He Committed Murder at Age 16. Then He Got a Second Chance.

Ronald Olivier shot and killed another teen in New Orleans in 1991. Tried as an adult and facing the possibility of the death penalty, Ronald cried out to God. Right away, amazing things started to happen.

Hear how Ronald’s life was transformed during the decades he spent in one of America’s most notorious prisons on this episode of GPS: God. People. Stories. 

Join with us in prayer for the United States of America at OneNationUnderGod.com. 

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Transcript

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:00:00] I found myself at the age of 16 arrested for first-degree murder. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:00:08] Ronald Olivier shot and killed another teenager in New Orleans on Christmas Day 1991. Tried as an adult, he faced the possibility of the death penalty. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:00:20] Twelve people that really don’t know anything about me is about to make a decision on whether I live or die. And I don’t want to die.  

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:00:31] As the jury deliberated, Ronald cried out to God. The story you’re about to hear sounds like a movie script. So, settle in as Ronald shares his almost unbelievable story on this episode of GPS: God. People. Stories. It’s an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. I’m Jim Kirkland. It might come as a surprise to you that all of us will face a sentencing. Every one of us. Here’s how Billy Graham said it. 

Billy Graham: 
[00:01:00] The Bible says we have all sinned. What will be the charges against you at the judgment of God? The charges will be that you have broken God’s law. That you have willfully transgressed His moral law. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:01:14] We are guilty. However, there is good news, which we’ll hear Billy Graham share a little later on in this episode. But if you’re in need of some good news now, if you’re unsettled and not at peace with God, you don’t have to wait. Go to FindPeacewithGod.net and see how Jesus Christ can come into your life right now. That’s FindPeacewithGod.net.  

Audio tag:
[00:01:40]

Ronald Olivier:
[00:02:06] Hey, my name is Ronald Olivier. I grew up in the inner cities of New Orleans, Louisiana. Um, and I come from a broken home where I spent weekends with my father, some holidays, and some summers with him. And, um, most of the school year with my mother. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:02:07] Growing up, Ronald sometimes attended Catholic mass with his mom. And other times, he went with his dad to a Baptist church. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:02:17] Two things you didn’t have a choice about in the household were going to school and going to church. It wasn’t a question. You know, you were going there. I grew up like that until about the … probably about the age of 14 or 15. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:02:32] He says his mom became a little bit more lax about church attendance as he got older, but not his dad. Ronald loved his father and looked up to him. So, when he moved 500 miles away to Jacksonville, Florida, it broke Ronald’s heart. 

Ronald Olivier:  
[00:02:47] Dad really hurt me. I felt abandoned. My little juvenile mind couldn’t really process that. And I just felt like he left me. And I was really angry. And right around the same time, it was the late 1980s. The crack epidemic took place. And so, crack floods my neighborhood, and along with drugs, always follows violence. 

Jim Kirkland:   
[00:03:14] At 11 years old, Ronald witnessed a murder. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:03:19] I was looking out the window. And I heard two guys arguing. They’re having an altercation. And one guy pulls out a gun and starts shooting the other guy. And he lay there and bled. And before you know it, the police and ambulance came. And he was pronounced dead on the scene. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:03:37] This wasn’t the last murder Ronald would see. It was just the first of many instances of violence and death that his young eyes took in. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:03:47] Any kid, you know, our greatest teacher is not what we hear but what we see. And so, I grew up seeing a lot of violence, a lot of drug deals, and robberies. All types of crime going on in my neighborhood. And, of course, I began to adapt to it. And so, the streets began to form me. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:04:07] Ronald lost his sensitivity to violence and the sacredness of human life. He modeled himself after older guys in his neighborhood. They had nice cars, jewelry, and money. And they began to groom him for the same kind of life. Stealing cars, selling drugs, and fighting rivals. In late 1991, when Ronald was 16, he and some friends jumped another teen. They’d run into him again on Christmas Day. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:04:38] There’s three of us all together, me and two other guys. And he was with about five or six guys. So, when he sees us, I guess he felt that he had the advantage. But, um, because of the neighborhood I grew up in, I was always accustomed to wearing a gun. And at the time, I was selling drugs. And so, you had to protect yourself at all times because there – there was, um, guys who their skill set or craft, for lack of a better term, was to rob the drug dealers. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:05:14] Ronald knew the occupational hazards. A robbery could quickly turn into a killing. So, when his companions suggested they get out of there, he agreed, but reluctantly. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:05:26] And so, we started to walk. And they started to follow us. 

