I have spent more than two-thirds of my life behind bars. I came up in the trenches of Baltimore in the 1970s, the oldest of three boys grappling just trying to survive in a family ravaged by addiction and violence. At the age of 10, I became the primary support for my two younger brothers. At the age of 19, I was arrested after an altercation that left a young man seriously injured. Although my co-defendant and I were initially offered a plea wherein we would serve 9 years in prison, we ultimately had to go to trial. We were both convicted and sentenced to two concurrent life terms plus 20 years consecutive. It has now been 33 years, and I remain a ward of the Maryland Department of Corrections. As a young man facing a lifetime in prison, I did not have any kind of focus on my future. I did not see a future for myself. But after five long years in solitary confinement, I emerged with a completely different viewpoint on life, and I decided I wanted to change my trajectory on my own.
In 2005, I was involuntarily transferred across the country to Washington state, away from my entire family and everything I had ever known. I lost my father, then my mother, and then my two brothers while I was more than 3000 miles from home. I raised my two daughters from a prison cell, and with every passing day, my sole focus was on getting healthy, and getting out.
I have spent the last 18 years rebuilding my life and reinventing myself. With almost no access to resources, I began taking counseling classes, drug and alcohol abuse programming, and I earned my GED. I then went on to excel at college courses, and started a non-profit organization called Inside-Outside Consults, to address issues related to justice reform through legislation and education. In 2022, I founded a consulting company that provides support to justice-impacted individuals, returning citizens on the path to reentry, and their loved ones. I also host a podcast called The Wall: Behind and Beyond, where I speak with guests from all over the world about issues related to just. Ice advocacy and prison reform. I have just published my first book, a reentry program workbook called Exit 2 Excellence, and I am set to release my second book, From Risk 2 Resilience, which is a gang prevention manual for adolescents.
Throughout my incarceration, I have sought to make amends for the wrongs I committed as a younger man. I have spent the last three decades of my life in prison. I have never known what it is like to navigate the free world as an adult. I have missed out on experiencing nearly every appreciable milestone in my life: my daughters' first words, their graduations, their weddings, having more children, starting a career, building my community. I am well aware that it was my actions that led me down the path I have taken in his life. But I believe that the work I do has and will make a significant impact, particularly on the lives of young people growing up just like I did. All I am asking for is a second chance to continue to improve my life, as well as the lives of others.
In 2005, I was involuntarily transferred across the country to Washington state, away from my entire family and everything I had ever known. I lost my father, then my mother, and then my two brothers while I was more than 3000 miles from home. I raised my two daughters from a prison cell, and with every passing day, my sole focus was on getting healthy, and getting out.
I have spent the last 18 years rebuilding my life and reinventing myself. With almost no access to resources, I began taking counseling classes, drug and alcohol abuse programming, and I earned my GED. I then went on to excel at college courses, and started a non-profit organization called Inside-Outside Consults, to address issues related to justice reform through legislation and education. In 2022, I founded a consulting company that provides support to justice-impacted individuals, returning citizens on the path to reentry, and their loved ones. I also host a podcast called The Wall: Behind and Beyond, where I speak with guests from all over the world about issues related to just. Ice advocacy and prison reform. I have just published my first book, a reentry program workbook called Exit 2 Excellence, and I am set to release my second book, From Risk 2 Resilience, which is a gang prevention manual for adolescents.
Throughout my incarceration, I have sought to make amends for the wrongs I committed as a younger man. I have spent the last three decades of my life in prison. I have never known what it is like to navigate the free world as an adult. I have missed out on experiencing nearly every appreciable milestone in my life: my daughters' first words, their graduations, their weddings, having more children, starting a career, building my community. I am well aware that it was my actions that led me down the path I have taken in his life. But I believe that the work I do has and will make a significant impact, particularly on the lives of young people growing up just like I did. All I am asking for is a second chance to continue to improve my life, as well as the lives of others.