The Real Attacker Found Him In Prison | Korey Wise | E53

Summary

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Podcast Summary: For Good

Episode: The Real Attacker Found Him In Prison... Then Everything Changed | Korey Wise

Host: Joseph "JoJo" Simmons
Guest: Korey Wise
Co-host: Vanessa Simmons
Release Date: June 2, 2026

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Episode Overview

This deeply emotional episode of For Good shines a light on the story of Korey Wise, one of the Central Park Five, whose wrongful conviction in 1989 changed his life forever. Beyond recounting headline events, the conversation explores Korey's personal journey through trauma, survival, the pursuit of healing, forgiveness, and resilience, especially after the real perpetrator confessed while they were both in prison. JoJo and Vanessa Simmons create an open and compassionate space for Korey to share his reflections on faith, finding solace, advocating for the unheard, and what “for good” truly means to him.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Who Korey Wise Was Before Incarceration

• Background & Dreams
  • Raised in the East Harlem community, deeply rooted in hip hop culture (03:15).
  • Influenced by artists like Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy, and Grandmaster Flash.
  • Dreamed of being a hip hop head and finding inspiration in music (03:49).
  • Quote:

    "I wanted to be a hip hop head as I would listen to those that was inspiring me…on a regular basis like church." — Korey Wise (03:49)

2. The Moment Everything Changed

• On the Night of the Arrest

  • Korey reminisces about “riding out” with a friend, not anticipating how a night would change their lives (04:28).
  • Underlines the importance of knowing your people’s hearts (04:59).

• Impact of Immediate Incarceration as a Teen

  • Sent to adult prison at 16.
  • Survival was the central focus, likened to being in a "jungle" (05:18).
  • Quote:

    "Just trying to survive. Which was very hard, like sleeping in the jungle or racist. Just trying to survive." — Korey Wise (05:18)

3. Finding Spirit and Resilience Inside

• Music as a Lifeline

  • Turned to radio and music as a mental escape from daily struggles (06:00).
  • Quote:

    "Just trying to sit to their little area radio station...Just trying to find a culture, keep your mind on things that you like instead of being stressed out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." — Korey Wise (06:00)

• Defining Resilience

  • For Korey, resilience meant survival—simply making it day-by-day (06:31).

4. The Real Attacker, the Confession, and Exoneration

• Unexpected Prison Encounter

  • The transformative moment came years later, when Matias Reyes, the true perpetrator, approached Korey in Auburn prison and confessed (07:53-12:40).
  • Korey’s encounter with Reyes was surreal and led to his eventual exoneration.
  • Vivid recollection of the moment, the tension, and the eventually freeing phone call from his mother announcing the news (12:40).
  • Quote:

    "My exonerator came about when Matias blessed me with his presence ... it felt like ten years later, one hundred twenty years later ..." — Korey Wise (07:53)
    "Some guy with an army jacket on just start walking my way...he’s like Reyes, Reyes, Reyes...I said okay, okay, okay..." (08:15)

• Leaving Prison

  • Korey details the complexity and fear of leaving prison: warnings from fellow inmates, a hurried release, and the challenge of re-entering society with little support (13:00).
  • Quote:

    "Nobody helped...they want to get money off my image. I’m just going through the BS..." – Korey Wise (15:13)

5. Life After Prison: Healing, Advocacy, and Public Perception

• Healing and Spiritual Growth

  • Connection with Rev. Sharpton and spiritual focus for himself and his daughter (16:48).

• Faith vs. Anger

  • Despite pain and betrayal, Korey maintains faith:

    "As a leader, I'mma always be good. I'm a believer. Yes, and always about money, I'm a believer." — Korey Wise (17:40)

• Continued Struggle

  • Describes ongoing challenges: being exploited, lack of real support, and legal battles (16:12).

6. On Forgiveness and Self-Love

• The Challenge of Forgiveness

  • Honest that he hasn’t found full forgiveness — for the system or those who wronged him (22:40).
  • Quote:

    "Forgiveness...it’s hard for you to do it, yeah, forgive right about now...for this one who just left me for dead..." — Korey Wise (22:55)

  • Details the impact of media-driven hate campaigns against the Central Park Five (23:32).