Jim Kirkland:    
[00:05:31] When Ronald crossed the street, the other guys crossed too. Eventually, he came to a city bus sitting at a stop. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:05:39] And so, by the time I step on the front step of the bus, the guy tries to pull me off the bus. And I turn around and shoot. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:05:49] The bus pulled away with him on it. It was only later, when Ronald was watching the news on TV, that he learned that one of the teens he was running from had been shot. Dead. 

Ronald Olivier:  
[00:06:01] The guy who – who I actually had the confrontation with, he had lived. He was shot four times. And there was another guy who was with him got shot twice. And he is the one that died. He was 14 years old. 

Jim Kirkland:  
[00:06:14] Ronald tried to tell himself that he opened fire out of self-defense. But deep down, it rocked him. 

Ronald Olivier:  
[00:06:22] I was left like confused. Like, what just happened? You know. It happened so fast. And then, even later, I could remember looking in the mirror. I was by my cousin’s house. I was looking in a mirror. And I was like, man. And I was really talking to myself in the mirror. I was like, man, who are you? What have you done? What have you become? And I was crying, looking at myself in the mirror, trying to figure out who I was. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:06:50] Ronald turned himself in to the police. He figured that once he gave his self-defense story, he’d be free to go. That’s not what happened. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:06:59] I found myself at the age of 16 arrested for first-degree murder. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:07:07:] The state of Louisiana charged him as an adult, which meant that he could face the death penalty. Ronald turned 17 as his case worked its way through the courts. As his trial concluded, a jury had to decide whether he was guilty of first-degree murder. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:07:23] And so, at that moment, everything gets real. I feel the weight of everything while I’m in a cell when the jury is deliberating. Prior to that, everything was really a joke to me. Look, I’m going home soon. But when I got in that cell while the jury was deliberating on whether I live or die, oh, man, everything just came down on me. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:07:49] Alone in his cell, some time after midnight, Ronald began to think about life and death. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:07:56] Twelve people that really don’t know anything about me is about to make a decision on whether I live or die. And I don’t want to die. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:08:07] Ronald could hear his mother’s voice clearly in his mind. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:08:11] A year prior to that, my mother told me, baby, if you’re ever in trouble that I can’t get you out of, you call on Jesus. Oh, that echoed so loud in my ears until I just got on my knees, and I began to cry out to the Lord in that cell while they were deliberating. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:08:30] In that moment, 17 year old Ronald pleaded with God. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:08:36] A lot of people said you shouldn’t make a deal with God. I made a deal with Him. And I said, Lord, if You don’t let them kill me, I promise You I’ll serve You the rest of my life. And for the first time in my life, I experienced the peace of God. I didn’t know what it was, but there was this inward assurance that I was going to be okay that I couldn’t really explain. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:09:00] The jury found him not guilty of first-degree murder, but guilty of second-degree murder, which meant life in prison without parole. Ronald says that day, he received two life sentences. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:09:14] One that the state gave me that had no benefits. But the other one that the Lord gave me that has so many benefits that He reminds us in His Word to not forget them. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:09:26] Ronald headed to prison. And at age 18, he was transferred to Louisiana State Penitentiary, better known as Angola. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:09:35] You’ve probably heard of it as being the bloodiest prison in America. And it was really rough. So, I’ll never forget on- on that road, the Angola Road; it’s a 20-mile road that takes you to the middle of nowhere to this plantation that’s 18,000 acres. That’s Angola. And I’m thinking to myself on that bus, I’m like, man, what-what have I gotten myself into? 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:10:03] After the prison bus rolled through the gates, its first stop was at the prison hospital for a checkup. Everyone inside stared at this tall, skinny teenager. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:10:15] I’m handcuffed and shackled. And as I’m going through the hospital, guys are just staring at me. You know. And there was one particular guy. I was like, man, what are you looking at? What do you think you know me or something? And so, I’m basically checking people. But guys, I can’t look back now and see the guys were like, man, it’s a kid here. What is this kid doing in here? I just had a few strands of hair in my face. I looked like I was about 12 or 13 years old. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:10:46] For a long time, Ronald was not allowed to mix with the general population. Now, to an extrovert like him, solitary confinement felt worse than taking his chances with the other inmates. About eight months went by. The isolation was more than he could bear. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:11:02] And you stay in there 23 hours a day. You only get one hour on a yard or hole. And I’m like, man, the cell went to closing in on me. And I actually begged the man to please let me be okay. Could you please let me in population. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:11:17] Finally, the guards let Ronald begin to mix with the other prisoners. Looking back, he can see the timing was God’s protection and provision. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:11:26] God was really protecting me. And He was sending me around the right people that was willing to help me. And I heard. Because in the cells, when I prayed that prayer in that cell, man, a lot changed in my life. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:11:42] One by one, Ronald met people who took time for him, including an inmate counselor who became a father figure and helped Ronald get his GED. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:11:51] And then, amazingly, in 1995, Angola established an extension center there with the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. And so, I ended up joining it. Also ended up and took four years for, um, a Bachelor’s degree in Christian ministry. And I remember getting it. I got in there about 1999. And I was really in college.  

