With much anticipation, we sat down with Fox’s soon-to-be newest show 2nd Chances Saves Lives inspired by Producer Paul Nutall’s falsely incarceration.
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself?
A: I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, to a single mother of nine children. From the very beginning, I knew what it was like to struggle. Despite the large hurdle life placed before me, I was able to stand on his own two feet, becoming a renowned gang-unit officer and three-time kickboxing world champion. I would even oversee former NBA champion, Sean Elliott, as his karate instructor. Although things were starting to look up to me, my family would wrongfully disown him. The situation drove me to leave San Antonio in 1994.
I eventually moved to Michigan, earning two Master’s degrees in Criminal Justice and Political Science. I used my degrees to become the Regional Youth specialist director at Wolverine Human Services, where I thrived for seventeen years. Despite how busy I had been, I continued training boxers, even sparring with Hall of Famer professional Chris Byrd. My training sessions were instrumental to Byrd’s victory over Evander Holyfield. Additionally, I contributed as a sparring partner for Hasim Rahman, helping him earn the heavyweight championship in 2001. Once again, things were starting to look up, but by 2007, I would fall victim to a wrongful conviction. Accused of a Nigerian scam, I would spend fourteen months in jail as I waited for my trial. When the time finally came, the judge dropped the charges upon reviewing my innocence. Although I was free, I had to be picked up again shortly for my inability to pay child support.
After serving for another six months, I would try to reconcile with my family. In the twenty-five years since I had left, I discovered that my mother had passed away in 2017. Life started to take a downhill turn as my father followed three months later. Tragedy continued to strike as Hurricane Harvey took my eldest twin daughters to Houston.
Most people would have given up and fallen into a deep depression, but I managed to march through the gloom of my trials and tribulations. I would later film a reality show where I would run into a girl I dated in the past named Ariana Vasquez. I was forced to let her go due to her criminal background which led to more troubles, as she wrote a false report about me in an attempt to ruin my career and reputation. When confronted, it was revealed that she was jealous of another castmate that I eventually married.
Despite all the troubles I went through, I grew in faith, pushing forward to achieve my goals. Together with my wife, we created the television program 2nd Chance Saves Lives and Forgotten Prisoners. We as a couple have been helping people from Hollywood and all walks of life get the chance to redeem themselves. With the program gaining traction, my wife and I foresee our 2nd Chance organization generating more spin-off shows. We also envision our franchise broadcasting to other countries to help other individuals. Regardless of what happens, my wife and I plan to use our platform to influence, motivate, and inspire the next generation.
Q: Why were you incarcerated?
A: In 2007, I fell victim to a Nigerian scam where they swindled me into thinking that I was going to coach 13 boys in Nigeria for boxing. They sent me a cashier’s check for a large amount of money where later they asked me to put it in my bank to clear. After the funds cleared, I thought that it was a legit check. So when they called me and said 10 kids dropped out and that I had to refund 90% of the money back to different cities in Nigeria, I willingly did it because it was cleared from my bank. A year later I received a letter saying that I was indicted for bank fraud, wiring fraud, and other charges up to 40 counts by the grand jury. I was angered by the injustice after sharing my side of the story with the secret service agent at the start of the investigation a year prior.
Q: What did you learn from your experience?
A: I learned that people who are wrongfully incarcerated and who are serving time are affected mentally and emotionally, more than those who are guilty.
Q: Do you have any challenges or limitations due to your false incarceration?
A: When I was released, I was unable to use my two master’s degrees because of the felony that was left on my record, which led me to become homeless. Years later, because of the felony on my record, many business opportunities were hindered and passed on doing business with me due to the fact that they felt that I was involved in the Nigerian scam. This led me to have to work harder in finding people who would not look at my past but who would judge me based on the person I am today.
Q: What do you want others to take from your story?
A: I would like to encourage people to never give up no matter the obstacles that may come in life, to continue to fight for the truth, and to keep God First in your life with constant prayer, because He is the one who will make a way when it seems like there is no way.
Q: How can others help you with your mission?
A: If there are organizations or individuals with connections out there who have resources that can help our inmates on our Forgotten Prisoners TV show to get released at a quicker pace, please visit our website under our “offer help” tab to reach out to us – https:// 2ndchancesaveslives.org/offer-help
Q: How can readers get in contact with you?
A: The best way to get in contact with our organization is through our website: https://2ndchancesaveslives.org/home OR if readers would like to follow our mission, they can find us through our social media platforms:
LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/2ndChanceTVProduction | O: (833) 388-8220 | IG:@2nd_Chance_Saves_Lives | FB: @2ndChanceTVproductions | @2ndChanceSavesLives | @2ndChanceRadioTV | @ForgottenPrisoners | Twitter:@2ndChanceSaves
Q: What is next for Paul Nutall?
A: To give the wrongly convicted, innocent inmates, or incarcerated too long a chance to share their stories to get them free across the world, because no one should ever be wrongly despaired of their rights to liberty and freedom without just cause.
And to go global with our Forgotten Prisoners TV show & 2nd Chance Saves Lives TV show.