On today’s episode, we continue our conversation with Bill and Debbie Kennedy, a couple whose story of endurance and hope will inspire you. After Bill was accused and sentenced for crimes he didn’t commit, he and his wife Debbie turned to their faith, discovering God’s purpose behind their suffering. Be captivated by their unwavering belief in grace and the transformative power of love, as they share lessons from their journey on Family Talk.
Welcome everyone to Family Talk. It’s a ministry of the James Dobson Family Institute supported by listeners just like you. I’m Dr. James Dobson and I’m thrilled that you’ve joined us.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, welcome to Family Talk, the broadcast ministry of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. I’m Roger Marsh with a question for you. What would you do if you faced 17 years in federal prison for a crime you didn’t commit? How would you respond to such an overwhelming injustice? Well, on today’s edition of Family Talk, we’re continuing a remarkable conversation with a couple who faced that same situation, Bill Kennedy and his wife, Debbie. Now, many, many years ago, when Dr. Dobson was still working in the classroom, Bill was one of his eighth grade students. He was a popular athlete, a fine young man who built a successful business helping people invest in precious metals. But aggressive prosecutors accused him of crimes he didn’t commit, and that led him to a 17-year prison sentence he didn’t fully agree with or understand. But rather than becoming bitter, Bill and his wife Debbie have a story now that reveals something extraordinary about faith, forgiveness, and finding God’s purpose even in our darkest valleys. Their journey reminds us that no matter what trials we face, God can transform our deepest suffering into unexpected blessing. Let’s continue reminiscing with part two of this conversation Dr. Dobson recorded with Bill and Debbie Kennedy on today’s edition of Family Talk.
SPEAKER 04 :
The couple we spoke with last time has an amazing story about hope and perseverance in the midst of some incredibly difficult circumstances. I’m talking about Bill Kennedy and his wife, Deb. Bill is a man that I’ve known for many years. In fact, he was one of my eighth grade students when I taught middle school, and I was only 26 years of age. So we were both young, but he was half my age. And I had a particularly good relationship with him because Bill was just well-liked by everybody. He was one of the most popular kids in school, probably the best athlete. A good student, but also just a fine young man. Bill had a business which helped people invest their money in metals, gold, silver, platinum, and so on. To put it in a nutshell, a very aggressive prosecutor accused Bill of racketeering and mail fraud. And Bill, as a result of his arrest, had to serve 17 years in out of the next 20 years sentence in federal prison. Now, that was a crime that I can say, at least from my perspective, and I’ve studied this case, that he did not commit. And I love and appreciate this man and his wife. And Bill, when you were my eighth grade student, I didn’t talk to you a lot about your faith because in those days, and it’s true today also, it’s very hard to in a public school situation to get into your spiritual views. But I had every reason to believe that you had a commitment to Christ. Was that true then?
SPEAKER 03 :
I don’t know. I went to church with my neighbor, but we didn’t have a Christian home. And my mother was divorced, my father, you know, but I went to church. My neighbor took me. So I think God Had his hand on me. Are you mad at anybody today? No. Oh, no. Oh, no. Because really, I don’t regret what happened, Jim. Yeah, that’s really kind of hard to believe. Well, no, because… How many of us have the opportunity to experience Scripture in the flesh? I mean, in these terrible circumstances when you have absolutely no crutch, you have no family, you don’t have any real friends, you don’t have any of the necessities of life.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, in a strange kind of way, sorry for interrupting you, but in a strange way, your story reminds me of Joseph because people did such bad things to him. Yeah. Here is – his brothers hated him. They lied about him. They threw him in a pit. He stayed there for three days. I wonder what that was like. And then sold him to a caravan that was coming by. I guess they were Egyptians. Took him off to Egypt. And lied to his father. And there he is in Egypt away from his family, away from the land that he loved and the people that he loved. And he’s lied on by Potiphar’s wife and was in prison twice. And, I mean, one thing after another. Now, we read that today sequentially in 20 minutes. But he lived it day by day by day. And, you know, if there was anybody in the Bible that in addition to Christ that would have a right to say, you know what? I really have gotten a short end of things. This is not fair. This is not right. I don’t see any evidence in there. that he took that approach and he became a kind of a forerunner or a type of Christ where he was pointing toward the Messiah himself without knowing it. Now, I can’t take you that far, but it is true.
