Alonzo grew up in District Heights with both of his parents. As he hit his teenage years, he started getting away from school. He wanted the things that he saw people in the drug world getting, and peer pressure led him to getting involved with illegal activities. He is unsure even how to describe who he was back then, as he is so far removed from that life.
During his school spring break, at 17 years old, Alonzo was incarcerated. When he was sentenced, he was sentenced as an adult, and given a life sentence plus 5 years.
Going to prison as a teenager was like being forced into manhood for Alonzo, forced to be something that, in all reality, he wasn’t ready for. He didn’t know what it was to be a man, but when he walked in the prison doors, he had to be a man from that day forward. He had to learn how to protect and take care of himself, because there was no one to call for help. What he and other teens he knew faced was seeing a lot of violence around them, becoming a victim to violence themselves, and the physical, mental and emotional abuse from staff.
In his work assignment to watch other incarcerated people on suicide watch, Alonzo saw how mental health issues were punished in prison. People who expressed suicidal thoughts, were put in a smock and left in an empty cell, referred to as the "butt-naked cell", for 96 hours cold. When they came out, if they didn’t take their medication, they were put back in.
Alonzo kept his head up, receiving only about 5 tickets during his entire incarceration. He completed his GED and took college courses (until the Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated people was removed), he even created programs of his own, and worked with former State Delegate Erek Barron on legislation. When he finally went up for parole, he had 25-30 letters from correctional officers writing in support of his release, including one correctional officer whose life he had saved when she was being attacked. But still, he was denied parole 3 times. The parole board didn’t take issue with his growth while inside, but they instead focused on the nature of the crime that got him there. Alonzo knew the nature of the crime was never going to change.
By the 4th time he was going up for parole, the State’s Attorney in Alonzo’s county, SA Braveboy, had a Conviction and Sentence Integrity Unit, where they reviewed cases with long sentences. Alonzo’s legal team reached out both to the State’s Attorney and the trial judge in his case. Upon reviewing Alonzo’s growth, both the SA and the judge sent letters to the governor and the parole board, supporting Alonzo’s release.
This time around, the parole process took him about 4-5 years to go through, but he was finally granted parole. While he was meant to be released on October 8, it was delayed until October 16 because correctional staff had not done his release paperwork. With that final hurdle, on October 16, 2020, after 31 years, 6 months, 15 days, and 5 hours, Alonzo was free.
After coming home, Alonzo is grateful that he has a strong family support system. He now does reentry work as a peer support specialist. He also volunteers with Fully Restoring Every Son’s Hope (FRESH), giving back to the community. But he still sees a lot of barriers to success for those coming home. Securing housing is so costly it often requires people to work more than one job. Mental health needs, after years of incarceration, continue for him and others he knows. He also dreams of starting a cleaning company, but it’s hard for returning citizens to get any type of business loan. He hopes to find a mentor to help him reach that goal.
During his school spring break, at 17 years old, Alonzo was incarcerated. When he was sentenced, he was sentenced as an adult, and given a life sentence plus 5 years.
Going to prison as a teenager was like being forced into manhood for Alonzo, forced to be something that, in all reality, he wasn’t ready for. He didn’t know what it was to be a man, but when he walked in the prison doors, he had to be a man from that day forward. He had to learn how to protect and take care of himself, because there was no one to call for help. What he and other teens he knew faced was seeing a lot of violence around them, becoming a victim to violence themselves, and the physical, mental and emotional abuse from staff.
In his work assignment to watch other incarcerated people on suicide watch, Alonzo saw how mental health issues were punished in prison. People who expressed suicidal thoughts, were put in a smock and left in an empty cell, referred to as the "butt-naked cell", for 96 hours cold. When they came out, if they didn’t take their medication, they were put back in.
Alonzo kept his head up, receiving only about 5 tickets during his entire incarceration. He completed his GED and took college courses (until the Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated people was removed), he even created programs of his own, and worked with former State Delegate Erek Barron on legislation. When he finally went up for parole, he had 25-30 letters from correctional officers writing in support of his release, including one correctional officer whose life he had saved when she was being attacked. But still, he was denied parole 3 times. The parole board didn’t take issue with his growth while inside, but they instead focused on the nature of the crime that got him there. Alonzo knew the nature of the crime was never going to change.
By the 4th time he was going up for parole, the State’s Attorney in Alonzo’s county, SA Braveboy, had a Conviction and Sentence Integrity Unit, where they reviewed cases with long sentences. Alonzo’s legal team reached out both to the State’s Attorney and the trial judge in his case. Upon reviewing Alonzo’s growth, both the SA and the judge sent letters to the governor and the parole board, supporting Alonzo’s release.
This time around, the parole process took him about 4-5 years to go through, but he was finally granted parole. While he was meant to be released on October 8, it was delayed until October 16 because correctional staff had not done his release paperwork. With that final hurdle, on October 16, 2020, after 31 years, 6 months, 15 days, and 5 hours, Alonzo was free.
After coming home, Alonzo is grateful that he has a strong family support system. He now does reentry work as a peer support specialist. He also volunteers with Fully Restoring Every Son’s Hope (FRESH), giving back to the community. But he still sees a lot of barriers to success for those coming home. Securing housing is so costly it often requires people to work more than one job. Mental health needs, after years of incarceration, continue for him and others he knows. He also dreams of starting a cleaning company, but it’s hard for returning citizens to get any type of business loan. He hopes to find a mentor to help him reach that goal.