“In all my years in law enforcement, all I see is a revolving door here,” said Blount County Sheriff Mark Moon. “Same people coming in and going out. It’s just a revolving door. And I’m tired of seeing that.”

“I want to see a real change in our community,” Moon concluded.

However, inmates who are facing serious charges for theft, drugs, and even murder, now have the option of being baptized.

Heather Heaton, whose 3-year-old son, Brenden, and Grady Leon Goodwin, 79, were killed two years ago in a car wreck when she chose to drive while intoxicated, said her choice is “something heavy that weighs on me daily.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I took your grandfather, your daddy from you.” However, Heaton told reporters that she has found hope and knows her son would be proud of who she is becoming.

The program is part of Redeemed Ministries, an outreach group run by a former convict that comes to the jail to preach the gospel and lead the inmates in worship songs.