Prison Reform

“He’s a beautiful person. He always tells me: ‘We’ve got to find a way to win by losing.’ In the eyes of society, we’ve lost already. Everyone in here is a loser. We can either be angry about it, or we can keep trying to grow. He’s always correcting my Spanish and giving me quizzes. He used to be an engineer, so he’s been tutoring me in trigonometry. He’s been a blessing to me. He’s helped me to not be so angry. He’s always so happy and optimistic. And I don’t know how he stays so positive. Because I’m getting out of here in 40 months. He’s doing life.”
More from this series
“I’ve been teaching the GED course for 21 years. I’ve helped over 300 students get their certificates.”
“I knew a person who worked for an insurance company. I’d give her some money and then she’d give me all the information I needed to open fake credit lines.”
“I’ve organized a lot of programs in prison. One of the classes I started is called Creative Parenting.”
“I thought it was a bomb at first. It pushed the building, so I was thrown against the wall.”
“I was working at a nightclub in Honduras, making $4 a night, and some guy tells me that I can make $6,000 in twelve days just by working on a boat.”
“My childhood ended early. I was sexually abused by two family members until the age of eleven.”
“He’s a beautiful person. He always tells me: ‘We’ve got to find a way to win by losing.’”
“My mom was a single mom and there were nine of us. All of the kids worked in the fields.”
“This is my fifth time in prison. Every crime I’ve committed has come from my addiction.”