Desmond grew up in a small community in Prince George’s County. His father tragically passed in a car accident when Desmond was just 1 year old, and he was raised alongside his brother and sister by a single mother.
His experience growing up was traumatic. Drugs and street life were a part of his upbringing for as long as he could remember. He watched his mother, aunts, and uncles live with the disease of addiction. As a kid, on one hand, he was outgoing, a talented artist, with a vivid imagination and a love for seeing and learning new things. On the other hand, he suffered from abandonment and neglect because of living with an addicted parent. Although she struggled with addiction, his mother was his only voice of reason. She always saw Desmond for who he was at heart, someone who was kind, caring, compassionate, giving, and someone who loved to find the good in people. Before his incarceration, all Desmond had was his mother and younger sister. Unfortunately, his older brother was already in prison by the time he was sentenced to life.
At 18, Desmond was arrested, and ultimately sentenced to life plus 15 years. His life change began before he got to prison. It happened at sentencing, when the mother of the young man who was killed expressed the emptiness that was now in her heart from losing her son, coupled with Desmond witnessing his mother beg the court to spare him a life sentence. At the moment, it hit like a ton of bricks, knowing his actions were the cause of all this loss and hurt. He had been raised to believe that there was a God, so he started that day by seeking atonement. When he finally got to prison, Desmond began manifesting the sincerity of that atonement by turning away from drugs and criminal activities in prison. He went back to school, taught himself how to read, signed up for every available prison program, and started to study the teachings of his faith. This was not an easy thing to do in a maximum-security prison. Through true remorse, he became a facilitator to serve and then began to create programs in the institutions where he was held. The program he is most proud of creating is the Insider Peer Specialist program at Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI). Now known as the Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) program, the program model has been expanded to 8 prisons throughout DPSCS.
After prevailing in a petition for post-conviction relief, Desmond then put in an application to the Conviction and Sentencing Integrity Unit in Prince George’s County. In light of the post-conviction and review of his institutional record, the Assistant State’s Attorney agreed with a new sentence of life all suspended, but time served, and Desmond was released in May of 2022 after having served 20 years and 78 days.
Since coming home, Desmond has been extremely blessed with the support of his brother, sister, family, friends, and faith community. His work with the Peer program at JCI provided him the opportunity to meet some great people and be able to share his lived experience with hundreds of people at some great conferences. He works as a forensic Peer Specialist with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. Outside of his work with OPD, he runs a non-profit organization called RECTIFY. RECTIFY is a clinical case management reintegration program that specializes in trauma-informed peer support for individuals returning to the community from incarceration.
Additionally, he is a student at Baltimore City Community College, majoring is Addiction Counseling. He hopes to get a degree in social work, build RECTIFY to become the state’s model for reentry, and create one of the nation's best dual-diagnosis treatment centers that specialize in PICS (Post-Incarceration Syndrome).
His experience growing up was traumatic. Drugs and street life were a part of his upbringing for as long as he could remember. He watched his mother, aunts, and uncles live with the disease of addiction. As a kid, on one hand, he was outgoing, a talented artist, with a vivid imagination and a love for seeing and learning new things. On the other hand, he suffered from abandonment and neglect because of living with an addicted parent. Although she struggled with addiction, his mother was his only voice of reason. She always saw Desmond for who he was at heart, someone who was kind, caring, compassionate, giving, and someone who loved to find the good in people. Before his incarceration, all Desmond had was his mother and younger sister. Unfortunately, his older brother was already in prison by the time he was sentenced to life.
At 18, Desmond was arrested, and ultimately sentenced to life plus 15 years. His life change began before he got to prison. It happened at sentencing, when the mother of the young man who was killed expressed the emptiness that was now in her heart from losing her son, coupled with Desmond witnessing his mother beg the court to spare him a life sentence. At the moment, it hit like a ton of bricks, knowing his actions were the cause of all this loss and hurt. He had been raised to believe that there was a God, so he started that day by seeking atonement. When he finally got to prison, Desmond began manifesting the sincerity of that atonement by turning away from drugs and criminal activities in prison. He went back to school, taught himself how to read, signed up for every available prison program, and started to study the teachings of his faith. This was not an easy thing to do in a maximum-security prison. Through true remorse, he became a facilitator to serve and then began to create programs in the institutions where he was held. The program he is most proud of creating is the Insider Peer Specialist program at Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI). Now known as the Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) program, the program model has been expanded to 8 prisons throughout DPSCS.
After prevailing in a petition for post-conviction relief, Desmond then put in an application to the Conviction and Sentencing Integrity Unit in Prince George’s County. In light of the post-conviction and review of his institutional record, the Assistant State’s Attorney agreed with a new sentence of life all suspended, but time served, and Desmond was released in May of 2022 after having served 20 years and 78 days.
Since coming home, Desmond has been extremely blessed with the support of his brother, sister, family, friends, and faith community. His work with the Peer program at JCI provided him the opportunity to meet some great people and be able to share his lived experience with hundreds of people at some great conferences. He works as a forensic Peer Specialist with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. Outside of his work with OPD, he runs a non-profit organization called RECTIFY. RECTIFY is a clinical case management reintegration program that specializes in trauma-informed peer support for individuals returning to the community from incarceration.
Additionally, he is a student at Baltimore City Community College, majoring is Addiction Counseling. He hopes to get a degree in social work, build RECTIFY to become the state’s model for reentry, and create one of the nation's best dual-diagnosis treatment centers that specialize in PICS (Post-Incarceration Syndrome).