Scared Straight!/Heartwarming

While the documentary and its follow ups are meant to scare one out of going to jail, they do have surprisingly heartwarming moments.

Scared Straight! (1978)

After Ali says his piece on the matter, he passionately encourages the kids to go back to school, to get a better jobs and better money, showing that despite his scary nature, he does care about their well-being.
Near the end of the documentary, Lonnie hands out some cards to the kids. The cards have phone numbers for youth counselling programs and he assures them if they don't need them, they don't have to use them.

For starters, while the documentary could have focused on just the kids and how their lives have changed since the Lifers program, it went out of its way to also include the possibility of the Lifers themselves changing their lives for the better.
The most surprising moment of all was when Ali reunites with the kids. No one expected him to be out of jail and the kids' reaction at first was shock. Their interviews mentioned that he scared them the most. However upon seeing him they gave him a round of applause and their interactions were much warmer than their last encounter with him.

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