SPEAKER 03 :
Not even close. that you really did get the short end. But see, that’s the thing. We have to realize when we go through a tough time that it’s not about us. It’s what would you have us do, God, in this situation. And that sounds all Pollyannish right now, but that’s the gut level and heart decision. Here’s one of the things that came out of it, an appreciation of my amazing wife. I didn’t appreciate her. You know, how many men walk away from the gravesite After burying their wife and saying, you know, I never really appreciated it. December of 1999 at Christmas, and I never had my family visit me. I wanted them to have a regular Christmas, but I was standing there before the telephones at Daft, all alone and miserable. And the Holy Spirit spoke to me, and He seemed to do this on special occasions. He says, you’ve got the blessing of nothingness. You have nothing. And when you have something, you really appreciate it. I looked over at Debbie about 10 days before Christmas this last year, and I started to cry. I said, let’s go back to Christmas together with all our kids in 18 years. And, you know, Christmas will always be something. They have dinner with my wife. You know, life becomes very mundane, and we forget what we have. And I was sitting with a man March 3rd, 1993, out of leg monitoring. I was under indictment on bail court monitoring device. And we were getting to know each other. Our kids went to school together. We were the same age, about 46. And we were getting to know each other. Everything in his life was great and going great. And I told him my life and he looked at me like, you poor guy. I saw his wife three days later at a high school basketball game. She didn’t know what to say to me. A day later, Debbie called me and that same man had died of a heart attack an hour before. That could have been me. Well, you had heart trouble in prison. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
And that’s one of the things I wrote when I was trying to get you out is that you’ve got a disabled son that’s having a hard time paying for. He’s in this facility. And you’ve got grandkids and you’ve got a family in need. And now you’ve got heart problems. Yeah. And did you have a bypass? I had triple bypass surgery. In prison? Yeah. They took good care of me. You know, for most of us, the years go by very, very rapidly. Shirley and I have been in Colorado Springs for almost 20 years. Boy, that has been the blink of an eye. I cannot believe how fast that went by. Did it go fast for you? No.
SPEAKER 01 :
It was really a long 17 years.
SPEAKER 03 :
Was it long? Prison is pure drudgery. The sad thing is there’s really not any work. I had a job that was five minutes a day. But you have to sign a statement that you worked 35 hours a week because a congressman passed a law that said you have to work 35 hours. So these prison officials got these 2,000 inmates. They had to find jobs. Well, there’s just not any jobs. One guy had a job that signed the knob on the dining room hallway. There’s just no work.
SPEAKER 04 :
What did you do five minutes a day?
SPEAKER 03 :
I swept the front porch and I was done. And then I used all my time. I kept the same office hours. I got up at 6 in the morning, got at it, and I worked out. But the Word, I’m always looking to help people and disciple people and used my time wisely.
SPEAKER 04 :
Is there a lot of pornography in there?
SPEAKER 03 :
There used to be. There’s not anymore. And they knew I was a Christian. And they would always slip in my bunk. And I said, well, thank you very much. So I tore it up and threw it away. You know, got it off the compound. That was an interesting thing. When I first went in, they tested me and tried me. And I decided I was going to – the prison has their own culture. You know, you wouldn’t take your daughter when she was growing up and say, I want you to hang out with a bunch of ill-repute girls, would you? So what we do is we take people and we put them in with a bunch of ill-repute people and expect them to come out better. And they don’t. Were you ever threatened? Oh, yeah. I got beat up once.
SPEAKER 04 :
Were you ever beaten up?
