two friends asked him to drive them to an auto parts store to conduct a drug deal, he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What the teenager didn\u2019t know, he says, was that his friends intended to rob the store clerk and kill him as Fordham sat outside in the driver’s seat of the get-away vehicle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On Feb. 11, 1991, he was charged with first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree felony murder, armed robbery and grand theft.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although he was acquitted of the first charge and spared the electric chair, Fordham was found guilty on the other counts and sentenced to life in prison.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople tend to think that because of what happened to me, because I got arrested as a teenager or I was getting in trouble as a juvenile\u2026 that somehow I must have come from, you know, an abusive home or [had] an alcoholic parent or something like that,\u201d Fordham said. \u201cThat wasn’t the case at all. I got into this trouble because I made the choice to get into trouble.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

“Education Was My Redemption\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Semifinalist: After serving more than three decades in prison, Eddie Fordham, Jr., 51, is a Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship semifinalist. PHOTO COURTESY OF EDDIE FORDHAM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After sentencing, Fordham was transferred to a rusty cell in Lake Butler, Florida. <\/span><\/p>\n

Puddles of sewage water and roaches covered the floor. Crust lined the stainless steel toilet. Hallways were filled with inmates\u2019 yells.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And his mind was burdened with the consequences of his actions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, Fordham realized he was missing one course, English 4, to graduate high school.<\/span><\/p>\n

That realization fueled the next three decades of his life.<\/span><\/p>\n

To finish his final high school course, Fordham wrote a letter to the Escambia County Superintendent of Schools.Two years later, he became the first person inside Apalachee Correctional Institution to attain his high school diploma.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He was then transferred to Sumter Correctional Institution in Bushnell, Florida, where he joined the Responsible Inmate Taught Education (RITE) program, which trained incarcerated people to become tutors. He learned about the cognitive development of the brain, educational psychology and how to run a classroom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fordham committed one year to teaching at the New River Correctional Institution, one of the most dangerous correctional institutions in Florida. He taught incarcerated people to read, write and do math.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout his three decades behind bars, Fordham was in 17 maximum security prisons in Florida. He led initiatives such as the Pope Literary Club and the Character Builders Gavel Club, an organization aimed at improving public speaking.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fordham also created the Prison Impact Tour (PIT) program, an initiative that brings juvenile delinquents into prison to see the consequences of their decisions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe as a society, have to at least provide the tools to give people access to believe in themselves and that’s all I was doing,\u201d Fordham said. \u201cI’m just a guy who, for my own personal life,\u00a0 found that education was my redemption.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

College-Bound<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Five years ago, Fordham found himself at the Everglades Correctional Institution where he participated in ESUBA, a two-semester program aimed at reversing the psychological effects of abuse. The initiative is led by Samantha Carlo, an associate professor senior at the School of Justice, and Minca Davis Brantley, a psychology professor at North Campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2021, he joined MDC\u2019s College in Prison pilot program\u2014a project funded by the <\/span>Second Chance Pell Program<\/span><\/a><\/span>, a federal initiative that helps incarcerated people attain college degrees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But his journey to an associate\u2019s degree was far from smooth.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the COVID-19 pandemic, classes were held through zoom. Prisons were on 24-hour lock-down for months. No visitors were allowed. School lessons were mailed to the prison for students to work on independently and mailed back to professors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Violence spiked.<\/span><\/p>\n

One night, a man who was beefing with another inmate over a debt, hit the other man with a can of shaving cream and \u201csplit the guy\u2019s head open.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt woke me up and when I opened my eyes, I had this man’s blood dripping on my face because he was leaning over the head of my bunk and blood was pouring over me, and that really freaked me out,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During another instance,\u00a0 Fordham said a man jabbed an \u201cice pick\u201d into his chest over a bag of chips and coffee.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the greatest challenge Fordham faced was the death of his father,\u00a0 Larry, Sr., who passed away from esophageal cancer on Feb. 24, 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Whole New World\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

By April of 2022, Fordham was granted parole. He was missing one course to earn his associate\u2019s degree\u2014Spanish 2\u2014but lacked the financial resources to pay for it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, after meeting Terrell A. Blount, the director of the <\/span>Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network<\/span>,<\/span><\/a> that changed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fordham\u2019s situation inspired Blount to create the Removing Barriers Scholarship Program to support individuals with past convictions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the grant, Fordham, who transitioned to a halfway house in Tampa after being granted parole, completed the missing course in April of 2023 at Hillsborough Community College.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last summer, he returned to MDC to graduate with his friends.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very easy for people who have been in prison to be afraid to be told no,\u201d Blount said. \u201cBut Eddie, he doesn\u2019t consider those things. He\u2019s like, you know, \u2018If there\u2019s a way and if God made this possible for me, then he\u2019s gonna allow it to happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These days, Fordham is grappling to adjust to 21st century technology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recently, Fordham thought his brand new lap-top was broken because it displayed a \u201cno internet\u201d message until a friend helped him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe goes, \u2018Oh, you need to connect to your Wi-Fi.\u2019 And I’m like, \u2018Connect to my <\/span>what<\/span><\/i>?\u2019\u201d Fordham recalls. \u201cI thought he was saying high five or something.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pumping gas was also intimidating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t know how to make it work,\u201d Fordham recalls. \u201cAnd when I finally did get it to work, it had a TV screen that came on. And when it started playing a video, it kind of scared me because I didn’t expect a gas pump to have an entertainment system built into it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the most frustrating challenge has been finding a job. That search ended in June of 2022 when he landed a gig as an inventory associate at <\/span>Feeding Tampa Bay<\/span><\/a><\/span>, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending food insecurity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think the best thing about Eddie is that he walked out of prison, really, without a lot of baggage and scarring. He has a very good outlook on life. He’s always wanting to help people. He’s a go-getter,\u201d Carlo said. \u201cYou know, some people get out of prison and it’s \u2018Oh, woe is me. What am I going to do now? No one’s gonna hire me\u2019\u2026 he just has a remarkable spirit and an attitude where most people are broken down by the system.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fordham currently serves as coordinator of <\/span>Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project<\/span><\/a><\/span>, a peer mentorship program at Auburn University. His first day on the job coincided with his first day in prison 33 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

If he wins the JKC scholarship, Fordham is considering schools like Auburn University and the University of Alabama. He plans to pursue a bachelor\u2019s degree in communications and public administration.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know there are some very, very smart students out there\u2014a lot younger than me, a lot smarter than me, I\u2019m not gon\u2019 lie. But I really hope and pray there\u2019ll be at least one slot open,\u201d Fordham said. \u201cAnd that one slot will not just be for Eddie Fordham, but it will hold the gate open for others, so that they may see hope; so that they will pursue their college education while incarcerated. And when they get out, they will know that they, too, can apply for the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship and win it the same way that Eddie Fordham did.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter, The Hammerhead. For news tips, contact us at mdc.thereporter@gmail.com.<\/span><\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eddie Fordham, Jr.\u2019s future looked bleak as he sat in a suicide-watch cell at the Escambia County Jail while awaiting his death penalty trial. Bitterness, sadness and fear welled up in the then 18-year-old\u2019s heart. But things changed one night, when someone slipped a letter under his door containing a message from Judge William White, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13482605,"featured_media":36824,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2748],"tags":[2902],"class_list":{"0":"post-36825","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-north-campus","9":"tag-jack-kent-cooke-transfer-scholarship"},"yoast_head":"\nAfter 31 Years In Prison, This Man Is A Semifinalist For $55,000 Scholarship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Eddie Fordham, Jr., who graduated from MDC's in Prison Program, is a semifinalist for the $55,000 Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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