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Otis Johnson went to jail at the age of 25. When he got out at 69, he rejoined a world that was starkly different from the one he remembered. This is his story.Last year, we met Otis Johnson at a New York City shelter for ex-convicts. Everyone there was trying to get their feet back on the ground. Otis had just got out of prison after serving a 44-year sentence. The last time he had seen his family was May 1975.When we shared Otis's first story of being reintroduced to the modern world, viewers were amazed by just how unfamiliar everything was to him. iPhones, Times Square, jars of pre-mixed peanut butter and jelly ... everything was new or starkly different.INTERACTIVE: My life after 44 years in prison. The story of Otis JohnsonHis story clearly resonated with people. More than 12 million people watched Otis' story on YouTube, and we wanted to show them what happened next.We went to Asbury Park, in New Jersey, with Otis to try to find them. Reconnecting with family was something he had said he was always interested in doing, but hadn't got round to yet. After all, he was still learning how to navigate the city. He had a small box where he kept old, tattered photos of family members, but that was basically all the information he had on them."The only address I really have is Asbury Park," Otis told us. So we took the train to Asbury Park not knowing much.But we did have Otis' memory. Once we arrived at the train station and began roaming the streets, small things about his old home slowly came back to him: extended family members, friends, shops. He wanted to find his aunt, Dottie Moore, and some other family members. He said many would probably think he was dead.When we talked to Otis about his relationship with his family, his answers were complicated. He was a member of the Fruit of Islam (the paramilitary wing of Nation of Islam, the Islamic religious movement once famously led by Malcom X) in his younger days. The Nation of Islam's stated goals were to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African Americans. Otis was a devout Muslim who said he helped "clean up the streets" of drug dealers."We wasn't all bad," he would say.But Otis said some of his family members didn't buy that. He didn't know if they would be angry or happy to see him after all these years away. He had a nervous energy about him as we walked down Pine Street, knocking on doors and asking strangers about Dottie Moore.This final story on Otis Johnson is one of reconnection and reconciliation. It is the story of a man on a quest to reunite with remnants of his past and one, we hope, many can relate to.Find out more about Otis:http://aje.io/LifeAfterPrisonMore AJ Shorts:http://aljazeera.com/shorts--Filmmakers: Elena Boffetta - https://twitter.com/ElenaBoffettaJenna Belhumeur - https://twitter.com/jenna_belExecutive Producer: Yasir Khan - https://twitter.com/khanundrumSubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/
◄ Psalm 71 ►
King James Bible Par ▾
In You, O Lord, I Take Refuge
1In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.
2Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.
3Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.
4Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
5For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.
6By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.
7I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.
8Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.
9Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.
10For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
11Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.
12O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.
13Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.
14But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.
15My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.
16I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.
17O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
18Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.
19Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!
20Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
21Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.
22I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.
23My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.
24My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.
He said he had no girlfriend, but what about no wife and kids, he didn't mention about he wishes to get married or have kids when he was young.