Should society give ex-prisoners a second chance once they are released from prison? Can South Africans sick of crime find it in their hearts to open doors for those who spent time behind bars? This Tuesday Special Assignment meets of a number of former inmates who have managed to turn their lives around, with the help of strangers prepared to give them a break.

Gayton McKenzie was the mastermind behind the notorious Grootvlei Prison video, which exposed corrupt prison officials in Bloemfontein. Gayton has since been released from jail and now devotes much of his time to public speaking in an effort to stop kids getting involved in crime. We follow his remarkable journey from prison cell to public stage and explore how ordinary citizens helped him get out of the pit he had dug for himself.

In 2002, Special Assignment broadcast the video that shocked the nation. The footage showed corrupt authorities selling weapons and drugs to inmates and proved that warders had also been selling jailed juveniles to adult prisoners for sex. The inmates sent the footage to the Jali Commission of Inquiry into Prison Corruption, and in the end, over 20 warders were dismissed on charges of corruption.  

Second Chances is directed by Gillian de Gouveia and was filmed by Jan de Klerk.

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