Redemption

Has anyone heard of a new show being hosted by Kevin O'Leary called Redemption Inc.?

Apparently it's another "reality" tv show loosely based on The Apprentice type formula, but uses ex-convicts as the contestants.

 "Every criminal is a businessman, think about it," says O'Leary, best known as a brash judge on CBC-TV's "Dragons' Den" and the outspoken co-host of CBC News Network's "The Lang and O'Leary Exchange."

"If you're a very successful drug dealer you're a logistics expert, you're great in sales, you're great in marketing, you're great at inventory control. And now you can apply those talents to something that's legal as opposed to illegal, that's the whole idea of the show."

So, that's the basic premise, but this is the quote that left me scratching my head:

"O'Leary says the competitors have paid their debt to society and deserve a second chance, noting that ex-cons face an uphill battle when they return to society.

"You can't get a job, you can't borrow money, you can't get a credit card, nobody will touch you and you can't support yourself or your family, so within a matter of 24 months or less you're back in prison," he says.

"It costs a quarter of a million dollars a year to keep someone in prison. This is all about a second chance for people so we don't have to pay again. And they shouldn't either."

Has O'Leary's heart grown three sizes this day?

Some comments on websites carrying this story indicate the "Hang em High" crowd aren't pleased with this concept, so I think it'll be interesting to see if O'Leary sticks to his guns, so to speak.