Today I interviewed Marcus White for the second time. He talks about his adjusting in society after decades in prison. Below is a brief bio he wrote.
At nineteen years old the penal system had nearly captured the rest of
my natural life for gang violence. Sitting in a jail cell paralyzed
with this gripping fear that i'd die in a prison I found myself on
many nights with tears in my eyes as I clung to hope for a second
chance. Fortunately for me that second chance came in the form of
18yr. 9mon. prison plea agreement. Overwhelmed with a sense of
gratitude and a new zeal for life, I vowed to use these years to
better myself. First by ridding myself of the gang infested mentality
that had enslaved my mind and dictated my actions for so many years.
Secondly pursuing personal growth relentlessly, taken advantaged of
all the programs DOC had to offer, and engaging myself in any and
every curriculum I could get my hands on. And sixteen and a half years
later I returned home with this nagging ambition to execute the plan
that I had devised while sitting in a prison cell fantasizing about
what my freedom looked like. Today five months and three weeks after
my release, I work for an amazing non-profit serving the people in my
community with furniture and mattress to sleep on, while pursuing a
career change as a carpenter apprentice. Volunteering my spare time
speaking with legislators about unjust laws and making a strong case
for reform. What i'm most proud about is the mentorship programs I'm
involved in and working with at risk youth. Giving back to the
communities that I spent all my adolescent years taken from. And I'm
thanking God everyday for the opportunities he continues to afford my
newly found freedom.
Sincerely,
Marcus L. White
Success After Three Times in Prison
John Thomas started making bad decisions as a young man. He sold drugs and went to prison. While in prison, John continued making bad decisions. Those decisions resulted in his serving many years longer than he had to serve. He could’ve been released after five years. Yet his adjustment in prison resulted in his serving nine years. After he was released, John reverted to the type of behavior that got him into trouble the first time. Within 88 days, he returned to prison. Then he got out, again he returned to prison.
In today’s podcast, John talks about what he learned through the experience. He also tells us what he wish he would’ve known at the start of his journey. Then he talks about how he built a business that has kept him crime free and living a much happier life as a self-employed entrepreneur.
Learn from John Thomas’ success.
He wrote the following open letter to describe more about his journey:
My name is John Thomas early in my life I had a desire to help my family in others to escape poverty. However where I was raised they were very few examples of how to do it. To me it looked like the only people who had money were the hustlers, drug dealers, and the bootleggers(illegal liquor sells).I chose to Deal drugs and at the age of 19 I was sentenced to 30 years serve 20 years in prison for Trafficking Cocaine.I ended up doing 9 years and 1 month before paroled, but with no plan it only took me 88 days to find myself back in the prison system. Finally after 3 times in prison I was able to answer this question bothered me for 6 months while I was in isolation confinement, (23 hours a day lock down.) Finally I was able to identify somethings that I realized were sending me back. First it had to deal with what I saw when I looked at myself? No I realized with limited skills and no job I had to invest in myself to learn how to start my own business. I was introduced to network marketing where I was introduced Personal Development. I remember reading and listening to anything they inspired me to live my best life. While doing this I learned how to market online and begin doing videos and facebook ads that allowed me to share how to overcome struggle. Even though many of the people I spoke would had never been to a physical prison I was able to help them become aware of the mental prison of limitation many were living in. This led me Coaching, and many were Entrepreneurs also, so I was able to teach them how to build a business online. I have been doing this now for almost 4 years. I am now looking to help more people as well as inmates being released to take advantage of the unlimited opportunities that exist if you believe in yourself and are willing to invest in yourself. I've have personally spent thousands of dollars on coaches and training to enhance my skills and continue to.
Shakoure Char Carpenter grew up in a tough, New York environment. As a young boy, leaders from the streets influenced him. He got sucked into their lifestyle. The friends he chose led him into deeper problems than he could imagine. At 18, authorities arrested him for felony murder. A judge slammed Shakoure with a life sentence. He served 23 years in high-security prisons.
While incarcerated, Shakoure made a commitment to prepare for success. He educated himself. When resources dried up, eliminating funding for prisoners to study toward a university degree, he kept going. After 18 years in prison, he earned his first bachelors degree. Then he earned another, and eventually he earned a master’s degree.
Shakoure is a mastermind. Rather than being traumatized by life term in prison, he found strength from within. He rejected the criminal lifestyle and prepared for success. His podcast describes strategies that empowered him through the decades he served. Now that he’s free, Shakoure works to improve outcomes for others.
Below is a copy of his bio and the impressive work that he’s done.
Shakoure Char Carpenter
MEDIA INTRODUCTION:
Pascual “Shakoure Char” Carpenter (pronounced Sha-kori Shar) is a stage actor, ministerial counselor, social media entrepreneur, and screenwriter. In addition to published poetry and commentaries, he has written four screenplays, one of which completed as quarterfinalist at the International Filmmakers Script Competition, 2009.
Shakoure is also the founder of Scripticket.com, an upcoming social media startup that bridges moviegoers, screenwriters, and production studios.
Academically, he has earned three college degrees, including two Bachelor of Science degrees, a Master’s in Professional Studies and over a dozen other certifications. What makes these accomplishments interesting, however, is that he earned them while incarcerated in the State of New York.
After a controversial life sentence for an unjust, high profile conviction, Shakoure vowed to develop his potential to the highest extent possible while behind the wall.
This led many on the outside to take interest in his case and a subsequent documentary that was instrumental in his campaign for release.
Today, after a year of walking out a free man, Shakoure has taken his experience, education, and entrepreneurial skills to found a new, uniquely positioned production venture called From Bars II Benjamins. In the foregoing interview, we’ll let him tell us more about what this organization is about and the unique impact it is trying to effect in the world of reentry.
Short Award-Winning Documentary: 23 Reasons
Press: NY Times Article (day after release)
https://www.facebook.com/FromBarsIIBenjamins
https://twitter.com/FBIIB?s=09
Conquering Prison
Rodney White is a native of Richmond Virginia and served 15 years of an 18-year sentence for drugs and firearm charges. He tells his inspiring story on the Earning Freedom podcast. After release from prison, Rodney became an award winning sales person, motivational speaker, facilitator, community college academic adviser, and radio host.
