BALTIMORE — Nestled in West Baltimore sits Saint Peter's Cemetery.
Opening in 1851, the graves here were once forgotten, sacrificed to trees, shrubs, and weeds for 18 years.
"In one year's time, we have cleared four sections of the cemetery. We cleared the historically African American section and then you can see we've cleared two additional sections," said Jennifer Johnson the Founder of Friends of St. Peter's Cemetery.
Now, with the help of inmates, the grave sites are being uncovered, and reclaimed from the Earth.
The six-man crew has cleared nearly half of the 22-acre cemetery.
From clearing large trees to straightening out headstones.
"It's giving back, as you look I can always come back and bring my kids and say look, that's something daddy helped, like I helped this, can't nobody take this away from him," said Travis Mathews, a member of the Prince Program.
The Prince Program is beneficial for the inmates and the graveyard.
"It gave me the opportunity to learn new skills, new training, and be with a group of guys I would consider family now," said Mathews.
The inmates start early, by the time we caught up with them they'd already torn down a tree.
Then, they were organizing headstones that had fallen down or been overtaken by dirt.
"Most of them are fathers and you can see that when they start they feel like it's a daunting task and like an hour in, they're revved and ready to go and it's really good to see their transformation," said Johnson.
The group wants to expand its work but says getting in touch with the owners of abandoned cemeteries is difficult.
And without permission from the owner, they can't do the work.
This legislative session they're hoping to get laws passed to make this work easier.