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:12:18] Ronald earned his bachelor’s in Christian ministry and immediately put that degree to work. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:12:24] They would give you a little area in the prison, and you’re responsible for ministering to those guys in that area. Bring religious material. Make sure they have Bibles or what have you. Counsel them. Another part of our job was to bring a death message if the inmate had family members that died. The Chaplains Department or Security would contact the inmate minister in that area. And we would bring them that message and just sit there and lay alongside of them. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:12:55] Many inmates went into ministry through the Bible College Program. If you can believe it, Angola had such an abundance of prisoner pastors. The warden at the time decided to send some of them out to other prisons as missionaries. Ronald sensed God calling him to serve in that way. He was transferred to another prison, which had established a church for its inmates. The pastor of that prison congregation was scheduled to be released from prison the night Ronald arrived. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:13:24] And then, the chaplain tells the congregation, okay, I want to introduce y’all to your new pastor. Pastor Ronald Olivier. Like, man, what is going on here? So, I had just gotten off the bus. They already had, um, the church was completely functioning. Um, they had all ministers. All of the ministers on staff, they were waiting to be next. And so, I step off the bus into that situation. I’m like, man, the chaplain has lost his mind. I talked to him later. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:14:01] The chaplain didn’t waver. He wanted Ronald to pastor the church. So, that’s what he did, ministering regularly to hundreds of inmates.  And that was just the beginning. Whether at Angola or elsewhere, God used Ronald to transform lives. And as he served inside prison walls, something exciting was happening on the outside. 

Ronald Olivier: 
[00:14:23] In 2012, the United States Supreme Court came down with a ruling in Miller vs Alabama that said it was unconstitutional to give a juvenile under the age of 18 a mandatory life sentence. Said it violated, um, our 8th amendment, which is cruel and unusual punishment. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:14:45] At the center of the case, the science of adolescent development. A teen’s frontal lobe, the part of the brain that helps to understand risks and consequences, takes several more years to fully form. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:14:59] And so, they said we couldn’t be charged exactly like an adult and sentenced like an adult. That we should have some type of meaningful opportunity for freedom because juveniles are more likely to be rehabilitated than adults because they’re still trying to mature. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:15:15] The Supreme Court agreed that teenage convicts serving life sentences should get another chance. But the state of Louisiana said the law was not retroactive. That meant it couldn’t help Ronald. However, the Supreme Court would step in again, declaring that the law was retroactive. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:15:35] And so, Louisiana had to develop a law to remedy that. And they came with legislation that said, um, after 25 years, if you were a juvenile with a life sentence, you were eligible for parole. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:15:49] By that time, Ronald had spent almost 27 years in prison. In 2018, now in his 40s, he had the chance to stand before a parole board and request his freedom. But first, he needed to speak with someone else. The mother of the young man he had shot and killed. Ronald told her that he took full responsibility for his actions and prayed she would find a way to forgive him. Amazingly, she not only forgave him; she said he deserved a second chance. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:16:22] November 2018, I went on a parole board and had a unanimous decision that I be freed. And in 2018 of November, um, I walked out of the prison free. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:16:36] Actually, Ronald ran out of the prison. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:16:40] Oh, man, it was – I felt like I was dreaming. It didn’t even feel real. I’ll never forget when they called my name and told me I was being released. When I got on the walk, everyone telling me bye. And when I got to the breezeway where you go to the hospital where they actually release you, I broke out running. I just took off running … full speed. And in my mind, I guess somewhere in my mind, I felt like, yeah, I better hurry up and get out of here before they change their mind. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:17:15] Try to imagine entering prison in the early 1990s and getting out in 2018. It was like stepping into a different world. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:17:24] I can remember the first time I walked in – stepped foot into Walmart. I just was stuck. I couldn’t move. I’m just looking at all the choices. It was overwhelming. The self-checkout blew my mind. Even at public restrooms, everything was so sensored. You know, you just put your hands up to the wall. You walk away from the toilet. It flushed. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:17:48] One of the hardest things for many ex-convicts is finding employment. But that wasn’t the case for Ronald. A chaplain he met while in prison later became the mayor of a small town in the middle of Louisiana. He offered Ronald a job right away. And Ronald had support from another corner. During his last few years in prison, he had met a woman who was visiting her cousin behind bars. They became close friends. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:18:14] Some kind of way, um, she just fell head over heels for me. You know. No, really, to tell the truth, I’m the one who fell. You know. But we still just stayed with a solid friendship and wanted to see where it was going to take us when I had gotten out. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:18:32] They got married five months after Ronald’s release. Nine months later, they had a baby boy. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:18:39] And so, it was just overwhelming. Everything that was happening. A lot of connections that God had given me some real divine connections while I was in prison. A lot of ministries was flying me to their state and sharing my story at their churches. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:18:57] These days, Ronald is a prison chaplain at Louisiana’s Dixon Correctional Institute. He’s continuing to fulfill the promise he made to God more than 30 years ago, while a jury weighed whether he should live or die. When he tells an inmate that he can put his trust in Jesus Christ no matter what, Ronald Olivier is truly speaking from experience. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:19:21] Basically, man, um, no matter what situation you’re in, no matter what you have done or are doing, man, if you really give your whole heart to God, He can do something with it. He can bring you places you’ve never been or put you in spaces that you never thought you would be in. He’s just looking for someone to submit their life to Him. Someone that’s crazy enough just to believe Him at His word. I promise you your life will never be the same if you give your life to Him. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:19:53] Ronald likes to say don’t tell me what God can’t do. 