Audiences are drawn to Rodney because of his unique ability to develop and deliver practical solutions to people in transition and growth. His strength is in providing simple strategies that enable individuals and organizations to pursue their goals with confidence and clarity. In his “R.E.A.D. to Succeed,” motivational program Rodney delivers a message that inspires and teaches a very simplistic way of problem solving.
Drawing on skills honed as an inmate, salesperson, business owner, and speaker, Rodney has created and conducted training programs for groups ranging from trade associations to governmental agencies and educational institutions. Rodney’s insightful program makes an impact instead of an impression because they regularly include the use of humor, powerful examples, and frequent audience involvement. His client list includes Richmond Public Schools, National Work Force Development Association, Virginia Department of Corrections, Goodwill Industries, Federal Bureau of Prisons, The US Justice Department, and a host of other business and education-related organizations.
In addition to his success as a speaker, Rodney is an accomplished producer. His latest DVD, “R.E.A.D. to Succeed from prison to paradise,” with Rodney White, offers a powerfully practical way to get better results in times of change and reentry.
Rodney is also a member of the International Honor Society and graduated with honors from the University of Richmond and earned a Master’s degree in Adult Education at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro NC where he resides and works as an academic adviser for a local community college.
When asked about his approach to life,
Rodney responds by saying that “Every setback is a setup for a great comeback.” Rodney is active in his community and because of his commitment to improving the lives of others; Rodney has been presented several awards and honors as a speaker and has volunteered with youth programs such as Street Law and Richmond Midnight Basketball League. He is a consultant and mentor with R.O.O.T.S (Reinventing Ourselves Outside of The System) an offender based reentry program started within the Richmond City Jail.
Rodney is CEO of the Rodney White Group; a business meeting the training and development needs of individuals and organizations.
--
Gang Leader Transformation: Becoming Published Author
I interviewed Abner Garcia, a remarkable young man who transformed his life while serving lengthy prison terms. He is an inspiration to anyone in prison, showing that at any time, a man can become more than past bad decisions. He grew up in a gang infested neighborhood and become a product of the streets that attracted him. While incarcerated, he chose a different path.
Learn from his leadership.
Below I include information about the career Abner created after decades in prison.
The Pastor’s Son – Back Cover
Abner Garcia Falero, the sixth son of a renowned pastor, grew up in the shadow of his parents’ painful divorce. His life began to unravel at an escalating pace when as a young boy he realized that his broken family now lived a life of poverty and hardship. Confronted by constant struggle, juvenile delinquency, crime, violence, and an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness, Abner had to choose between life and death. It was the consequences of his decisions that led him to the singular most life-altering encounter he would ever experience. This moment of divine intervention ultimately led him to his destiny—to be a witness of God’s tremendous power and grace to rescue a life from the grip of darkness and bring in into the light.
About the Author
Abner Garcia Falero was born in New York City as the youngest son of a large Puerto Rican Christian family. For almost two decades, he lived a life of crime, was a member of two notorious gangs, and was charged with violent felonies. While serving a prison sentence in solitary confinement, God revealed himself to Abner, and his life was supernaturally transformed. Today, Abner is a minister at Destiny International Church under the covering of Bishop Efrain Nieves and Pastor Daniel Nieves. He lives with his wife, gospel recording artist and minister Paulis Sanchez, and his son, Sebastian. Together they travel the world and share the radical message of God’s power to transform lives and His unending grace for salvation.
Dr. Jesse De La Cruz: Prison Gangster to Community Leader, part 2
So proud to feature part two of my interview with Dr. Jesse De La Cruz, a formerly incarcerated prisoner who emerged incredibly successfully--as a doctor of education and judicial expert. Check out his resume. Listen and watch his amazing two-part story on Earning Freedom, at MichaelSantos.com
Dr. Jesse De La Cruz
JSD Consultations
P.O. Box 1993 Stockton, CA 95201
Cell: 209-423-4794
Email: jesse.delacruz588@gmail.com
www.jsdconsultations.com
Education:
Ed.D: California State University, Stanislaus Turlock, CA 2014
Concentration: Gangs
Dissertation: Mexican American/Chicano gang members’ voice on social control in the context of school and community: A critical ethnographic case study in Stockton, California
Masters of Social Work: California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock, CA 2003
Concentration: Deviant behavior
Thesis: An evaluation of a substance-abuse treatment program for criminal offenders
Bachelors: Sociology, California State University, Turlock, CA 2001
______________________________________________________________________________ Teaching Experience:
Instructor 2010–2012
Heald College
Taught Courses in: Police Procedures Theory and Practice; Corrections; Juvenile Delinquency; Victimology; Introduction into Criminology; Criminology; Organized Crime, Street Gangs & Terrorism.
Teaching Assistant (TA)
California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock, CA 2011 2012
___________________________________________________________________________
Personal Experience:
My involvement with gangs spans 50 years, beginning with my initiation into a street gang at age 13. In 1973, at age 21, I became a member of the Nuestra Familia prison gang while serving time at Deuel Vocational Institution (DVI). I left the NF once I was released from prison in 1976. After my defection from the gang, I maintained a high degree of respect from my street gang homeboys simply because I never testified against any of my former Homeboys. In the course of my criminal career and going in and out of prison for twenty-eight years, I witnessed the proliferation of gangs. Mostly, I observed all the superficial, and few substantial changes between old and modern gangs. In 1996, I was released from prison for the last time and have turned my life completely around. However, as a result of my multiple gang involvement (street and prison), and my many years in different jails and prisons throughout the state of California, Texas and Washington, I have developed a unique and thorough insight into the gang phenomena that neither law enforcement nor academics can ever achieve because they have never been on the inside of a gang or served time in jail or prison.
______________________________________________________________________________
Academic & Professional Experience:
Since leaving prison for the last time on April 2, 1996, I have earned three University degrees and each of my degrees has been primarily the study and research of gangs. It is due to these distinct achievements, coupled with my personal experience, that I have been qualified on many occasions to testify as an expert witness.
