Bridges to Life is predicated on the belief that understanding the impact of crime will spark empathy and remorse, and diminish the chance that criminals, once released, will commit new crimes. The social entrepreneur behind this six-year-old program is 57-year-old John Sage, a one-time Louisiana State football all-American and Merrill Lynch broker whose own sister was horribly murdered by a man and woman who picked her randomly in order to steal her car. Bridges has 300-plus volunteers, predominantly drawn from churches. The 13-week program combines the personal reflections of both victims and victimizers-“facilitated” by a designated group leader-complemented by a structured curriculum, the reading of which is assigned “homework” for inmates. The goal is to change the hearts of convicted criminals due for imminent release so that they do not commit new crimes. It has grown dramatically from a presence in a single Texas prison in 1999 to a presence in 18 today. Costs per program have been decreasing-from $650 per inmate in 2000 to $375 today. To date, some 2,150 inmates have “graduated.” Participation in this program is a powerful experience. Inmates at one Bridges program were frank in confessing that they had never considered the impact of their crimes on the families of their victims. The state assists Bridges in tracking “graduates” after their release. The overall recidivism rate for the general population ranges from 35 to 40 percent. Bridges to Life graduates’ rate runs at about 20 percent, about half of who have been re-incarcerated because of parole violations rather than new crimes. Of the first 1,706 released inmates, just 18 have been re-arrested for having committed violent crimes. That's 1.1 percent. Bridges to Life does not seek or accept government funding and has developed an impressive list of donors, including 20 Houston-area foundations, 12 church congregations, and some notable corporate donors, including IBM and Exxon-Mobil. Sage has mobilized a very large number of volunteers to travel long distances to spend much of a day in prison talking to criminals to reintroduce them to the world outside. There is something brave and powerful about what is going on here."