• Importance of Forgiving Oneself

  • JoJo urges Korey, and listeners, to focus on self-forgiveness as a first step (24:24).

7. Purpose, Legacy, and Healing

• Fatherhood as Healing

  • Finds daily healing and purpose through his daughter — striving to model a positive attitude for her (25:11).
  • Quote:

    "She don’t know what that is. All she know about is smiles. That’s it." — Korey Wise (25:11)

• Media Portrayals

  • Has only rewatched the dramatizations of his story once — emotional to see, grateful to the actor and creators for their work (26:41).

• Ongoing Barriers in Advocacy

  • Feels his advocacy efforts are blocked — “nothing's coming my way” — but persists for purpose, not fame (28:56).
  • JoJo and Vanessa respond with heartfelt prayers and affirmation, calling for his blessings to be unblocked (29:22).

8. Advice for Young People and What “For Good” Means

• Message to Unseen/Misunderstood Youth

  • "Stay strong. Just keep your head up. Eventually they will come your way. Just stay busy..." — Korey Wise (31:30)

• On “For Good”

  • “For good, for life. Maintain it…keep it on you like a Metro card.” — Korey Wise (32:07)

9. Reflection for His Younger Self

• If He Could Speak to 16-Year-Old Korey

  • “I'm still working on your behalf before I go.” — Korey Wise (32:42)

• How He Hopes to Be Remembered

  • “King son…enjoy the sun while springing is on his way." — Korey Wise (33:44)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Power of Music:

  "Music is, you get your getaway." — Korey Wise (06:19)

• On Meeting the Real Attacker:

  "Some guy with an army jacket on just start walking my way—he's like, you Wise? I said who the hell are you?... Reyes… okay, okay, okay." — Korey Wise (08:15)

• Prayers for Unblocked Blessings:

  "I'm gonna ask God right here on camera to take that blockness off of your blessings..." — JoJo Simmons (29:22)

• Living for His Daughter’s Innocence:

  "She don't know what that is. All she know about is smiles..." – Korey Wise (25:11)

• On Forgiveness:

  "Forgiveness…it's hard for you to do it. Yeah, forgive right about now." — Korey Wise (22:55)

• Strength for Young People:

  "Just stay strong. Keep your head up. Stay busy." — Korey Wise (31:30)

• What He’d Tell His Younger Self:

  "I'm still working on your behalf before I go." — Korey Wise (32:42)

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Important Timestamps

• 16-year-old Korey's world: 03:15 – 04:28
• Surviving adult prison: 05:18 – 06:48
• Encountering Matias Reyes & confession: 07:53 – 12:40
• Release from prison: 13:00 – 16:12
• On forgiveness & anger toward the system: 22:40 – 24:18
• Purpose through fatherhood: 25:11 – 25:30
• Feelings on TV portrayals: 26:41
• Blocked advocacy: 28:56 – 29:22
• Advice to youth: 31:30
• “For Good” meaning: 32:07
• What he’d tell his younger self: 32:42
• What he hopes people think of him: 33:44

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Tone & Takeaways

• The episode is raw, authentic, and healing-focused, guided by the wise, empathetic listening of JoJo and Vanessa Simmons.
• Korey’s voice alternates between exhaustion, hope, and stubborn perseverance—his story is a reminder of the strength required to survive and the ongoing work of healing.
• Listeners are left with a deep sense of respect for Korey Wise’s journey, a call for community support, and an affirmation that healing is a lifelong, evolving commitment that often begins within.

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Final Reflections

JoJo and Vanessa close the episode with heartfelt gratitude, underscoring the power, vulnerability, and legacy in Korey Wise sharing his truth on For Good.

"We see you. We love you. We hear you. We’re with you." — JoJo Simmons (35:33)

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For more soul-level conversations about resilience, healing, and purpose, subscribe to For Good wherever you listen to podcasts.