I have testified in:
I have also participated in aiding lawyers in preparation of testimony and given opinions on approximately 95 gang cases. Currently, I am working one death penalty case in Tulare County and a post conviction death case with the Habeas Corpus Resource Center in San Francisco CA. I have also worked with the Federal Public Defenders Office on a case out of Sacramento, CA on a post conviction case and two other post conviction cases in Oregon. I am also currently working on four R.I.C.O. cases and expected to testify late October or early November on one R.I.C.O. case in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Consultant & Mentor for Fathers & Families of San Joaquin: I currently work with and mentor gang members who are interested in leaving their gang. I provide the gang member guidance and resource information that will facilitate their transition from the gang lifestyle into mainstream society. On-Going
Founder of Criminals & Gang members Anonymous: A 12-Step program for gang members and criminals alike that addresses problems pertaining to gang & criminal involvement. Group membership is constantly evolving. As a result, new members bring with them a wealth of current information, which keeps me abreast of gang trends, both locally and on a state level. 1998-On-Going
Founder Of Jonah Foundation: A sober living facility that provided counseling and sustenance for ex-offenders. It was through the group counseling and rap sessions that I developed meaningful contacts with the participants, all who had just been released from prison or jail. These men were attempting to disassociate themselves from the gang/criminal lifestyle. To date, many of them continue to share with me valuable gang and other crimino-genic trends. 2006-2008
Program Director of a Day Reporting Center: In 2008, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation awarded BI, Inc. a contract to operate a facility targeting high-risk offenders. The intent of this program was to alter the behavior of the offender by using evidence-based practices. I was the day-to-day operations manager in charge of insuring that the safety and security of my employees, and the clients, was assured. In the process of my daily interactions with clients who were just recently released from California State Prison and out of state prisons as well, I was fortunate to gather intelligence concerning not only state gang trends, but national gang trends too. 2008-2010
__________________________________________________________________________
Publications:
Detoured: My Journey from Darkness to Light. Barking Rooster Publications: Los Angeles, CA (My Memoir)
Journal of Prisoners on Prisons: Volume 21, Number 1 & 2, 2012
___________________________________________________________________________
Presentations:
Gang Involvement: A Look at Why Minors Join Gangs and How WE Can Reach Our Youth. The 41st National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE), Dallas, Texas 2012
Seeing Ourselves Emancipating Our Dialogue: Research as Hope From Incarceration Today And Tomorrow. Presented at the 2nd Annual Alliance for Multilingual Multicultural Education Conference: San Antonio, Texas 2011
Facilitated Gang Awareness Workshops:
Merced Unified School District: Merced,
Stockton Unified School District: Stockton, CA
Roseville School District: Roseville, CA
Parks & Recreation Department: Stockton, CA
Monterey County Juvenile Hall: Salinas, CA
San Francisco County Juvenile Hall: San Francisco, CA
Alameda Juvenile Hall: Oakland, CA
San Joaquin Delta College: Stockton, CA
CSU Stanislaus: Turlock, CA
______________________________________________________________________________
Some cases I have testified on and/or participated as a gang expert/consultant:
People vs. Arturo Manzanero
Rancho San Pedro Sureño Gang Case
Henry Salcido Attorney at Law
Long Beach, CA
562-597-9925
Defendant found not guilty of
Gang allegation
People vs. Hernandez et. al.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
RICO Case
Michael Wiseman Attorney at Law
121 Locust Street
Philadelphia PA 19107
215-450-0903
5 defendants found guilty
7 found not guilty
People vs. Angel Rivera
Stanislaus County
Norteño Gang Case
Ben Jacob Attorney at Law
770 L Street #950
Sacramento, CA 95814
Defendant Found Not Guilty
People vs. Herrera, Pedro
Santa Clara County
Norteño Gang Case
Lindsey Dazel: Attorney at Law
93 Devine Street Suite 203
San Jose, CA 95110
408-271-2969
Jury Hung 11 to 1 for acquittal
People vs. Alvarez
San Mateo County
Norteño Gang Case
Maria Fonseca: Attorney at Law
702 Marshall Street Suite 511
Redwood City CA 94063
650-367-7727
Gang Allegations Dismissed
As a Result of my Testimony
At Preliminary Hearing
People vs. Espinoza et. al
Sacramento County
Sureño Gang Case
Keith Staten: Attorney at Law
1023 H. St. Suite A
Sacramento CA 95814
(916) 443-5600
Defendants Found Guilty
People vs. Andrew Rodríguez
Santa Clara County
Norteño Gang Case
Timothy Clancy: Attorney at Law
1290 B Street, suite 304
Hayward, CA 94541
510-409-5413
Defendant Found Not Guilty of Gang Allegation
People vs. Bustamante et. al
Santa Clara County
Norteño Gang Case
Lindsey Dazel: Attorney at Law
93 Devine Street Suite 203
San Jose, CA 95110
408-271-2969
Defendants Found Not Guilty of Gang Allegation
People vs. Sebourne et.al Homicide
Sureño Gang Case
Stanislaus County
Gregory Bentley: Attorney at Law
500 Broadway
San Francisco CA 94133
415-986-5591
Hung Jury. Set for Re-Trial
People vs. Ernesto Munguia: Gang Injunction
Norteño Gang Case
Stanislaus County
Mark Girdner: Attorney at Law
811 15th Street
Modesto, CA 95354
(209) 524-7600
Defendant Found Not Guilty
People vs. Velasco
LASC, South Central District (Compton)
Don Kelly Attorney at Law
317 Rosecrans Blvd # 2 Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
310-546-6700
Gang allegations: Not Guilty
People vs. Errik Roman: Attempted Homicide
Sureño Gang Case
Santa Barbara County
K.C. Williamson: Attorney at Law
Santa Barbara Public Defender
Santa Barbara, CA
Defendant Found Guilty
People vs. Rocky Riberal- Homicide
Norteño Gang Case
San Joaquin County
Ralph Cingcon: Attorney at Law
5250 Claremont Ave
Stockton, CA 95207
(209) 462-5600
Defendant Found Guilty
People vs. Niaz Mohammed Khoshnaw- Homicide
Norteño Gang Case
Hillsborough County
Edie Rogoway: Attorney at Law
6312 SW Capitol Highway # 1102
Portland, OR 97239
(503) 334-0331
Defendant Found Guilty
People vs. Jah-Kari, Phyall- Homicide
Stanislaus County
Norteño Gang Case
Frank Carson: Attorney at Law
815 15th Street
Modesto, CA 95354
(209) 549-0984
Defendant Found Not Guilty
People vs. Elizondo, Christian Orlando- Possession of Drugs/Firearm
Norteño Gang Case- Defendant Plead to Lesser Charge:
San Joaquin County
David Atkinson: Attorney at Law
343 East Main Street Suite 911
Stockton, CA 95202
Gang Enhancement Dismissed
People vs. Eady, Howard Lamont-Homicide
Sutter Street Crip Gang Case
Douglass C. Jacobsen: Attorney at Law
1811 Grand Canal Blvd., Suite 2
Stockton, CA 95207-8107
Gang Allegation Dismissed: Defendant pled guilty to 22 years.