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, yeah. Do you keep a diary? I kept a journal for 15 years. I didn’t do it the last two years, but I had 15 years. And it served me well because sometimes there were days I just could not handle it. And there was one day in March of, I think it was 2006, I just couldn’t handle it. And I took my Bible to the visiting room. I’d usually get up real early. It was like 5 in the morning. And I went in there and I turned to Psalms 11.3 and it said, When the world crumbles, what shall the righteous do? And I had a comment by Charles Spurgeon that changed my whole attitude that day in life. And it said, Suffer joyfully.
SPEAKER 04 :
I thought, praise God, I could suffer joyfully. Only Christianity.
SPEAKER 01 :
Only Christianity.
SPEAKER 04 :
That doesn’t make sense anywhere else. How can we pray for people that are in prison there? I mean, that would take you a month or a year to answer.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think just don’t. Realize that God loves these people. He may not love what they’ve done or do, but there’s a lot of things that he doesn’t love that we do either. And pray that the word can get through them. Pray for programs that help them when they get out. Jobs are very hard. The transitioning is very hard. And it takes people to help them get along, get a job and things like that. But come to know the Lord and realize God will make all these things and change them around.
SPEAKER 04 :
Bill, you never know who’s listening to a radio broadcast like this. You don’t know who’s out there. There might be a publisher out there listening to us. Are you going to write a book?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, a lot of people have asked me about that. I thought about it in prison a lot of time, but I was just too busy. And I was— Too busy and present. I really was.
SPEAKER 04 :
I kept myself busy.
SPEAKER 03 :
Working five minutes a day. But I used the time for the Lord because sometimes I disciple as many as seven men one-on-one a day. And the idea is take the Word and apply it. How are you going to apply this to your life? And what are you going to do about the wife and you fighting? You’re on the phone. And how are you going to handle that? What would God have you do?
SPEAKER 04 :
Are there going to be people in heaven because you had an influence on?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, God did. He used me. Yeah, there are. And that’s another thing. I’m going to have a lot more rewards in heaven. I looked at 20 years compared to eternity, and it’s nothing. It’s nothing. And look what Paul went through. And I’m not anything close to him. And look at the way he suffered. And he never griped. And I think it displeases God when we grumble because, you know, he gave his son for us. I think we can just – that can become so trite. I know it was for me. But why should anybody grumble when God gave their son for you? So you could have eternal life and heaven is going to be a joy. It’s not just playing a harp. It’s going to be a wonderful things to do. And it’s going to be the most – it’s a thousand times more than we could ever imagine. And I’m looking forward to it and seeing my friends in prison up there.
SPEAKER 04 :
Every word that comes out of your mouth is an inspiration to me.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, thank you. You’re an inspiration to me. The way you’ve lived your life and what you did for others because wherever you saw a need, for you to take the time from me, I was just overwhelmed when I got your letters. And so there are people out there that God has used us in that. Yeah. And so I’m thankful.
SPEAKER 04 :
So the Lord found a way to bless you in the midst of your circumstances.
SPEAKER 03 :
Even that. I mean, you know, I think somebody said you’re the happiest or the least happiest of your children when you’re our age. You know, our kids grew up and they became fine Christian men and women and very phenomenal Christians. I even while in prison found a wife for my son. Yeah. Come on. How did you do that? She was the bridesmaid to our daughter. And, you know, you contributed to her wedding. We had no money. I’m in prison. And I called home and this bridesmaid, Angela, wanted to talk to me because they were all praying for me at Harding University. And Nick had just started going to school. There was a freshman. And Angela wanted to talk to me. I said, when I was done, I was very impressed. I said, let me talk to my son. And I said, Nick, how come you’re not dating this girl, Angela? And he says, well, dad, she’s a junior and I’m a freshman. I said, and the problem is? And they started dating that next month in January of 1996. They were married in July of 1998. And they have three children. How is your disabled son doing?
SPEAKER 01 :
Rob is doing amazingly well. He’s 38 now. Yeah, he’s 38. And it’s not an institution or anything like that. It’s a Christian ranch for mentally challenged adults in Arizona. And they just have helped him so much. He’s become his own person since he’s been there. And I love it because he talks about his girlfriend and the swimming and the workouts and the basketball. And he does Special Olympics. And they have a Boy Scout troop. And You know, he’s just really become his own person, which is really, really nice.