Transcript

[Corey Wise]

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[Jojo Simmons]

it was the prime of the century five youths were arrested at ninety sixth street at just sixteen years old his life changed forever after being wrongfully convicted in the nineteen eighty nine central park jogger case in new york city they

[Corey Wise]

seized on the fears of the people

[Jojo Simmons]

wilding the best deal characterization of the black man you spent a lot of

[Corey Wise]

money taking ads if they're found guilty if the woman died i think they should be executed i think that you should have the death penalty this armist do he put a contract over my head he set all that up the

[Jojo Simmons]

central park five men wrongly convicted imprisoned back in nineteen eighty nine today we are exonerated because the actual perpetrator confessed

[Vanessa Simmons]

and dna proved it did you rape the fence of park chaga yeah i did did you do it alone yeah

[Corey Wise]

i was alone that night my exonerator came about coming from rikers island to auburn some guy with an army jacket on just start walking my way he like you wise i said who the hell are you he's like andrea why are you trying to talk to me i said you've been up in here forever that you're not supposed to be

[Vanessa Simmons]

doing what his story has truly honestly

[Jojo Simmons]

touched me if you could sit down with sixteen year old corey wise for one minute what would you tell him what's good everybody it's your your guy

[Vanessa Simmons]

jojo simmons and it's vanessa simmons and

[Jojo Simmons]

welcome back to the for good podcast where we focus on the good never the bad and we're measured by what we do not what we have today we're honored to sit down with corey wise a man whose story impacted the world at just sixteen years old his life changed forever after being wrongfully convicted in the nineteen eighty nine central park jogger case in new york city he spent over a decade in prison for a crime he did not commit any and today he stands as a symbol of resilience strength and transformation and many

[Vanessa Simmons]

people were introduced to his story through the netflix series when they see us but this is more than a story about injustice it's about survival healing forgiveness and purpose today we're talking about who corey is beyond the headlines and what moving forward truly looks like corey man

[Jojo Simmons]

thank you for being with us brother for inviting me man we're excited to talk to you obviously very impactful story and excited to get into it i know you probably spoke about it a lot on many different platforms but we love to talk about impactful inspiring stories i would say on the four girl podcast so first of all we want to thank you for coming out and coming to chat with us thank you thank you of course let's get into it so before everything before everything the world knows about your story who were you at sixteen years old and what were your dreams back then this is

[Corey Wise]

east hall care came up in schaumburg plaza community along with and i always dated to hip hop culture the big daddy king public enemy ever been rockham grandmaster flash the furious five this was one hundred twenty fifth street the maltmore twenty five this just sucked with the

[Jojo Simmons]

energy yeah and what kind of dreams did you have at that at that

[Corey Wise]

age boy out the hood revolut energy just i guess i wanted to be a hip hop head as i would listen to those that was inspiring me to listen to them on a regular basis like church yeah so safe to

[Jojo Simmons]

say you loved hip hop music growing up at sixteen and really not to get into it yet but really it was almost like those dreams or that inspiration was stunted a little bit because you didn't really have time to explore it but that's something you knew you were passionate about very interesting wow very

[Vanessa Simmons]

yeah when you think about the moment your life changed what stands out to

[Corey Wise]

you most just i guess spiritually minded just being connected to my boy you and whatever that was going on in our community at that time just just ride out with my boy yeah just ride out with him whether he came up the same way i came up just ride out with him until later on till i saw otherwise yeah yeah so when you see otherwise as from there to now you just as i share kicking with my louis with my little people just you know your faith know know your people heart too know people's heart yeah now just leave it as that i love that i love

[Jojo Simmons]

that know your people's heart for sure now you were sent to an adult prison as a teenager what kept your mind and spirit alive during the darkest

[Corey Wise]

moments in there just trying to survive just trying to survive which was very hard like sleeping in the jungle or racist just trying to survive it's hard to sleep get asleep every time every chance you get it's just a jungle smelled like a jungle wow wow so

[Jojo Simmons]

how did you find moments of keeping your spirit alive during those times where it was hard to sleep or it was hard to have those moments in there or it was just smelt like a jungle felt like a jungle what kept your spirit alive they trying to

[Corey Wise]

sit to their little area radio station that's pretty much like rock rocking rock and pop just trying to find a