People vs. Orozco, Josue- Homicide
Sureño Gang Case
San Mateo, County,
Ray, Buenaventura: Attorney at Law
2171 Junipero Serra Blvd.
Daly City, CA 94014
Ph. (650) 756-2000
Hung Jury: Defendant Pled to 43 Years
People vs. Gonzalez, Abel, Jr.-Drug Trafficking
Sureño Gang Case
Ted, Bastian, Jr.: Attorney at Law
600 Fourth St. P.O. Box431
Yreka, CA 96097
Ph. (530) 842-2000
Defendant Pled to Seven Years. Gang Enhancement Dismissed.
People vs. Shifflett, William Jr. Drug Possession
Arron, Williams: Attorney at Law
1721 Court St Redding, CA 96001
Ph. (530) 241-6991
Defendant Pled: Gang Allegation Dismissed
People vs. Lieffer, Donald- Homicide
Alleged Northern Peckerwood Gang Case
Charles Slote: Attorney at Law
305 N. El Dorado Suite, 301
Stockton, CA 95202
Ph. (209) 948-5711
Gang Enhancement Dismissed After My Testimony at Preliminary
So proud to feature Dr. Jesse De La Cruz, a formerly incarcerated prisoner who emerged incredibly successfully--as a doctor of education and judicial expert. Check out his resume. Listen and watch his amazing two-part story on Earning Freedom, at MichaelSantos.com
Dr. Jesse De La Cruz
JSD Consultations
P.O. Box 1993 Stockton, CA 95201
Cell: 209-423-4794
Email: jesse.delacruz588@gmail.com
www.jsdconsultations.com
Education:
Ed.D: California State University, Stanislaus Turlock, CA 2014
Concentration: Gangs
Dissertation: Mexican American/Chicano gang members’ voice on social control in the context of school and community: A critical ethnographic case study in Stockton, California
Masters of Social Work: California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock, CA 2003
Concentration: Deviant behavior
Thesis: An evaluation of a substance-abuse treatment program for criminal offenders
Bachelors: Sociology, California State University, Turlock, CA 2001
______________________________________________________________________________ Teaching Experience:
Instructor 2010–2012
Heald College
Taught Courses in: Police Procedures Theory and Practice; Corrections; Juvenile Delinquency; Victimology; Introduction into Criminology; Criminology; Organized Crime, Street Gangs & Terrorism.
Teaching Assistant (TA)
California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock, CA 2011 2012
___________________________________________________________________________
Personal Experience:
My involvement with gangs spans 50 years, beginning with my initiation into a street gang at age 13. In 1973, at age 21, I became a member of the Nuestra Familia prison gang while serving time at Deuel Vocational Institution (DVI). I left the NF once I was released from prison in 1976. After my defection from the gang, I maintained a high degree of respect from my street gang homeboys simply because I never testified against any of my former Homeboys. In the course of my criminal career and going in and out of prison for twenty-eight years, I witnessed the proliferation of gangs. Mostly, I observed all the superficial, and few substantial changes between old and modern gangs. In 1996, I was released from prison for the last time and have turned my life completely around. However, as a result of my multiple gang involvement (street and prison), and my many years in different jails and prisons throughout the state of California, Texas and Washington, I have developed a unique and thorough insight into the gang phenomena that neither law enforcement nor academics can ever achieve because they have never been on the inside of a gang or served time in jail or prison.
______________________________________________________________________________
Academic & Professional Experience:
Since leaving prison for the last time on April 2, 1996, I have earned three University degrees and each of my degrees has been primarily the study and research of gangs. It is due to these distinct achievements, coupled with my personal experience, that I have been qualified on many occasions to testify as an expert witness.
I have testified in:
I have also participated in aiding lawyers in preparation of testimony and given opinions on approximately 95 gang cases. Currently, I am working one death penalty case in Tulare County and a post conviction death case with the Habeas Corpus Resource Center in San Francisco CA. I have also worked with the Federal Public Defenders Office on a case out of Sacramento, CA on a post conviction case and two other post conviction cases in Oregon. I am also currently working on four R.I.C.O. cases and expected to testify late October or early November on one R.I.C.O. case in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Consultant & Mentor for Fathers & Families of San Joaquin: I currently work with and mentor gang members who are interested in leaving their gang. I provide the gang member guidance and resource information that will facilitate their transition from the gang lifestyle into mainstream society. On-Going
Founder of Criminals & Gang members Anonymous: A 12-Step program for gang members and criminals alike that addresses problems pertaining to gang & criminal involvement. Group membership is constantly evolving. As a result, new members bring with them a wealth of current information, which keeps me abreast of gang trends, both locally and on a state level. 1998-On-Going
Founder Of Jonah Foundation: A sober living facility that provided counseling and sustenance for ex-offenders. It was through the group counseling and rap sessions that I developed meaningful contacts with the participants, all who had just been released from prison or jail. These men were attempting to disassociate themselves from the gang/criminal lifestyle. To date, many of them continue to share with me valuable gang and other crimino-genic trends. 2006-2008
