In this unflinching episode, we confront a decades-old injustice wrapped in floodwaters, federal dollars, and a falsely accused man—James Scott, who has spent over 31 years in prison for allegedly sabotaging a levee in West Quincy, Missouri, during the catastrophic flood of 1993.

📌 Record shows Missouri received from $300 million to over $1.2 billion in FEMA funds following the disaster—but only because the levee break was classified as vandalism, not a natural event.
📌 The total flood damage exceeded $15 billion across the Midwest, yet Missouri’s claim rested on pinning the break on one man instead of failing infrastructure.
📌 James Scott became the scapegoat—convicted under questionable jurisdiction for an act on federal land along the Missouri River.
📌 Engineering experts and Corps of Engineers insiders had long warned of structural weakness in the levee. But when billions were on the line, truth became expendable.
📌 Even worse: despite a 1994 law reducing life sentences to 30 years, James Scott remains unparoled, still serving a 50-year sentence—with no justifiable reason under current law.

This is more than a miscarriage of justice. It’s a case of government fraud, federal fund exploitation, and the sacrifice of a man’s life to cover political and bureaucratic failures.

This is not just about one man—it’s about a nation’s silence bought with FEMA disaster relief money.

In this episode, Resilience2Redemption Host Madeline-Michelle: Carthen interview Dena Knotz, President of Collectively Changing Corrections (CCC), an organization dedicated to advocating for the rights of incarcerated individuals in Missouri.

Dena shares her experiences fighting against cruel and unusual punishment and the challenges her team faces while assisting families with loved ones in prison. Amidst her efforts, Dena and CCC have recently found themselves at odds with the Missouri Department of Corrections (MODOC), resulting in a ban from essential communication platforms like Securus and JPay for 60 days.

Join us as we dive deep into the struggles of prison reform, the importance of advocacy, and the resilience needed to stand up against the system.

In this thought-provoking episode, Resilience2Redemption Host Madeline-Michelle: Carthen interview prisoner advocate Mark A. Jones to explore a critical and often overlooked question: What is the real experience of confinement, and how does it compare to what the law says it should be?

Together, they reflect on:

• The emotional and spiritual toll of confinement

• The disconnect between legal protections of due process and its reality vs. institutional practice

• Stories of resilience and humanity within broken systems

• What chaplains, caregivers, and society as a whole must begin to ask

This conversation is not about policy headlines. It’s about the people impacted and the deeper truths we often miss. Whether you're in the legal field, ministry, advocacy, or simply seeking to understand more deeply, this episode offers a reflective and human-centered perspective on confinement in today’s justice system.