Ronald Olivier:
[00:19:58] That’s been my theme right there. Don’t ever tell me what God can’t do. He can do anything at any time to anybody. He’s just looking for somebody to believe. 

Music tag:
[00:20:08]

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:20:23] Today, we met Ronald Olivier, who spent over a quarter of a century in prison for second-degree murder and now ministers in prison to inmates as their chaplain. If Ronald’s story of committing his life to Jesus Christ has stirred you to realize you need to make Jesus Christ Lord of your life, go to FindPeacewithGod.net and click on Begin a Relationship with Jesus. That’s FindPeacewithGod.net. You can also find this link in our show notes. We mentioned earlier that Ronald’s life story reads like a movie script. In a few minutes, we’ll hear about what might be next in the script for the prison chaplain. 

Audio tag:
[00:21:03] 

Billy Graham: 
[00:21:12] The Bible says we have all sinned. What will be the charges against you at the judgment of God? 

Announcer:
[00:21:19] Billy Graham … 

Billy Graham: 
[00:21:20] The charges will be that you have broken God’s law. That you have willfully transgressed His moral law. Some of you listening to me are saying, God certainly won’t judge me. I’m not a bad sinner. I’ve never committed very many sins. But how many sins must you commit to be a sinner and come under the judgment of God? The Bible says only one. When I stand at the gate of heaven, I’m going to throw myself on the mercy of the court. I’m going to cling to the cross. My only reason for being in heaven will be the grace of God and the cross of Jesus Christ. His grace is greater than my sin. His mercy is greater than my iniquities. And there’s one thing invisible to God, and that is my sins when they were under the blood of Christ. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:22:10] The only way to receive forgiveness from your sins is through Jesus Christ. If you’ve never trusted Jesus Christ with your life and you’d like to know more about who He is, a good starting point is FindPeacewithGod.net. There, you can learn what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. And if you’re already a Christian, you can explore ways to grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s FindPeacewithGod.net. We’ve been hearing an amazing account from Ronald Olivier, a prison chaplain who spent almost 27 years behind bars. A few years ago, Ronald shared his story at Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York City. And someone in the congregation that day thought it would make a great book. Ronald signed a publishing deal. And his book is called 27 Summers. Now, there’s talk about turning the book into a movie. 

Ronald Olivier:  
[00:23:07] Up until this point, God has did it all. So, I’m not trying to push nothing. You know, He’s been doing it. I’ll just let Him do it. I want-I want my story to be authentic. I don’t want it to be aired just for people to watch it or whatever. I really want to stay authentic and just try to find the right person for that. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:23:30] I would watch that movie. We’ll be praying that it happens and that the script stays true to the real story of what God has done through Ronald’s life. Something else to keep in your prayers this week, the United States of America. As the country approaches its 250th birthday this July 4th, Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association are calling on Christ followers across the nation to pray for our country. Please consider joining us. You can get more information at onenationundergod.com. Again, that’s onenationundergod.com. We also have the link available in our show notes. Thank you for joining us on this episode. If you want to hear more of these stories as soon as we post them, make sure you’re subscribed to GPS on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube.  In the middle of life, GPS is here in the middle of the week, every other Wednesday. I’m Jim Kirkland. And this is GPS: God. People. Stories. It’s an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Always good news. 

Music tag:
[00:24:33] 

End of transcript