Program Director of a Day Reporting Center: In 2008, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation awarded BI, Inc. a contract to operate a facility targeting high-risk offenders. The intent of this program was to alter the behavior of the offender by using evidence-based practices. I was the day-to-day operations manager in charge of insuring that the safety and security of my employees, and the clients, was assured. In the process of my daily interactions with clients who were just recently released from California State Prison and out of state prisons as well, I was fortunate to gather intelligence concerning not only state gang trends, but national gang trends too. 2008-2010
__________________________________________________________________________
Publications:
Detoured: My Journey from Darkness to Light. Barking Rooster Publications: Los Angeles, CA (My Memoir)
Journal of Prisoners on Prisons: Volume 21, Number 1 & 2, 2012
___________________________________________________________________________
Presentations:
Gang Involvement: A Look at Why Minors Join Gangs and How WE Can Reach Our Youth. The 41st National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE), Dallas, Texas 2012
Seeing Ourselves Emancipating Our Dialogue: Research as Hope From Incarceration Today And Tomorrow. Presented at the 2nd Annual Alliance for Multilingual Multicultural Education Conference: San Antonio, Texas 2011
Facilitated Gang Awareness Workshops:
Merced Unified School District: Merced,
Stockton Unified School District: Stockton, CA
Roseville School District: Roseville, CA
Parks & Recreation Department: Stockton, CA
Monterey County Juvenile Hall: Salinas, CA
San Francisco County Juvenile Hall: San Francisco, CA
Alameda Juvenile Hall: Oakland, CA
San Joaquin Delta College: Stockton, CA
CSU Stanislaus: Turlock, CA
______________________________________________________________________________
Some cases I have testified on and/or participated as a gang expert/consultant:
People vs. Arturo Manzanero
Rancho San Pedro Sureño Gang Case
Henry Salcido Attorney at Law
Long Beach, CA
562-597-9925
Defendant found not guilty of
Gang allegation
People vs. Hernandez et. al.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
RICO Case
Michael Wiseman Attorney at Law
121 Locust Street
Philadelphia PA 19107
215-450-0903
5 defendants found guilty
7 found not guilty
People vs. Angel Rivera
Stanislaus County
Norteño Gang Case
Ben Jacob Attorney at Law
770 L Street #950
Sacramento, CA 95814
Defendant Found Not Guilty
People vs. Herrera, Pedro
Santa Clara County
Norteño Gang Case
Lindsey Dazel: Attorney at Law
93 Devine Street Suite 203
San Jose, CA 95110
408-271-2969
Jury Hung 11 to 1 for acquittal
People vs. Alvarez
San Mateo County
Norteño Gang Case
Maria Fonseca: Attorney at Law
702 Marshall Street Suite 511
Redwood City CA 94063
650-367-7727
Gang Allegations Dismissed
As a Result of my Testimony
At Preliminary Hearing
People vs. Espinoza et. al
Sacramento County
Sureño Gang Case
Keith Staten: Attorney at Law
1023 H. St. Suite A
Sacramento CA 95814
(916) 443-5600
Defendants Found Guilty
People vs. Andrew Rodríguez
Santa Clara County
Norteño Gang Case
Timothy Clancy: Attorney at Law
1290 B Street, suite 304
Hayward, CA 94541
510-409-5413
Defendant Found Not Guilty of Gang Allegation
People vs. Bustamante et. al
Santa Clara County
Norteño Gang Case
Lindsey Dazel: Attorney at Law
93 Devine Street Suite 203
San Jose, CA 95110
408-271-2969
Defendants Found Not Guilty of Gang Allegation
People vs. Sebourne et.al Homicide
Sureño Gang Case
Stanislaus County
Gregory Bentley: Attorney at Law
500 Broadway
San Francisco CA 94133
415-986-5591
Hung Jury. Set for Re-Trial
People vs. Ernesto Munguia: Gang Injunction
Norteño Gang Case
Stanislaus County
Mark Girdner: Attorney at Law
811 15th Street
Modesto, CA 95354
(209) 524-7600
Defendant Found Not Guilty
People vs. Velasco
LASC, South Central District (Compton)
Don Kelly Attorney at Law
317 Rosecrans Blvd # 2 Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
310-546-6700
Gang allegations: Not Guilty
People vs. Errik Roman: Attempted Homicide
Sureño Gang Case
Santa Barbara County
K.C. Williamson: Attorney at Law
Santa Barbara Public Defender
Santa Barbara, CA
Defendant Found Guilty
People vs. Rocky Riberal- Homicide
Norteño Gang Case
San Joaquin County
Ralph Cingcon: Attorney at Law
5250 Claremont Ave
Stockton, CA 95207
(209) 462-5600
Defendant Found Guilty
People vs. Niaz Mohammed Khoshnaw- Homicide
Norteño Gang Case
Hillsborough County
Edie Rogoway: Attorney at Law
6312 SW Capitol Highway # 1102
Portland, OR 97239
(503) 334-0331
Defendant Found Guilty
People vs. Jah-Kari, Phyall- Homicide
Stanislaus County
Norteño Gang Case
Frank Carson: Attorney at Law
815 15th Street
Modesto, CA 95354
(209) 549-0984
Defendant Found Not Guilty
People vs. Elizondo, Christian Orlando- Possession of Drugs/Firearm
Norteño Gang Case- Defendant Plead to Lesser Charge:
San Joaquin County
David Atkinson: Attorney at Law
343 East Main Street Suite 911
Stockton, CA 95202
Gang Enhancement Dismissed
People vs. Eady, Howard Lamont-Homicide
Sutter Street Crip Gang Case
Douglass C. Jacobsen: Attorney at Law
1811 Grand Canal Blvd., Suite 2
Stockton, CA 95207-8107
Gang Allegation Dismissed: Defendant pled guilty to 22 years.
People vs. Orozco, Josue- Homicide
Sureño Gang Case
San Mateo, County,
Ray, Buenaventura: Attorney at Law
2171 Junipero Serra Blvd.
Daly City, CA 94014
Ph. (650) 756-2000
Hung Jury: Defendant Pled to 43 Years
People vs. Gonzalez, Abel, Jr.-Drug Trafficking
Sureño Gang Case
Ted, Bastian, Jr.: Attorney at Law
600 Fourth St. P.O. Box431
Yreka, CA 96097
Ph. (530) 842-2000
Defendant Pled to Seven Years. Gang Enhancement Dismissed.
People vs. Shifflett, William Jr. Drug Possession
Arron, Williams: Attorney at Law
1721 Court St Redding, CA 96001
Ph. (530) 241-6991
Defendant Pled: Gang Allegation Dismissed
People vs. Lieffer, Donald- Homicide
Alleged Northern Peckerwood Gang Case
Charles Slote: Attorney at Law
305 N. El Dorado Suite, 301
Stockton, CA 95202
Ph. (209) 948-5711
Gang Enhancement Dismissed After My Testimony at Preliminary
Michael E. Jordan transformed his life while serving multiple decades in prison. He's become a role model for others who aspire to lives of meaning and relevance after struggle.
