Former Lake Erie Correctional Institution Inmate returns as guest speaker

A man who spent three years as an inmate at the Lake Erie Correctional Institution (LECI) recently returned to the northeast Ohio facility. But this time David Dos Santos was welcomed back as a successful pastor and businessman.

Dos Santos and his wife Haley were back in Conneaut, Ohio at the invitation of LECI chaplain, Rev. Earl Vautin. David appeared as the guest speaker at the facility’s annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet.

I’m very excited,” Dos Santos said. “These have been the best six years of my life. I’ve never had a more fulfilling six years. It was truly a spiritual training camp.”

David was originally arrested on August 27, 1997. Police caught him in the act of committing a burglary. When they attempted to arrest him, with judgment impaired by alcohol, he attacked three police officers. Dos Santos sustained serious injuries during the arrest and says he “went before the judge a completely broken man.”

David was sentenced to six years in prison. He spent three years at a different facility before moving to LECI. During that time he began to study the bible. When he arrived at the Conneaut facility in 2000 he developed a relationship with Rev. Vautin. That relationship has continued following Dos Santos’ release three years ago…and led to the speaking invitation this summer.

David said, “I truly believe being behind bars is a gift. It is a mechanism God uses to arouse a deaf world.”

(posted 7/28/06)

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