[Jojo Simmons]

culture keep your mind on things that

[Corey Wise]

you like instead of being stressed out twenty four hours a day seven days

[Vanessa Simmons]

a week so music has always been something that really like helps you yeah

[Jojo Simmons]

that's amazing yeah i love that music is you get your getaway yes sir

[Vanessa Simmons]

yeah so people use the word resilience a lot what did resilience actually look like for you day to day while

[Corey Wise]

you were inside survival just survival survival just just pretty much using that word survival just back up against the wall

[Jojo Simmons]

just you're just trying to survive every

[Corey Wise]

day that's it that's all you know it's not like being it's like it's not like coming up in new york in your culture right you're dealing with a whole different culture you're dealing with an angry culture as you find yourself looking at the movie tarzan and when this white guy came out to the jungle and he had to meet his distant family that's how that's how it was just just erupted jungle just angry

[Jojo Simmons]

jungle right wow so it's safe to say on your mind every day was just surviving making it through every day and just trying to survive yeah i know i know we you know we stepped back and we spoke about your time in there but i want to talk about when you finally got exonerated what was that moment like for you did freedom feel immediate or was it complicated was it a little bit more complicated than we realized you know everybody here is okay he got exonerated he's let go everybody's all happy but like was it more complicated than that or what was that feeling when you finally got exonerated

[Corey Wise]

i really don't see that word i just see the word life trying to live life live and let live life but when that word when that when that when that word came about we did feel it because my exonerator came about when matthias blessed me with his presence when he blessed me with his presence it felt like ten years later one hundred twenty years later when you in auburn coming from rikers island to auburn which is the drop off everybody that morning has to be in programs about eleven twelve ish that y' all that morning y' all everybody coming back from their program like twenty thousand deep out there like summertime everybody outside so i'm on the basketball court just waiting on the door to open up everybody socializing mingling whatever then some guy with an army jacket on just start walking my way as he walking my way i'm catching my little i'm catching my little flashbacks of who this guy is and rikers island fighting over tv about nothing this is where the skull came from so he came before me like you wise i said who the hell are you who you he's like reyes reyes reyes not really ringing a bell with me homie so we was in razzano we fought about the tv ah okay i said okay okay okay so wow you see i see you still got the scar on you over your eye over by your eye i said i'm holding it over here so he just communicated just trying to talk to me so i'm guessing while he's trying to talk to me i guess i'm feeling like tupac or eyes on me nobody don't anybody just so just listen to his talk to me i see you've been up in here forever i see you still holding down this bed that you're not supposed to be doing so you so you you go to church i said nah i'm i'm neutral you know i'm in church i'm down here blah blah blah blah blah it'd be nice if you could come down here one one of these sundays i think about it right now i think about it i think about and door opened up it's time for everybody to go in everybody just damn near rushing to the door back to my cell long story short the next day breakfast went out to breakfast and you know how you look outside during the summer spring what have you it's great clouds in the air that's how the meso was it's very scary hungry it felt like a thanksgiving like a thanksgiving time everybody was hungry and just it was like there he is i'm walking grabbing my breakfast i wanted to sit down but i couldn't sit down i took it back to myself i'm trying to eat i ain't trying to get i ain't trying to get eat on went back to myself my door opened up and they was like towards the end they were like wise you got a chaplain call out chaplain call out chaplain so meeting you i identified chaplain call out with death like what's going on in my house going to my mom's house had a little blood kid next door to me so your big bro wise yo take that walk yo take that walk get out yourself a little bit take that wall all right splash i'll take that wall i take that wolf splash splash was a blood kid so so pretty much the energy i'm getting from him without him knowing anything against women's work they work quick yeah without you even knowing that they work quick chances are he probably knew what i didn't know right he