Michael E. Jordan, CEO and Co-Founder |Managing Business Partner - Folsom, CA
Michael E. Jordan, was a career Medical Imaging Technologist with over 20 experiences; Mr. Jordan earned a PhD in Human Relations and Ethics at the School of Hard Knocks, Mr. Jordan also earned a Bachelor of Theology at Sacramento Theological Seminary and Bible College.
Mr. Jordan also has expertise in the Financial services arena, as an Independent Life Insurance Agent # 0J15055, areas of expertise are Premium Financial Services; Indexed Universal Life; Fixed Indexed Annuities; Debt and Mortgage Elimination.
"My responsibility is to share financial instruments which fill the Client's need and too educate the Client on those financial products. I share with the client about the traditional IRA's, 401K's and 403b's and the volatility of those products, coupled with the excessive fees and taxation upon distribution. I answer or find the answer to every question the Client has about why Insurance products are a Safe and Viable alternative to traditional retirement accounts! Growing our Agency and our agent base is paramount; we accomplish this by providing our licensed and unlicensed agents with the tools and training needed to grow their income and ultimately, their book of business!"​
Mr. Michael E. Jordan is listed on the Business Partners Group, LLC website under the category of “about us”.
Michael E. Jordan | Chief Executive Officer
Co-Founder | Managing Partner
Business Partners Group, LLC
555 Republic Drive, Suite 200
Plano, TX 75074
Corporate Phone: 972-516-4235
Direct Phone: 916-458-1447
www.businesspartnersgroupllc.com
High School student Andrew Kang called to ask about prison. We recorded our conversation to inspire others and to show steps we can talk to improve outcomes of our nation's prison system.
Erik Jensen on Earning Freedom podcast
At the very tender age of 11, Erik Jensen was living in an abusive, single parent household with daily violence fueled by alcoholism. He sought escape on the streets, committing theft, selling and using drugs, and was always in trouble with the law until Erik found himself in some of the worst prisons in New York.
From his late teens to mid-twenties Erik was convicted on an array of charges including Robbery in the Second Degree, Promoting Prison Contraband, and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the 4th Degree. He ended up serving 12 years collectively in the New York State Department Of Corrections. He did his time at Greene, Franklin, Watertown, Bare Hill, Five Points, Attica, and in 2011-2012 at the now infamous Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York. It was there he became well acquainted with inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt. On June 6, 2015, the two convicted murderers pulled off one of the most daring prison escapes in recent history.
During his imprisonment Erik was witness to atrocities perpetrated against fellow inmates by several of the guards. He also observed abominable behavior inflicted on inmates by each other, convincing him that the U.S. penal system takes in the bad and instead of rehabilitating, it makes them worse.
Erik is a self-taught scholar in the field of prisoner transformation. He uses his own personal experience to revitalize the mind and spirits of men and women who have shared a similar path in life. Through his words, Erik illustrates that we are much more than the worst thing we’ve ever done, and that the potential for doing good resides within every one of us.
Given his vast knowledge of the Department of Corrections; Clinton Correctional Facility; David Sweat, Richard Matt and their escape; their accomplices, civilian worker Joyce Mitchell and guard Gene Palmer; plus the barbaric culture of the prison system, Erik Jensen is a consultant on an array of projects with television networks and major motion picture production companies. He is a producer for an upcoming Netflix series, based on the Clinton escape; directed by Jodie Foster, and Executive Produced by Bryan Zuriff and Brett Johnson of Ray Donovan and Mad Men.
Erik has been interviewed more than 40 times live on over a dozen networks, including CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, HLN, TWC, PIX11, WNYT13; plus numerous other news media, such as GQ, People, and Time magazines. He has appeared and played a prominent role in television specials: Nightline, Outside The Wall, The Great Prison Break, Inside Edition, Up Close with Marvin Scott, 360 Anderson Cooper, Outfront with Erin Burnett, At This Hour with John Berman and Kate Balduan, and Dateline: "The Accomplice" with Matt Lauer.
Erik continues to share his views with the world by consulting on disturbing issues in the prison system nationwide, such as corruption, physical and mental abuse, and the long-term effects of solitary confinement. He has participated in myriad televised debates hosted by award winning journalists such as Deborah Feyerick, Randi Kaye, and Jessica Schneider.
Erik is a regular guest speaker on numerous Dutchess County Legislator forums concerning criminal justice reform, and makes weekly guest appearances on County Legislator Joel Tyner’s radio show on WVKR 91.3 FM.
He is also frequently invited to the "Earning Freedom" podcast. A California based show created by Michael Santos that is broadcasted in jails and prisons nationwide.
SUNY New Paltz welcomes Mr. Jensen every semester to speak with students studying Criminology. He also volunteers at Redhook Residential Youth Facility, where he shares his story of recovery and redemption with juvenile delinquents.
Erik is currently a contributing writer at Unheard Voices magazine. See: www.unheardvoicesmag.com
He also volunteers with numerous criminal justice reform organizations including but not limited to: Cut50, Prisoner’s Legal Service, and Beacon Prison Action. His memoir is due out in 2017.
MEDIA EXPERIENCE:
ABC: Nightline
Contacted by Yu Fanting
Interviewed by Juju Chang
ABC Nightly News, Good Morning America, and 20/20
Contacted and interviewed by Linzie Janis (interview used on all three shows)
CBS: CBS News
Contacted and interviewed by Jessica Schneider
NBC: Dateline: "The Accomplice" with Matt Lauer
Contacted by Cassandra Marshall
Interviewed by Cassandra Marshall & Matt Lauer
NBC News
Contacted by Laura Allenbaugh
Interviewed by Chelsea Damberg
CNN: Anderson Cooper360
Contacted by Kari Pricher
Interviewed by Anderson Cooper (twice)
Outfront with Erin Burnett
Contacted by Kayte Steinmetz
Interviewed by Erin Burnett (seven times)
CNN Newsroom:
Contacted and interviewed by Brooke Baldwin (twice)
At This Hour with Berman and Balduan
Contacted by Marie Malzberg
Interviewed by John Berman and Kate Balduan (five times)
The Great Prison Escape: CNN Special Report
Contacted and interviewed by Randi Kaye
Fredricka Whitfield
Contacted by Sarah Edwards
Interviewed by Fredricka Whitfield
CNN Remote studio interview
Contacted and interviewed by Carol Costello for later broadcast and syndication
Deborah Feyerick (documentary)
Contacted and interviewed by Deborah Feyerick
PIX-11: Special Report
Contacted by Veronica Rosario
Interviewed by Kori Chambers and Sukanya Krishnan
Up Close with Marvin Scott
Contacted by Ellyn Marks
Interviewed by Marvin Scott
MSNBC: Special Report
Contacted by Tara Ayers
Interviewed by Tamron Hall
WNYT-13-NBC: Special Report
Contacted and interviewed by Jessica Layton
TIME WARNER CABLE SPECIAL: Behind the Wall
Contacted and interviewed by Michael Howard
GQ MAGAZINE
Contacted and interviewed by Cole Louison
PEOPLE MAGAZINE
Contacted and interviewed by Jeff Truesdell
NY POST (two page spread)
Contacted and interviewed by Jamie Schram
TIME MAGAZINE ONLINE
(My sound bites used in an article on The Great Escape)
GAWKER MAGAZINE
Contacted and interviewed by Gabrielle Bluestone
SIRIUS XM RADIO - Channel 121 with Margaret Hoover.
