A man jailed in the 70s, shares his startling reactions to life in the modern world.
Otis Johnson was only 25 when he was sentenced for attempted murder of a police officer. After 44 years behind bars, he was released as a 69-year-old this year.
Followed around by an Al Jazeera English camera crew, he talks about the stark changes the world has seen – like coloured drinks, video advertising and iPhones.
“Prison affected me a lot,” he says. “My re-entry was a little bit hard at first because things had changed.”
The prison gave Johnson $40 and two bus tickets when he was released. The senior citizen spends his days attending religious services, meditating and practising tai chi.
He lost touch with his family in 1988 and admits he misses them a lot, although he’s become accustomed to being alone.
“[It] bothers me a lot because I really miss my family,” he says.
When Johnson got out of prison, he took a trip to Times Square in Midtown Manhattan and was shocked by what he saw.
“I had seen that everybody, or the majority of the people, was talking to themselves,” he says. “Then I looked closer and they seemed to have things in their ears.”
The concept of ear phones seems completely foreign to him.
“I thought, to my mind, what, everybody became, you know, CIAs or agents and stuff like that? Because that’s the only thing I can think of, somebody walking around with wires in their ears.”
He seems utterly mystified at the way people walk whilst looking down at their phones.
“Some people are not even looking where they’re going. So I’m trying to figure out how people do that… control themselves to walk and talk on the phone without even looking where they’re going,” he says.
Johnson is glad to be out of prison and enjoys the freedom of being able to roam outside when he likes, although he still has a 9pm curfew.
“Being in society is a good feeling. A very good feeling, you know?” he says.
“Other than being inside the prison. You only can go outside at certain times. So I like being in the sun and also observing people.
“It’s nice. It’s nice to be free.”
