Former prison inmate talks to MES students
For three years, Rick Voysin's name was "62873."
"Believe me, there's nothing positive about being in prison," he explained.
Voysin, a former inmate in the Kansas Correctional System, talked to students at Marion Elementary School during Red Ribbon Week about the importance of making good choices and having good role models.
Janice Waner, one of the coordinators for Voysin's appearance, said he visited the high school last year.
"He was so awesome we asked him to come back and help us celebrate Red Ribbon Week," Waner said.
Waner accompanied Voysin to various rooms where he spoke with the older students about his experiences.
Voysin, who hails from Towanda, spent 3 1/2 years in minimum custody facilities at Winfield and Norton. He was sentenced to prison after robbing the restaurant where he had served as manager for years.
"I'm not here to teach you anything and this isn't just another alcohol and drug talk," Voysin told the students. "I'm just here to tell you about my life and the choices I made."
Voysin began his presentations by placing three laminated posters on the chalkboard. One was "Door 1," the other was "Door 2" while the last was "Door 3."
Door 1 represents positive choices one can make in life; Door 2 is a choice or consequence door, while Door 3 is a clearly negative choice.
Voysin told the students three major events happened in his life which sent him in a tailspin: First, his wife filed for divorce because he was always working and never home; second, his mother died; and third, he got fired for the first time in his life.
One day, Voysin spent the day drinking and brewing over the bad things in his life. By 8 p.m., he had taken a Halloween mask and gun and was waiting behind a dumpster at the restaurant he had managed before being fired.
When an employee came out to dump the trash, Voysin forced his way in at gunpoint.
"I had hired this particular employee and I had told them over and over never to go out that back door because they could get robbed," Voysin said. "When I saw them doing that it made me even madder."
The decision to rob the restaurant was made totally under the influence of alcohol.
"This wasn't about money — it was about anger," he said. "And I had no idea what I was doing. I was drunk.
"I had to read the police report later to find out what I did."
Convicted for his crime, Voysin was sentenced to prison — which was not a pleasant experience.
He told the children that while it's true inmates can watch television, they have to buy their own TV. Not an easy task when inmates only earn 45 cents a day.
"And yes, you have to work in prison," he said.
Of the minimal proceeds, $1 is taken out for administrative fees and inmates must also purchase their own toiletries. So, some do without.
"Some people in prison don't wash," Voysin said with an unpleasant look on his face. "It smells in prison. Any you know what happens if you complain? You're branded a snitch. So you've got to put up with it."
Students were intrigued with the clothes Voysin wore in prison — including a blue workshirt and a bright orange jumpsuit — and a pair of leg irons.
Voysin told students they had the ability to determine which door they walked through in life, and said one example of positive role models is their teachers.
"Teachers don't get paid a lot for what they're doing," he said. "They do it because they love you.
