Eduardo Verástegui & Jason Jones Bring the Hope of St. Valentine's Day to Texas Death Row Prisoners
by Staff
February 16, 2010
LOS ANGELES, (christiansunite.com) -- HERO's Second Chance brought their message of hope to several prisons throughout Texas--including a visit to female death row inmates-- on St. Valentine's Day. HERO's Second Chance is a joint effort of the Human rights Education and Relief Organization (HERO) and Manto de Guadalupe."I could think of no better way to celebrate the feast day of St. Valentine than to bring a true sense of love and hope to these inmates, especially those women on death row," said Eduard Verástegui, actor, producer, activist and founder of Manto de Guadalupe. "Our efforts today were in keeping with the legend of this wonderful saint's life," continued Verástegui, referencing the ancient story of how St. Valentine wrote a farewell letter from prison just before his execution and signed it, "From your Valentine."
Jason Jones, founder of HERO and a producer of the movie Bella stated: "It is our sincere prayer that the efforts of this ministry will help these women to recognize that their intrinsic value and dignity is not determined by their state of life, but by the gift of life itself. And that no matter what decisions brought them to this place, they are created in the image of God and are of incomparable worth." Jones and Verástegui visit was by the invitation of Discipleship Unlimited, who also organized the tour.
The concept for HERO's Second Chance was inspired by Jose, the central character of Bella, the 2006 Toronto Film Festival's People's Choice Award winner. Jose is given a second chance at life after a tragic accident that resulted in his imprisonment. Based on this premise, HERO's Second Chance offers those in prison an outlet for healing and an inspiration to start over.
HERO is a "whole-life" multi-platform non-profit organization dedicated to defending the dignity of the human person while working toward a culture of life, love and beauty.
