Lonzie Golden read a copy of a Reader's Digest on his bunk at Columbia River Correctional Institute in Portland, four days before being released from a four and a half year prison term. He spent time in six prisons throughout Oregon, including Columbia River, from where he was released. He said he that he matured and grew as a person during his time inside, and that being in prison gave him a chance to contemplate life, something most people don't have time to do, he said. His mother, who predicted that he would go to prison, or worse, said "God is good. Everything happens for a reason."