From prison to redemption: how reading saved an ex-robber

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Summary.

Joël Baptiste spent his childhood in the sensitive district of Prés-Saint-Jean (Gard).

Growing up, he falls into organized crime and commits several crimes.

When he was 27, in 1996, Joël was sentenced to eight years in prison for armed robbery.

To occupy his days of detention, he applies to the prison library.

This is where Joël discovers the pleasure of reading, he who has never read a book in his life.

This new passion allows him to take control of his life.

A few years after his release from prison, in 2017, he created the association Voyages culturel, to promote reading in underprivileged areas.

Now 54, Joël Baptiste hopes that his association will encourage young people in working-class neighborhoods to read.

He testifies in Code source at the microphone of Ambre Rosala.

Listen to Code source on all audio platforms: Apple Podcast (iPhone, iPad), Google Podcast (Android), Podcast Addict or Castbox, Deezer, Spotify.

Credits.

Editorial management: Pierre Chausse - Editor-in-chief: Jules Lavie - Reporter: Ambre Rosala - Production: Raphaël Pueyo, Clara Garnier Amouroux, Sarah Hamny and Lolla Sauty - Production and mixing: Pierre Chaffanjon - Music: François Clos, Audio Network, Epidemic Sound - Graphic identity: Upian.

About Source Code.

Code source is the daily news podcast from Le Parisien.

Stories told by editorial journalists or by those who have experienced them directly.

An appointment carried by the presenter Jules Lavie and the reporter Ambre Rosala, to be found from Monday to Friday from 6 p.m. on LeParisien.fr or on the main listening platforms.

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