Man convicted of murder turns his life around to stop violence in the community
Dujuan "Zoe" Kennedy stands in his old Detroit neighborhood near Plainview and Joy road pointing to the 13 names tattooed on his body. What the tattoos represent is heartbreaking.
"Rest in peace tattoos of my friends. I stopped getting them. I ain't have no more space on my arms, my chest," said Kennedy. "Day by day, you lose people. But when you really start counting everybody and adding everything up, you really start understanding what's going on and what's happening to you."
Kennedy, who goes by the name of Zoe, said he and many of his friends became desensitized to violence growing up in Detroit because it was all around them.
"My fear of being a victim made me attack first or always show aggression," said Kennedy.
He wasn't always that way. He was a happy child, but his environment shaped his behavior. And eventually, he killed someone and ended up serving nearly 15 years in prison.
"I turned myself in because it bothered me so much," said Kennedy.
Kennedy said he spent his time behind bars getting an education and mentoring other prisoners in hopes to change the world around him. He said he was inspired by fellow inmates who showed him a different way to live. He also then began spending his time in prison reflecting on the life he had led and what he would do with his life once he got out.
" I just realized what I was capable of and that I should be doing this more than the thing that is ruining my life that is causing me pain and anguish," said Kennedy.
He now works for FORCE Detroit and goes out into the community talking to young people hoping to make a difference. Kennedy said providing mentorship to the youth in the community is way is one of the primary ways to prevent violence. He adds, he and many others didn't have mentors like himself growing up.
"It was stuff going on when we were trying to figure out how to be men and they were snatching certain men that were strong, and some of the men we looked up to, out of the community and other men didn't want to come deal with us," Kennedy explained. "I entrench myself in the neighborhood that I'm from to prevent things from happening before they happen and to resolve them after they happen as much as I possibly can."