Contacted and interviewed by Margaret Hoover
Channel 45 (Shade45) - Sway in the Morning Show
SHOPFM
National Internet Radio Show
NPR – In depth interview with Brian Mann
AREAS OF ANALYSIS INCLUDE:
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LINKS TO SHOWS:
DATELINE : http://www.nbc.com/dateline/video/dateline-september-18-2015/2905381?onid=209511#vc209511=1
ANDERSON COOPER: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=erik+jensen+anderson+cooper&FORM=VIRE2#view=detail&mid=64CAE0EB9F4FB0C0597064CAE0EB9F4FB0C05970
CNN - OUTFRONT WITH ERIN BUNETT: http://cnn.it/1N6c9O4
CNN - OUTFRONT WITH ERIN BURNETT: http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1506/29/ebo.01.html
CNN - OUTFRONT WITH ERIN BURNETT: http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1506/24/ebo.01.html
CNN - OUTFRONT WITH ERIN BURNETT: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1506/26/ebo.01.html
CNN - AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND BALDUAN: http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/06/24/manhunt-escapee-prison-worker-relationship-jensen-ath.cnn
CNN - AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND BALDUAN: http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/25/us/new-york-prison-break-contraband-smuggle/
ABC NEWS: http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/inmate-discusses-joyce-mitchell-david-sweat-relationship-32031236
GOOD MORNING AMERICA: https://gma.yahoo.com/ny-prison-escape-former-inmate-describes-alleged-cozy-180027020--abc-news-topstories.html#
NY DAILY NEWS: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/joyce-mitchell-inmate-relationship-running-joke-article-1.2269529
INSIDE EDITION: http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/10899-ex-inmate-flirty-joyce-mitchell-brought-killer-david-sweat-barbecued-ribs-big-chicken
NY POST: http://nypost.com/2015/06/24/shawskank-had-closet-sex-with-killer-4-times-a-week-ex-inmate/
WNYT13 IN DEPTH INTERVIEW WITH JESSICA LAYTON: http://wnyt.com/article/stories/s3859746.shtml
PIX11 UP CLOSE WITH MARVIN SCOTT: http://pix11.com/2015/07/04/former-clinton-correctional-inmate-discusses-life-behind-prison-walls-david-sweat/
PIX11 WITH SUKANYA KRISHNAN AND KORI CHAMBERS: http://pix11.com/2015/07/04/former-clinton-correctional-inmate-discusses-life-behind-prison-walls-david-sweat/
NIGHTLINE WITH JUJU CHANG: http://abc.go.com/shows/nightline/listing/2015-07/01-nightline-070115-prison-of-passion-relationships-between-female-officers-inmates
CBS INTERVIEW WITH JESSICA SCHNEIDER: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/06/19/correction-officer-david-sweat-richard-matt/
PEOPLE MAGAZINE: http://www.people.com/article/former-jailmate-relieved-capture-and-death-new-york-prison-escapees
GAWKER MAGAZINE: http://gawker.com/prisoner-says-tillie-and-the-escaped-inmate-did-it-at-l-1713591919
MSNBC THOMAS ROBERTS SHOW: http://www.msnbc.com/thomas-roberts/watch/joyce-mitchell-details-prison-break-plan-528139331771
NEWSNATION WITH TAMRON HALL: http://www.msnbc.com/newsnation/watch/former-inmate-talks-about-joyce-mitchell-525187139634
NORTH COUNTRY PUBLIC RADIO:
ERIK J. JENSEN
CONSULTANT/ANALYST/AUTHOR
CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADVOCATE
AGENT EILEEN COPE
ecope@markcrreativemanagement.com
845.464.5878
Although our growing portfolio of rental properties had become an integral part of our wealth-accumulation strategy, I remained determined to build a digital-products business. With hopes of finding more institutional buyers for the program, I accepted 12 speaking assignments in the fall of 2015, keeping me in different airports every week. I traveled to various cities between Tacoma and Washington DC, striving to create market awareness for Earning Freedom products.
Some of those speaking events provided memorable experiences, and opportunities that I hope to leverage in months to come. Earlier I mentioned that the Washington State Department of Corrections was a client of the Straight-A Guide product that I created. When I made my initial sales call in Washington State, I had an opportunity to build a friendship with Michael Colwell, assistant director of Correctional Industries. He introduced me to his colleagues, including Bernie Warner, Dan Pacholke, and Scott Frakes. At the time, Bernie served as Secretary of the state’s prison system. Since then, he retired and went on to lead a private prison system. Dan took over as Secretary in Washington’s prison system, and Scott Frakes advanced to become Secretary of Nebraska’s prison system.
Those were powerful allies for me, and I hoped to persuade them to use the Earning Freedom programs in their prisons. Through those relationships I’d built in Washington State, I received an invitation to give a keynote presentation at a regional training conference in Spokane. Representatives from correctional industries in 11 Western states would be in attendance. Business entities that served the corrections industry sponsored the event with vendor booths.
Keefe Group and Union Supply were two of the vendors in attendance. I approached the sales representatives and introduced myself. They didn’t know that I’d been incarcerated previously, so I played a hoax.
“I was a loyal customer of yours for more than 25 years,” I said. When the sales representatives smiled, I told them that I’d never buy another one of their products again.