[Jojo Simmons]

probably did the way that's why he thought he take that walk so i

[Corey Wise]

went down the jail priest said wise i said yeah he said phone try not to be on too long okay no problem picked it up peace hello this is my mom other wise i felt shit what's up huh she was hysterical what's going on what's happening somebody freed you what it's all on the paper i said wow you gonna have people coming to visit you i can't believe it he talked about you running into you whatever they just freed you i said oh okay that was it wow so i went back to my cell i had a few companies from the lower library area they got to me they said wise bought three of them they like wise we want no beef with you right now we don't want no beef with you you don't have nothing here with it order for your po order to sign out before you die in here serious you about to die up in here call for your co sign out today they looking to kill you up in here i said ah so some way somehow they got the officer's attention let wise out he wanted to see his po went to go try to go see my po they was lined up hard twenty deep ready to come see me they were like oh there he is right there and central park rape is right there said ah they had a few few guys president heading to city parole just put me out there they like wise wise don't worry about what you don't worry about what we hear from now we all know to worry about just get the fuck home go pio came through we talked called my mom and then i had an interview with channel seven that reyes had called we talked a little bit we talked a

[Jojo Simmons]

lot really

[Corey Wise]

and she just talked to me about reyes what reyes did but i didn't know who he was just blew my mind and they just pretty much pushed me out pushed me out of oburn's door because oburn had a lot of they had a lot of skeletons in their closet they ain't want no presses there no presses there so i went from there had my mom was there to bring it home try to do the new york thing nobody didn't want me everybody had money on their mind lived in the streets for about what ten years nobody helped anybody that had been home seven years before me nobody helped they don't help today fourteen years plus later nobody helps but they want to but they want to get they want to get money off my image i'm just going through the

[Jojo Simmons]

bs

[Corey Wise]

after doing lawyers after lawyers after lawyers that didn't want to deal with the case because it wasn't it wasn't it wasn't strong enough what have you but now you know i'm being played been taking over being robbed was robbed and being robbed now

[Jojo Simmons]

it's okay take your time i appreciate you sharing this i appreciate you sharing this so pretty

[Corey Wise]

much just pretty much the new energy is as a grown up church based boy i'm coming up with reverend sharpton i try to hang out with him a little bit before he go like the rest like the rest of our peers is leaving us so i try to hang out with him just for spiritual purposes for self and to share my little princess so when it's time for me to go i know she begun without begging for nobody for nothing as a black young girl so that's

[Jojo Simmons]

about it thank you so much for sharing that it's all right man you need a hug man i'll give you a hug brother you want me a hug man let me get a hug man i appreciate you sharing that brother we got you i appreciate you sharing

[Corey Wise]

that my brother this is pretty much after hearing you know court wise fifty some more years of life everybody go now from five to fifteen still looking to do fifteen in life if raise what never came forward i'll still doing i'll still be doing fifteen in life still fight for my life while the others are still on what's that sex offender registry but y' all welcome for your careers though i'm good i'm good as a leader i'mma always be good i'm a believer yes and always about money i'm a believer you good brother

[Jojo Simmons]

thank you god got you my brother thank you god got you it's all in god's doing it's all in god's timing it's all in god's love and you right this is what this podcast is about it's not all about money it's about the measure of who you are as a man the measure of who you are as a human and i can tell that you're a good human that's been tricked a lot you're a good human that people have tried to take advantage of but you still have a pure heart and i want you to know that on this podcast we see you have a pure heart my brother and we're in your corner you know no matter who's not in your corner we're in your corner my brother and i pray that you continue to find solace you continue to find peace and you continue to find love in your heart no matter what the world throws at you i pray you continue to throw love back as much as you can because i know you've dealt with a lot i know you went through things that a lot of people can't fathom a lot of people can't imagine a lot of people would never experience and you made it through you're still making it through you came here with your baby girl your beautiful baby girl i can tell you out here working you out here grinding and you're out here just wanting to be loved and i see that from you so i just want you to know that people do love you even if the ones close to you don't show you the ones that are far from you show it we all love you that's why we wanted you here because we appreciate your story we know what you've been through and we know that there's somebody out there right now that's watching that can really take your story and keep on going the fact that you're still going and you continue to keep on going no matter everything you've been through shows somebody out there right now that they can keep on going so i appreciate you continuing to share your story especially on this podcast my

[Vanessa Simmons]

brother thank you for sharing that with us it truly touched me really but how did you begin to rebuild after the world labeled you something that you

