Rapper TI has helped bail out 23 prisoners who would have spent Easter behind bars.
Seven women and 16 men, all non-violent prisoners and mostly first-time offenders, arrived home just in time for the holiday thanks to the Bail Out programme.
Each inmate is to be connected to a mentor and given job training and funds for their children’s college savings in a bid to “stop the cycle”.
The New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia initially set out to raise $40,000 for the programme, in partnership with TI and American reality TV star Scrapp Deleon, but donations topped $120,000 (£92,400) a month later.
Jamal Bryant, a senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, said in an Instagram post on Saturday: “Today we @newbirthmbc are bailing out of prison those who are non violent offenders in 3 counties here in Georgia.
“We raised 120k over lent to get it done exceeding initial goal of 40k. In addition we are Putting them in job training programs.
“We opening college fund accounts for their children at citizens trust bank (black owned) to stop the cycle.”
The New Birth church said the programme was “designed to give men and women a second chance”.
The programme targeted people in DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Rockdale counties.
Mr Bryant said it was a way for the church to be more outspoken when it came to prison reform.
TI, whose real name is Clifford Harris, is a Grammy-winning artist with multiple platinum-selling albums and singles.
