Kriti Mehrotra
With Netflix’s Jenifer McShane-directed ‘The Quilters’ giving us an insight into the Restorative Justice Organization (RJO) program in a level 5 state prison, we get a documentary unlike any other. After all, it follows a group of men incarcerated at the maximum-security South Central Correctional Facility in Licking, Missouri, as they create personalized quilts for local foster children. This short thus humanizes them as it switches focus between their skills as sewists and their reflections on not only how they ended up behind bars but also what this program means to them.
Jimmy Williams Sadly Passed Away in 2023
It was in the early 2000s that Jimmy Williams’ entire world turned upside down as he fell down a dark path, allegedly for the sake of his family, as he shot his daughter’s ex-husband to death. According to reports, Thadd Mize was killed as he drove along a dark street on Kansas City’s north side in December 2001, mere 10 days after his divorce from Chrysta Mize was finalized. The couple was reportedly engaged in a bitter custody battle over their two sons, and the 28-year-old had also sought protection/restraining orders against his ex-wife and her father, but sadly, to no avail.
In the end, while Jimmy was convicted of first-degree murder as well as armed criminal action, his wife Brenda was found guilty of murder before they were both handed down two life terms. As for Chrysta, she ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. Little did anyone know that the former would soon fall in love with the art of quilting through the RJO project in prison, despite initially just serving as an administrative clerk in the sewing room.
Jimmy actually started out by making masks during COVID, following which other inmates in the program convinced him to continue sewing, only for him to feel as if he’d found his calling. According to his own accounts, the project he most loved doing was the Quillows – quilts that folded into a pillow – which he had made for local immigrant children. But alas, all chapters closed for him on December 7, 2023, as he passed away of apparent natural causes while still serving his two terms – he was 69 years old at the time.
Richard “Ricky” Sanders is Still Serving His Life Sentence
Born around the late 1950s, Ricky admittedly grew up with loving parents in a safe and stable environment that essentially provided him with every opportunity to be successful in life. However, everything turned upside down for him once he became addicted to drugs and fell into the wrong crowd, since it culminated in him murdering two people. As a result, in 1979, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole, where he soon found himself actively avoiding all programs or organizations that had anything to do with work.
As per records, it was a few years later that Ricky stepped into the RJO’s sewing room to help fix a broken machine, just to find himself utterly enamored with its peaceful environment. Hence, he decided to enroll, unaware that it would eventually become such a big part of his life that he is now practically the de facto leader, mentor, organizer, and teacher there.
Even though more than 12 years have passed since Ricky first began quilting, he still sends a picture of everything he makes to his elderly mother, all the while hoping to expand their efforts. In fact, as per reports, the 66-year-old inmate now not only recruits others to join this positive program but also hopes to donate to more charities as he wants to keep giving back to the community.
William “Chill” White is Still Incarcerated at South Central Correctional Center
Although not many details of former upholster William “Chill” White’s criminality are known as of writing, we do know he was sentenced to 25 years behind state bars around the mid-2010s. This was because he was convicted of two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action, one count of second-degree assault, and various non-support arrears.
According to Chill’s own accounts, he learned to sew at a relatively young age from his loving mother and grandmother, which eventually led him to run his own upholstery shop in St. Louis. Therefore, when he heard about the prison’s sewing room under the RJO program following his incarceration, he thought enrolling might help him pass the time while staying straight. He had no idea it would give him a new purpose as well as perspective, driving him to dedicate all his time as a worker in two different places to avoid playing the role of a “big bad wolf” on the prison floor.
So, reportedly, even today, Chill wakes up at 2:30 am to do an 8-hour shift in the kitchen before coming up to the sewing room and spending 7 hours making quilts for foster children. Apart from the entire process bringing him peace since he mostly uses butterfly patterns as an homage to his mother, this South Central inmate quilts because he wants his work to convey to the kids that they matter. “I don’t need much sleep, and… I’d rather be here doing something for a child who needs it…,” the 53-year-old once candidly said in an interview with Washington Post writer Cathy Free.
Although Still in Prison, Fred Brown is No Longer a Part of the RJO Program
Born in 1955 into a relatively good home with great parents, Fred Brown still remembers what it was like growing up in Chicago, Illinois, before he went down a really dark path while in his 30s. That’s when he seemingly let his deepest, darkest desires take control of his actions and committed a felony — with a weapon in hand, he kidnapped a young woman and forcibly raped her. Therefore, he was convicted of one count each of armed criminal action, facilitating a felony-kidnapping, and forcible rape/attempted forcible rape before being sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison.
As per Fred’s own accounts, he was 25 years into his sentence when he discovered the RJO program at South Central Correctional Center, driving him to enroll with the most positive outlook. That’s because he had lost his own son at the tender age of 15 in 2000, so the idea of bringing a smile to a foster child’s face by making a unique quilt for them had him locked in.
Fred honestly also liked challenging himself with complicated patterns, but he got so hooked that he took work back to his cell, which resulted in a write-up when he was caught with a razor. For obvious safety reasons, a main requirement of the RJO program is for the inmate to have no write-ups of disciplinary actions, meaning he was booted off after more than 8 years of quilting in 2023. Thus, today, the 70-year-old is simply serving his time at the South Central Correctional Center.
Christopher Potter Quilts for Himself and Kids
Although not much regarding Christopher Potter’s background, early years, or criminality is known as of writing, we do know he was sentenced to a total of 21 years behind bars in the late 2010s. According to reports, on December 17, 2018, a jury convicted him of multiple counts of first-degree assault, and then, in April 2019, he entered an Alford plea on one count each of first-degree assault and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle. He was subsequently handed his 21-year sentence on a total of 10 counts, only for him to later file a complaint against 26 police officers, 2 prosecutors, the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, the sheriffs of two counties, and St. Charles County for reportedly violating his rights during arrest.
In the end, Christopher’s motions were denied, and it was apparently only after this that he found a sense of peace and purpose in the sewing room of the ROJ program. He is still relatively new to it, but from what we can tell, he is a quick learner and wholeheartedly dedicated to the organization’s efforts to help inmates and foster children alike in one go. So, today, at the age of 37, he is reportedly an active quilter despite being incarcerated at the level 5 maximum security South Central Correctional Center.
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