Former California Inmate Explains the Impact of Rehabilitation | Brian James

California Insider

“I served 29 years and two months. I went in at the age of 16; I was arrested and ultimately convicted of second-degree murder. I’m someone who they call ’the worst of the worst,' who’s taking complete advantage of the opportunities that are in there. I was dead in the water up until about 37 years old. I was going to die in prison. I had accepted it, and I knew I was. Then they opened the door. I just got a glimmer of hope, me and a bunch of guys that we ran with it.”

Siyamak sits down with Brian James, a former inmate who served 29 years in the California state prison system. He‘ll tell us how some prison reform policies have opened opportunities for inmates to rehabilitate. He’ll also share with us his transformation process that ultimately led to his recent release.

“For 20 years, I was a character. I had a name; I had a gang. I introduced myself that way. When my cell door opened, I put on my act. When it closed, I went back to Brian James. My first probably 10-12 years in prison, all the issues that plagued my life that led to my incarceration, nothing had changed. For better or worse, I took part in taking that man’s life. And our stories are forever intertwined.”

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