[Corey Wise]

were not i ain't come home thinking about that people opinion my opinion stopped it with reyes it stopped with him and that was all that matter but he made his little channel seven interview with diane sawyer and did you attack the central park jogger yeah i did

[Jojo Simmons]

did you do it alone mm he

[Corey Wise]

went down his line that put that that was icing on my cake i'm good yeah i'm good i'm not such a part five one he made a one out of me he ain't come out in the yard you see five dudes on the gate just kicking with each other doing a doo wild you saw me if he had not seen me holler at me kick it with me i'd be doing fifteen in life and still fight and still fight through it yeah along with the pills just living up in there just becoming becoming what they call it up there just becoming a monster up there yeah beast or whatever because it changes you every every sec from rikers to downstate from downstate to clinton from clinton this changes you i don't know how i don't know how but i i be in medication a lot

[Jojo Simmons]

how you talking about that medication my favorite cannabis it's okay we talk about cannabis on here that's about it that's my favorite medication too

[Corey Wise]

my bro that's about it just try to stay focused just try to keep focused just maintain it just just trying

[Jojo Simmons]

to maintain it yeah taking it day by day you know taking it one step at a time yeah now on the podcast you know we talk a lot about forgiveness and i feel like i hear a lot of forgiveness in your heart for a lot of people although they've done you wrong have you found space for forgiveness though and whether for the system the individuals involved or even yourself have you found that space for forgiveness for all of those things

[Corey Wise]

oh no i just find myself just pretty much just living my life but that part no but forgiveness

[Jojo Simmons]

it's hard

[Corey Wise]

for you to do it yeah forgive right forgive forgive right about now just feel that way about this one who just left me for dead and still leaving me for dead and still doing great for dead like i said outside of that you know i with this armist dude i don't know him at all but he put a contract over my head without me even knowing he put a contract over my head i had to learn that word contract from looking at the documentary of central park five chronicle after that terrible attack in

[Jojo Simmons]

central park you spent a lot of

[Corey Wise]

money taking ads the ads basically are very strong and vocal they are saying bring back law and order to our cities if they're found guilty if the woman died i think they should be executed i think you should have the

[Jojo Simmons]

death penalty this is why all this

[Corey Wise]

energy all this energy was coming my way i ain't all these people all this this is his word stabbed mom's his ad his ad became commissary to whoever could get me out before i head back to the street so i found myself putting all that together watching him perform on television of course i

[Jojo Simmons]

hate these people and let's all hate these people because maybe hate is what we need if we're gonna get something

[Corey Wise]

done he said all that up for his vote so just you know just

[Jojo Simmons]

i hear you can't forgive it's hard to forgive those people but i pray that you've forgiven yourself yes for anything that you feel you've done wrong or anything you feel you thought wrong i think the most important person we should forgive is ourselves and eventually we forgive everybody else but you don't need to work on everybody else just work on yourself right now you know like continue to forgive yourself and you'll find it in your heart to maybe not forgive but to almost not care about forgiving them as long as you are good with you you know and that's what i want you to know you know what i mean brother because i know it's hard like you said it's hard to see somebody that spoke about you that way and now is a very powerful figure and it's a lot you know it's a lot for you to process so i appreciate you sharing that

[Vanessa Simmons]

what has healing look like for you or is it like a continual everyday

[Corey Wise]

process well for now it'll be hard it would just be hard that baby girl you got exactly i can't come up with an ugly attitude she don't know what that is yeah she don't know none of that is all she know about is smiles that's it kids

[Jojo Simmons]

are angels you know kids don't know what's going on but they can also give you a whole different vibe when you realize that they live in a world of like happiness right innocence our innocence it does get it does get tampered with as we get older and older and older but sometimes just watching a child a young child reminds you of that innocence and reminds you of that free that feeling of freeness right so that's why i think we do go so hard when we do have kids and we realize they were a bigger purpose because we know that they have a chance that we no longer have you know what i mean not to say that we don't have a chance every day but they have a chance at a younger life that we already passed right and it's exciting to watch any young child grow into that because it's like seeing the world twice in a sense as an adult it's like seeing the world twice so watching your story portrayed publicly years later what emotions came of you seeing that chapter of your life revisited seeing it all come out publicly from the netflix movies i mean the netflix series to the documentaries all these things to seeing that actually play out publicly you know how was that for you watching it all over again revisiting that feeling well big

