My Background
In 2002, I found cocaine. Combined with insecurity and unresolved trauma, I quickly went from a kid graduating high school to strung out and barely hanging on.
Just after my 18th birthday I committed a robbery and separate shooting. I was rightly arrested and remember feeling a huge sense of relief that someone had stopped me because I hadn't been able to stop myself.
The upper range of the sentencing guideline was 16 years. The judge sentenced me to double that, 32 years.
I was crushed. But I got back up. With the benefit of great love and support, I put my life together in prison. I mentored other men, earned a Bachelor's degree, became a journeyman electrician, wrote articles for publication, and found a way forward.
On August 16th of 2021, the governor granted a conditional pardon commuting the rest of my term of incarceration conditional upon my good behavior and payment of court costs/fines/restitution. I was released immediately.
Since Then
Since being released, I have worked with other advocates of responsible change. I've started a social media campaign to raise awareness about issues in our criminal justice system, the need for trauma-informed care and the importance of second chances. I founded Second Chancer Foundation in 2022 to provide direct services and do narrative work. I have spoken across the country and am currently working as Program Director of Central Virginia Community Justice, a Restorative Justice program.
The Future
At Second Chancer Foundation we are excited to help bridge the gap between incarceration and opportunity. We continue to pilot Second Chancer Connect, our virtual mentorship program. We also provide services to juveniles in Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention as well as adults in the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail.
I will continue to focus on a message of healing and accountability rather than traumatizing in the name of justice. We cannot punish away trauma, or addiction, or poverty, which are at the root of the vast majority of crimes. Until we shift the narrative and look at healing, we are perpetuating the violence we claim to be locking away.