BlaCc Iz Jesus
BlaCc Iz Jesus (Jamel Dontez Hatcher) grew up in Cleveland, Ohio but he has been incarcerated for almost 20 years. During his incarceration he has re-discovered his passion for spoken word poetry and he has written, produced and directed a film about the necessity of cherishing, defending and respecting women.
In the last decade, Dontez has taught a program about the power of communication in interpersonal relationships to over 200 incarcerated men. This has helped them to recognize toxic masculinity, thought errors, and ideas that become harmful actions. The books, knowledge and wisdom received to do this work was courtesy of Mrs. Janet Jenkins, the grandmother who raised Danielle.
Together, Mrs. Jenkins and Dontez named the program the "DANIELLE Project". He now shares his testimony through spoken word, speeches, facilitated courses and his upcoming audio book and podcast. He is working on his second degree in business administration and communications. He founded and runs the prison's debate team, "Liberation Aloud". Although still incarcerated, he is an activist for social justice, ending domestic violence, and criminal justice reform.
Did the Netflix show, "I am a Killer" Lead you here?
Welcome to the page!
Some thing you should know about this episode: "Melanie, JaNaé, Chyanne and I have all expressed dissatisfaction with this episode. Beyond the fact that there are several points of erroneous information in the cut cards that the producers wrote to insert their own false story for viewers, they purposely left elements out to guide viewers to draw conclusions at worst or have extreme skepticism at best.
People who know me, know that I love my daughter with everything in me. In my first interview I told them EVERYTHING on camera - the bad and the ugly - and Transitor producers and Netflix chose not to air it to seed skepticism and doubt - then having the detective "reveal" elements I already fully own and spoke about. Including leaving out that I wrongly believed that my daughter would safely be in police security as I saw them coming when I fled. That was only one of many horrific mistakes I made that day. I was a coward and a very stupid, selfish, unstable teenager.
But, as an adult, I have made the choice to put away childish and terrible things. I'm deeply sorry that I'm responsible for Danielle's death. My actions from 20 years ago haunt me. I am serving out my sentence without an 'early release' (a event the episode suspiciously focuses on) AND I am more grateful than I could ever express for the forgiveness and love from the Jenkins, Melanie, my wife and absolutely, my daughter. This was always about accountability, restoration and healing - regardless what a show putting viewership over people wants you to believe. And I'm dedicating my life to break cycles of violence, harm and pain. I love y'all. Even the naysayers, because I believe in redemption and I hope you do one day too.
Here is some of the Story Netflix Left Out (or got wrong)
https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/10/18/janae-bates-commitment-to-criminal-justice-reform-is-more-than-just-talk