[Corey Wise]

up to my boy jarrell jerome continue with your success and that part i have it right i haven't i got into it one time i saw it one time and that was it and all i can say is my boy played me very well and he did well this this this won't happen it won't happen to me again it won't happen to me no more and i will if i get my hand on the child i'm gonna put my i'm gonna bless that child yeah i will

[Jojo Simmons]

say this before vanessa gets into a question you know i spoke to my wife about interviewing you very exciting you know we started watching that netflix series and couldn't finish just it brought us to tears you know like i never finished that series because i knew that it was unjustly i knew it was unfair it was hard to watch so that's why i say i appreciate you being so vulnerable here because if it was hard for us to watch it was harder for you to live and you can't you can't you can't really put into any film what you really went through you really can't portray what you really went through so i will say from my side looking in is i appreciate your resistance i mean your resilience not your resistance i appreciate your resilience i appreciate your strength continue to show up and still talk about this because i can tell that it's still hard it's still very hard for you to speak about and you're still finding ways to find strength whether it's through your daughter whether it's through anybody else you're finding ways to find strength so i will say that it was hard for me to watch as well it

[Vanessa Simmons]

was definitely was something that was hard to watch i watched it but you're just getting so angry yeah i got angry yeah angry and sad and mad it's just so many emotions i got

[Jojo Simmons]

super angry like it really made me mad i don't like people i'm a libra it's the libra way and you know pretty sure most humans like this just don't like people getting done unfairly you know it's not fair you know and so that's just you know that's just how i saw it was like i couldn't finish it i couldn't watch

[Vanessa Simmons]

it i couldn't watch it but you have turned your pain into purpose so can you talk a little bit about like your advocacy work that you do

[Corey Wise]

work wise it's slow motion nothing nothing's coming my way nothing's coming my way it's being blocked somebody blocking my blessing it's being blocked it's being blocked because i'm not a kiss up it's being blocked i just try to do what i can just try to do what i can what i can what i can i'm just being blocked well i'm

[Jojo Simmons]

gonna before i get into this question i'm gonna ask god right here on camera to take that blockness off of your blessings i want him to take that heavy weight off of your blessings i want father god to sit here and tell you that it isn't blocked he's just getting you prepared for your next motion all right so i want you to realize that if you feel like your blessings are being blocked i'm asking father god right here to release those blockings i'm asking father god right here to release and to let go of those obstacles that you have to go through i don't want you to feel like your blessings are being blocked and i want everybody to hear on this podcast and i want all my subscribers all subscribers to write please unblock his blessings father god unblock his blessings father god unblock corey wise's blessings unblock his blessings father god this is a good man right here this is a good heart he has a good heart and he just wants he just wants love and he has love in his heart so let's unblock his blessings i didn't mean to turn this episode into a church but i feel like you need to hear that and i feel like we need to say it out loud so that we can know we're going to those blessings are going to be unblocked they're going to flow through i pray that when you walk out of these doors a blessing comes your way because that's the only way i know my brother is to continue to have faith for you for me for my sister for everybody around me i don't know where we're going to go i don't know where you're going to go next i don't know what's going to happen next but i do know i'm going to continue to have you in my prayers i'm going to continue to make sure that god unblocks those blessings for you my brother and i hope he unblocks everybody's blessings that's watching this episode right now unblock my blessings if anybody's trying to block mine unblock my sister's blessings if anybody's trying to block hers unblock anybody in this studio's blessings if anybody feels like their blessings are being blocked i'm asking god to take that blocking off that blessing right now because i know there's so many people out there that feel like their blessings are being blocked but the moment you can say my blessings are not being blocked and it's all in god's hands you will realize that those blessings will open up they will open up for you my brother they will open

[Corey Wise]

up

[Jojo Simmons]

now for young black and brown boys who may feel unseen unheard or misunderstood like i feel like you have what would you want them to know today

