Shawn Hagwood (left) and Dave Stensland

Shawn Hagwood's young life had been marked by poor choices. Starting in middle school, he got in with the wrong crowd and started drinking and experimenting with drugs. By the time he was 16, he had dropped out of school and already had a growing criminal record. No one expected much good from him, nor did he expect it from himself.

But on Tuesday, August 27, 1996, Shawn began a journey of learning that would turn his life around.

Earlier that week, 19-year-old Shawn made a cross-country trip to visit a friend in Rochester, Minnesota, a quiet, conservative community known for the famous Mayo Clinic. One night, he and his friend accompanied a group of local guys to an apartment complex inhabited mostly by Somalian residents. They were headed there with bats to settle a score with some of the residents for beating up one of their friends the night before. When they arrived at the complex, a group of guys came out to meet them with golf clubs.

Things got out of control and a young Somalian kid from the apartments was seriously injured when someone in Shawn's group swung a baseball bat. By the time the police got there, everyone involved had disappeared and the episode was classified as a racial gang crime of white guys against the ethnic residents.

Wrong place, wrong time
Racial problems were a growing concern for Rochester's community leaders. In recent years many different ethnic groups had moved into the community, and the growing disturbances were casting a shadow on the community's upstanding reputation. In order to crack down on the problem before it got out of hand, city leaders, with the help of the local news media, made the skirmish a huge story. There were town meetings, a citywide march, and a stream of newspaper articles demanding immediate termination of the perceived "racial gang problem."

Shawn was definitely part of the fight that summer night, but he never held a bat and was not the person who injured the kid. Still, when the authorities came knocking, the local guys Shawn had hung out with that night used him as an easy scapegoat, since he was from out of town. When the police brought Shawn in for questioning a few days later, it would be his last day as a free man for the next eight years.

Shawn says the origin of the fight was not so much about racial conflict as it was the stupidity of angry young men caught up in the moment. "When we showed up at the apartment complex," he says, "I believe the motive was mostly revenge, but the racial factor definitely added to it."

Even though Shawn was basically on the fringe of the crime, and the only one put on trial at this time (two were brought to trial three years later and given a much lighter sentence), the jury came back with the verdict: Guilty.

"When the judge handed down my sentence, I couldn't believe it," Shawn recalls. "Eleven years of my life would be spent in the Minnesota corrections system. To say I was angry about the injustice of it is a huge understatement."

An unlikely visitor
Shortly after entering prison life, Shawn got his first visitor—one of the men from the jury. He thought maybe the man was there to help him get a new trial, but soon discovered he was simply there to be a friend. Though he initially put up a tough exterior, Shawn was happy to have company.

Shawn remembers, "He introduced himself as Dave Stensland, a clinical psychologist. He had driven four hours just to see me and to find out how I was doing. When he stood up to leave, I felt disappointed, but Dave promised to come again soon."

Dave began regular monthly visits. They talked about everything from Shawn's life goals after prison, to Dave's evident faith in God, to how Shawn could cope with the sometimes paralyzing stresses of prison life and his bitterness over the injustice of his sentence.

Sandy Stensland (left) and Shawn Hagwood

For seven years, Dave visited Shawn faithfully. "For the first time, I began to experience what it was like to have a real dad investing in my life. I loved Dave, and I could tell he loved me and believed in me. He kept me anchored and focused on what 'normal' was, because you can get lost in prison. He made me realize that prison life was only temporary—not the kind of environment that I wanted to be in."

One of the first questions Dave asked Shawn was "What do you want to do with your life?" Poking and prodding, he kept Shawn thinking about his future, encouraging him to take advantage of the educational opportunities offered in the Minnesota prison system. With only an eighth-grade education and a GED, Shawn eventually completed an associate's degree in microcomputer technology, and a 60-credit diploma as a network specialist in computer networking.

By far Dave's most important influence on Shawn was his faith. "He showed me the peace of someone who is close to God, but in everything he did and said, he was gentle. Because he shared Christ's love with me consistently through the years, I began to open up more to the Lord."

As Shawn studied the Bible with Dave, his life began to change. Through Dave's example and guidance, Shawn finally found peace and purpose. He prayed to receive Jesus Christ into his life.

A sudden goodbye
In the summer of 2003, after seven years of monthly visits, Dave's wife Sandy called Shawn with the sudden and shocking news—Dave was dying of cancer.

The man who had mentored and loved Shawn like one of his own sons had only a short time left on this earth. Shawn recalls, "Although I didn't want to live without Dave, I was so thankful that I had a chance to have him in my life for so long."

A few weeks later, Shawn called Dave to see how he was doing. Sandy told him he was just in time to say goodbye. Dave was so weak that Sandy had to hold the phone up to his ear.

"He couldn't respond much, but I knew he could hear me," Shawn says. "It would be the last time I talked to him and it was a very hard conversation, but I was so glad that I was able to have it. I thanked him for everything that he had done and for being such a good friend to me. I told him, 'I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for you.' And then we said goodbye."

'He's giving you another chance'
A year later, Shawn was released from prison three years early for good behavior, and Sandy Stensland was there to give him a big sendoff. With tears of happiness she hugged him tightly.

"Shawn, I know Dave would be so proud of you—and I'm proud of you, too," she said. "Your life is going to be different now. Just remember that God has great things in store for you and He's giving you another chance."

Sandy told him God could use all the pain of his past to bring about something good. She told him to accept his past, to not hide it because "God can redeem it to help other people."

The first couple of years out of prison were a struggle for Shawn. Finding a good job was the hardest part because people were afraid to give him a chance. "When I was tempted to get bitter or discouraged, I'd stop and think about how much better my life is now and how God used those eight years to show me His faithful love through an earthly father figure, and to turn my life around. He has made me who I am today because of my past, not in spite of it."

And who is Shawn Hagwood today? Besides being a happily employed software developer, he also uses his story to encourage others who are struggling with life, especially young people.

His views on racial issues also have changed as a result of his experience.

"I always had friends of other races growing up," he says, "but I think that before I became a Christian, I had subtle prejudices that I didn't even realize. Now I see people for who they are in Christ and I have love in my heart that wasn't there before. If someone is a believer, I feel an instant connection, no matter what their color."

Shawn went into prison a boy with a habitual criminal record and no sights on the future. But because of God's grace, extended to him through one caring family, he came out a man with hopes, dreams, and a relationship with a loving Father who will always be there for him.

Because Dave Stensland took seriously Jesus' suggestion to "visit the prisoner" (Matt. 25:36), a young man's life was saved.

Because someone believed in him, Shawn Hagwood now has a reason to believe in the future.

Julie Ferwerda is a freelance writer based in Wyoming. Visit her at www.JulieFerwerda.com .

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