SPEAKER 03 :
And that’s one of the things we want to get involved with helping mentally disabled adults because one of the problems is that when the parents die, these people have no place to go. There’s about 50,000 of them, and it costs on the average of 50,000. Rainbow Acres, to take care of one of these individuals, Rainbow Acres does it for under 30. Per year. Yeah, and they’re Christian, and they’re very, very professional and very good individuals.
SPEAKER 01 :
Rainbow Acres was an amazing place for him to go, which we learned about when he was about 10 years old in Reader’s Digest. It was started by a pastor that was given some property.
SPEAKER 04 :
So once again, the Lord blessed you in your circumstances.
SPEAKER 01 :
Without a doubt.
SPEAKER 03 :
Because God will take care of you if you just, you know, but I think things we have to deal with issues in our own life that displease him. And he just, he does amazing things. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
What did you feel when the gates swung open and you stepped out into God’s green world and were free?
SPEAKER 03 :
When I came out of the prison, the gates, I jumped up in the air. I said, Jesus, thank you for letting me go through this. And, you know, we constantly hear from men in prison. And just recently got an email, like an email now in federal prison about a man who says, he wrote me and he’s there now. And he says, you know, I wish I bump at 515 doing my devotions. And I said, I wish I hadn’t stopped this 15 years ago. But he said, you know, I would not have met you. Did you have some very close friends? Yeah, you have them. You never really know. And you have to watch some people, you know. And some will just lie to you and things. But there’s some pretty good, decent people there. And there’s some guys that, you know, once they got arrested, they were cured. And there were other people that made a mistake. And there’s plain criminals. And you don’t normally see Christian men in prison for obvious reasons. Right. The first man I led to Christ was a guy named Kenny. And he’d come over to my cell. I was only there a month or two. And I thought, what would this character have to do with me? Obviously, we came from different lives. And he was 32. And I said, Kenny, what is it about me? That, you know, I’m 15 years older than you. And he says, Bill, I’ve been in, I, at night when I was 13 years old, I shot my best friend in the head just to see how it would feel. And I had been in prison every day since then, except for about 18 months. And he says, you’re the first free world Christian I ever met. So there weren’t many Christians, but he got out. He went on to serve the Lord.
SPEAKER 04 :
Bill, I knew you in the morning of your life. I knew you when you were new. I knew what you were made out of. I knew there was something good inside of you. Well, I appreciate that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I had a – you know, one of the things – I just had a great wife and – She always let me be and do the things I wanted. I wish something she’d put her foot down on, but she sure does now. That’s interesting, coming home after not living together for 17 years. Things have changed.
SPEAKER 04 :
Debbie, what summary will you give to us of this portion of your life? What have you drawn from it? And where do you go from here?
SPEAKER 01 :
Basically that the challenges that are in front of you are surmountable. They may not turn out the way you think they should maybe, but it’s all for the betterment. You learn from it and you share with others so that they can learn from your experience too. I learned that – which I knew before, but that family is the utmost of importance and And that even though I may get upset with Bill and – Me?
SPEAKER 03 :
She said I was almost perfect now.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes, I have actually said he’s almost perfect. So the experience is not anything that I would wish anyone to go through. But I know that there are some things in our lives that the Lord will use – to help others through this type of situation. And I’ve thought about writing a book to, you know, when you’re visiting somebody in prison, you know, the different places he’s been, the rules are always different. You know, I’ve seen groups of moms and grandmothers and children waiting in the hot sun at 100 and some degrees in the morning and kids passing out and hitting the concrete floor. I’ve seen the inhumanity that they treat visitors almost like they’re prisoners. And I’ve seen so many things that have happened that just grate on me that I want individuals to know about beforehand so they can prepare for it because it’s not a fun situation. On the other hand, when you go through that, you gain strength. But I want them to look at me and say, if she can do it, I can do it. And that’s where it all comes from.
SPEAKER 04 :
You are conveying that message right now, and you have lived it.