[Corey Wise]

stay strong just keep your head up eventually they will come your way just stay busy don't put too much focus on that you stay busy it

[Vanessa Simmons]

come your way after everything you've experienced what does for good mean to you

[Jojo Simmons]

personally so where this is so this is the for good podcast so she would love to know and you can ask it again like what does that mean to you the word the new the two words for and good when you come on here when you think about being good and putting good in the world what does that mean to you for our subscribers for good

[Corey Wise]

for life feel good for life maintain it maintain it it's like it's a scripture maintain it if you're not to reach it maintain it keep it on you like a metro car peace

[Jojo Simmons]

now if you could sit down with sixteen year old corey wise for one minute one minute what would you tell him i'm

[Corey Wise]

still working on your behalf before i go

[Jojo Simmons]

amazing that's good so sometimes a few words are the most powerful words you know what i mean and if i could tell sixteen year old corey wise something i'd tell him that

[Corey Wise]

it's

[Jojo Simmons]

gonna be okay you just gotta you just gotta see it through you know it's gonna be okay i think the biggest blessing you got in life was not serving fifteen to life and being able to come out and try again you know so that's all i really want to tell you and to the sixteen year old corey wise is you'll be here on the for good podcast speaking of vanessa and jojo simmons and being vulnerable about what's going on in life but you'll you'll have a chance

[Vanessa Simmons]

you know be on the other side

[Jojo Simmons]

you'll be on the other side

[Corey Wise]

of

[Jojo Simmons]

course now as we close this up this has been an amazing episode i mean we've we've had tears we've had some laughs we've had some hugs when people hear your name now what do you hope that they think of first

[Corey Wise]

king son king son if you know jesus name do you know my name king son enjoy the sun while springing is on his way enjoy the sign

[Jojo Simmons]

king son some powerful words powerful powerful words meaning you know it's all through god and jesus and that's all you need to keep on taking your path to wherever you're going as you know it's all guided by god so i love that yeah so as we wrap up this conversation corey i once again vanessa and i want to thank you for coming here and being so vulnerable come here and and bringing up the past i know it's hard to talk

[Corey Wise]

about what else i love it i love it i enjoy sitting i love it i love it yeah i guess i found myself doing that i enjoy sitting because those are my prayers i want those to be answered anybody else's prayers have been answered come on y' all but that's about it i have to rejoice in that he can hear

[Jojo Simmons]

you your prayers will be answered he can hear you my brother this story

[Vanessa Simmons]

is truly honestly it's touched me and i had admire you so much for the strength that you have shown and for you being so transparent and sharing this with us i think that it'll touch so many people it has touched me i will be thinking about this for forever and i'm honored to be in your presence and to talk to

[Corey Wise]

you about this thank you so usually

[Jojo Simmons]

before we get out of here i usually give out we usually give our guests some four good flowers they're not real flowers they're words of encouragement but i feel like vanessa just gave you

[Vanessa Simmons]

flowers without telling you i jumped the

[Jojo Simmons]

gun i'm sorry it's okay that's what this is what i want people to know in this in the spaces that's what the flowers are about they're not written down they're not scripted they're not thought about they're literally overviews of the end of the conversation and what moves us to say those words so i'm going to leave it on this note i usually add to those flowers i add a little bit more but i think vanessa said those words perfectly but i appreciate you once again coming here i appreciate you sharing your story i appreciate your res i appreciate your strength i appreciate your heart and we appreciate you cory wise the world appreciates you cory wise vanessa and jojo appreciate you cory wise we see you we love you we hear you we're with you you know so i just want you to remember that and i hope you feel that and i hope you felt that in this conversation that we are truly supportive of you my brother so we're gonna going to end this conversation now this was an amazing conversation on the for good podcast make sure you guys hit that subscribe button hit that like button write some comments in the comments let us know how you felt about this conversation beautiful beautiful conversation it's your guy jojo simmons vanessa simmons and

[Corey Wise]

corey wise and this is the for

[Jojo Simmons]

good podcast where we focus on the good never the bad and we're measured by what we do not what we have signing out till next time much

[Corey Wise]

love peace peace

[Jojo Simmons]

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