LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The violent crime rate in Louisville and across the country is skyrocketing. From selling drugs to gang activity, law enforcement agencies agree a majority of the city's issues are interconnected.
Two men who have changed their lives after criminal pasts are discussing their impact on the community and the work they are doing to both counteract their contributions and help others find their way out of violent situations.
Canon Harper admits he used to be part of the problem. Harper spent a decade in federal prison and believes he's directly responsible for the city's drug problem. When he started his criminal activity, Harper said heroin and fentanyl were not as prevalent as they are now in Louisville.
"I was not a part of a gang per se, but I had friends and we were all into what we were into," Harper said. "I wasn't a low level drug dealer. So the things, what I was able to bring, contributed to the destruction. It could go from the east to the west end easily."
Harper came to Louisville after he says he was on the run from police in Detroit. Being on the run and involved in criminal activity deterred him from finding work.
After facing the possibility of 100 years in prison, Harper was fortunate to get out in 2018. In the three years since his release, Harper has started his own business and teaches children how to avoid the mistakes he's made.
"We have a lot of examples of people from the ashes and rising," Harper said. "We have to show it to them. We can't deprive them of anything that is going to help them understand that you can be something better. You are not the sum of your failures."
Harper said he hopes his story will encourage his own son to steer clear of his mistakes.
"I'm trying to raise him to expect to succeed," Harper said. "We don't hope to succeed. It's not an accomplishment that you didn't get arrested, it's not an accomplishment that your sister wasn't a teenage mom — those aren't accomplishments. We have to set higher standards."
Similarly, Kaelin Hall joined a gang his freshman year of high school — selling drugs while being a multi-sport athlete. Looking back on his life, Hall said he realizes he wasn't forced into that lifestyle.
"I was smart enough to know I could have gone to class and passed, I could have done anything I wanted, I just didn't want to," Hall said. "I thought this was the life and it wasn't."
Hall now goes by 'Uno,' a name he fully adopted after he was paralyzed in multiple shootings. His name was not the only thing he changed — he also made the decision to leave gang life.
"It's not like California or these other states where the gang owns the state," Hall said. "It's really a choice here. You can be born in a neighborhood, but everyone in a neighborhood doesn't claim that gang."
Television and movies often depict gang life as an all-or-nothing decision, but Hall said he was able to leave with just minimal teasing.
"I don't care what they think of me," Hall said. There's people I really hurt in this life. I can't take that hurt back, but for the rest of my life while I'm here, I can try and make it better."
Both men now share their experiences, explaining the impact of their decisions, the need for community and the importance of getting out before it's too late.
"It can be too late," Hall said. "Too late is when the bullets are already in you. You know, you're already in the ground, you can't change. There's 'shoulda woulda couldas' your family is going to want to say, and it's not going to bring you back."
►Contact reporter Hayley Minogue at hminogue@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.