Dave Dahl was born on January 12, 1963, in the United States. Currently, Dahl is an American entrepreneur, recognized for co-founding a company known as Dave’s Killer Bread. Previously, he had served more than 15 years in jail for numerous offenses involving burglary, drug distribution, assault, and armed robbery. While aged 9, Dahl started helping at the family bakery which was begun in 1955 by his father James A. “Jim” Dahl. Dave frequently quarreled with his father as he did not like operating at the bakery. Later, he began smoking cigarettes and consuming other drugs while still a teenager, leading to Meth at one point. Eventually, in 1980, Dahl dropped out of school, he was a high school student then. He was convicted and incarcerated in 1987 for the first time following a burglary in which he is said to have been involved.
In 1989 he was released and he rejoined the family’s bakery following a job offer from Glen, his brother but he quit the job later and moved to Massachusetts where he was arrested again and got convicted for armed robbery serving more time in prison. As if he had still not learned his lesson, he got arrested again in 1997 in Portland Oregon following which he was sent to River Snake Correctional Institution near Ontario, Oregon. While in prison in 2001, Dahl was made to attend a program for vocational training in drafting and designing with the aid of computers and drug treatment programs. Later, he began teaching the skills he had acquired to the inmates after he had excelled in the course.
In 2004, he regained his freedom and rejoined the family at the bakery. It was during this period that he came up with a new idea on making cornmeal-crusted loaf which they branded the name “Dave’s Killer Bread”. The brand became very successful and the company grew so quickly that by 2013 already it had employed more than 300 employees to market its headquarters alone.
Dave’s killer bread was eventually acquired by another company, Flowers Foods which purchased the company at $275 million. Furthermore, in 2016, Dahl launched a foundation which he named as Discover African Art, for which he unrolled a flagship showroom in Clackamas, Oregon, and a boutique in Portland’s Pearl District the year that followed. The organization contributed grains in a remote village in Mali in June 2017. Creating a positive change in another country from the profits of Dave’s Killer bread in the western world.
In November 2013, Dahl experienced a mental health problem, following which he said to have collided with three police vehicles. Three police officers suffered serious injuries and had to go to hospital, while Dahl engages in a fight with the deputies as they attempted to have him arrested. In October 2014, Dahl was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after which he was found guilty on one count of illegal use of a weapon and two counts of third-degree assault by a judge in Washington County. Psychiatric Security Review Board in the state was required to review Dahl before release from prison. Finally, he was placed under conditional release in January 2013 and was to be supervised by the Psychiatric Board. He was subsequently banned from visiting bars and driving. except being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Indeed, although Dahl experienced a troubling past that may have contributed to his delinquent behaviors, he managed to turn around and make a contribution that continues to be felt years later. This is a clear demonstration that there is hope after prison life as former prisoners can as well participate in important activities in society and make a significant contribution. Also, correctional facilities need to be modified to include more programs geared towards understanding the psychology of prisoners so as to ensure they are effectively rehabilitated.
For the two times that Dahl had been imprisoned previously, he came out of the prison as the same individual going ahead to re-offend. However, in his third arrest, he was placed in a program that seems to have worked positively on him such that he eventually came from prison as a rehabilitated person ready to now participate in family business something that he really did not like before. Moreover, he employed his creativity to come up with a brand that came to be loved by many. This shows that when effective rehabilitation programs are put in place criminals can also change and begin making significant contributions in society. As such, the government is obliged to ensure prisoners do not just waste their time in prison but they should be made to go through various programs capable of creating a psychological impression on the minds of the inmates. Imagine if all inmates had this opportunity.
Not all inmates have a family business to join when they get out of prison, in fact, most of them don’t. How can we create more opportunity for prisoners getting out?
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