SPEAKER 03 :
But if I could say this, be faithful to God, and he will take whatever you’re going through, and he will make a gem out of it. I promise you, who’s ever listening to this, whatever you’re going through, be faithful, trust in God, and be thankful for what you do have. And God will take this trial that you’re going through and really – you’ll be able to rejoice that you went through it.
SPEAKER 04 :
I wrote an email this morning to somebody who has gotten a short end. Somebody who has – humanly speaking – Plenty of reason to feel like they have not gotten their fair share. And I told them in my reply about you being here today. Praise God. And I said, there is no bitterness in this family. And when that occurs to you, you just keep going. And God will somehow make something good out of it.
SPEAKER 03 :
If you focus on him and others, he will.
SPEAKER 04 :
Bill Kennedy, I love you.
SPEAKER 03 :
I love you, Dr. Dobson.
SPEAKER 04 :
I appreciate you. And Debbie, what a great lady you are.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don’t think we’re ever going to bring out that foul you called on me. Did we talk about that already?
SPEAKER 04 :
No.
SPEAKER 03 :
Come on now. You’re a lousy ref.
SPEAKER 04 :
I was a ref and I made a mistake. Come on. Anybody can make a mistake.
SPEAKER 03 :
I do have some bitterness about that.
SPEAKER 04 :
That was a long time ago. I have admitted it. I knew that I blew it. I knew I blew it. I blew the whistle on you because I thought you climbed the back of a guy you were trying to rebound from. And it was, you’ve got to forgive me, man. You forgive all these guards and all these people. How come you can’t forgive me?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I can forgive you because he still won the game. Time was over and he missed the free throws. I know.
SPEAKER 04 :
Blessings to you all and please stay in touch with us. We will.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, what a truly incredible couple. What an amazing testimony they share. The hardship they faced for 17 years, and yet they chose to see it as a testament of God’s faithfulness. You’ve been listening to a special classic edition of Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk, and a conversation Dr. Dobson recorded with a man called Bill Kennedy. Bill met Dr. Dobson when Bill was only an eighth grader, and Dr. Dobson was one of his teachers. Bill and Debbie went on to be married and then faced the unimaginable grief of facing a 17-year prison sentence, which Bill served. And if you missed any part of today’s broadcast or you want to share this inspiring testimony with someone who needs hope, go to drjamesdobson.org forward slash family talk. An interesting footnote to this story. It wasn’t long before Dr. Dobson went home to be with the Lord that Bill got in the car in Texas and made a 10-hour drive to Colorado Springs just to spend some time with them. It was a beautiful way for them to reconnect once again for a story that has just Truly blessed so many people, even though it was so difficult for Bill and Debbie Kennedy to go through. And we were grateful to welcome Bill here to the Family Talk offices and studios shortly before Dr. Dobson went home to be with the Lord on August the 21st. Now, though Dr. Dobson is in glory, his mission continues here through the work that we’re doing here at the James Dobson Family Institute. We are promoting and preserving the institution of the family and the biblical principles upon which it is based. Now, we are defending sanctity of human life. We are defending religious freedom. And when you pray for us and partner with us financially, you help us to carry forward Dr. Dobson’s legacy and advance these foundational truths that build strong families and a godly society. Now, you can make a secure donation to help us in this work when you go to drjamesdobson.org. That’s drjamesdobson.org. You can also call us at 877-732-6825. And for more of Dr. Dobson’s insight and wisdom, we invite you to sign up for our new free email series. It’s called Raising Kids with Love and Limits. Now, this is based on the timeless principles Dr. Dobson has written about in the Complete Marriage and Family Reference Guide. And this series offers balanced insights on everything from setting healthy boundaries to growing your relationship. To sign up today, it’s absolutely free. Go to drjamesdobson.org and click on the prompt you’ll find on our homepage. That’s drjamesdobson.org. I’m Roger Marsh. And from all of us here at the JDFI, thanks so much for listening today. Be sure to tune in again next time for another edition of Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk, the voice you can still trust for the family you love. This has been a presentation of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.