Keefe Group and Union Supply were two of the most influential vendors to prison industries. They not only supplied commissaries and food services, they also were creating devices to deliver digital content. The devices were designed in such a way that they would not compromise security, and inmates could use them to download music or entertainment. After getting to know representatives from Keefe Group and Union Supply, I suggested that they connect me with decision makers. I wanted to make a case that those companies should make Earning Freedom products available to people in prison.
As a consequence of those meetings, I received invitations to visit leaders of Keefe Group at the corporation’s headquarters in St. Louis, and I visited with leaders of Union Supply in Los Angeles. I also received an invitation to visit with leaders from New Mexico Department of Corrections, including Secretary Gregg Mercantel. Through these relationships that I’m developing, I anticipate that I’ll succeed in building interest for digital products I’m creating with Earning Freedom.
The more I worked to generate purchase orders from giant corporations or government agencies, the more I realized the time commitment necessary. Complaining about the challenges of selling into this market wouldn’t advance my cause. The market existed, but as Andi advised, I would need to invest significant amounts of time to build the business model. By continuing to create content, make sales calls, and bring awareness to the value of Earning Freedom products, I’d sow seeds that would lead to the multi-million dollar business we aspired to create.
Meanwhile, by learning more about the digital marketplace, I learned techniques that would allow me to offer products and services directly to consumers. Again, masterminds taught that we could create value when we trained ourselves to think about issues that were beyond our personal experiences. Every individual in society faced challenges. Those people could overcome challenges if they learned strategies that masterminds taught. In an effort to bring products and services to their attention, I invited Tulio to work with me.
Earlier I wrote about Tulio Cardozo, one of the first graduates of Chris Redlitz’s The Last Mile program. I admire formerly incarcerated individuals who successfully transitioned into society. Tulio was especially impressive because he trained himself how to code computers and use technology while he was locked inside of solitary cells. Using the same strategies that empowered me through my journey, Tulio wrote letters to people and requested books. Since he had an interest in computers, he asked for books that would teach him how to code. When he concluded his prison term, he interned with technology companies and honed his skills further. Tulio’s expertise would prove invaluable as I worked to build products and services for consumers.
Tulio kept his home base in the San Francisco Bay area and I worked from my office in Irvine. Using screen-sharing services, we devoted dozens of hours mastering the process of creating automated services. Using technology, we could deliver products and services that would bring value to the lives of others. All of those products and services either taught strategies to overcome challenges, or they offered opportunities clients could seize create wealth. All of our work began with the premise that anyone could take advantage of the same strategies and opportunities that allowed me to work toward my first $1 million. If I could do it after 26 years in prison, anyone could follow the pattern and create their success. We also began marketing our services to other entrepreneurs or business owners, creating solutions for them to use technology in ways that would increase revenues.
As we close out 2015, I’m particularly enthusiastic about using the expertise I’m developing with webinars and other digital projects to create more value in real estate. With Tulio, I’m creating digital courses to teach strategies Carole and I use to build our real estate portfolio; others can use those strategies to prepare for their financial stability. We’re teaching techniques we use to raise capital to purchase properties, to manage properties, to find tenants for our properties, and to keep our investments operating smoothly.
Besides the courses, we’re also creating opportunities. I’m particularly enthusiastic about an agreement I’ve created with a developer who builds master-planned, oceanfront communities in Central America. In exchange for hosting webinars that bring attention to his properties, we’re creating favorable financing terms for those who visit the webinar—and also for Carole and me. We’re seizing the initiative to own appreciating assets in appreciating markets.
I’ll write an update to this book later to show how the opportunities mentioned above contribute to my goal of earning my first million by August 12, 2018—five years after completing 26 years as federal prisoner 16377-004.
Throughout this book, I’ve tried to share lessons I learned from masterminds. They taught me that I could advance my prospects for success if I lived in the world of reality rather than the world of fantasy. When authorities took me into custody, back in 1987, I had to live with the reality that I had made many bad decisions as a young man. While locked in the Pierce County Jail, prayers led me to the story of Socrates. From that story, I learned to think about the avatars that would influence my prospects in the future.
Instead of dwelling on challenges that my bad decisions created, I had to think about the best possible outcome. With that vision, I could engineer a path that would take me from a jail cell, through multiple decades in prison, and into a life of success upon release.
Certainly, I wish that I had made better decisions as a young man. If I’d made better decisions as a young man, I wouldn’t have been locked in jail. But I couldn’t deal with the world of wishes. No one advanced a station in life by wishing or complaining. Instead, we had to take action, disciplined action.
Reality required that I make new decisions. By thinking about the future, I realized that if I didn’t adjust wisely in prison, I would have a very difficult time finding employment once I concluded my prison sentence. In fact, I accepted that the length of time I expected to serve might make it difficult for me to find any type of meaningful employment.
Throughout the journey, I contemplated what resources I would need to start my life upon release. If I didn’t adjust wisely, I wouldn’t have anything when my term ended. I wouldn’t have clothes to wear, a car to drive, a savings account, or anything. Fortunately, decisions I made inside opened numerous opportunities. Yet when Carole and I began, I anticipated that my prison term and criminal record would always be hanging over my head. If I could create several different streams of income, I anticipated that I would advance our prospects for stability.
Those who read Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Term or any of my earlier books will know that the stock market had an influence on my adjustment through prison. I wanted to speculate on stocks after my release, but I had priorities. Although trading in stocks opened opportunities to build an additional income stream, there were also inherent risks. I wasn’t prepared to take those risks until Carole and I had more stability.
By early 2015, however, our asset base had grown. The San Francisco real estate market was one of the hottest markets in the United States, and soaring prices lifted our equity. The house we purchased for $390,000 was worth more than $525,000 in the fall of 2015. And with the rental income from our tenants, we paid down our mortgage each month. Our equity in that property grew to more than $200,000 since we moved to Orange County.
In addition to the paper equity we had in real estate, by living frugally and saving income that I received from speaking events, consulting, and ghostwriting, we built a high balance in our savings account. When the account balance grew to exceed $200,000, I decided to open a brokerage account. With a net worth of more than $400,000, the time felt right to speculate with stocks.
That turned out to be a bad decision.
I traded aggressively for several months. But after bad trades in Twitter and Alibaba resulted in more than $40,000 vanishing from our stock portfolio, I decided to stop trading in stocks—at least for the time being.
I’m not implying that the stock market doesn’t offer great opportunities. It’s just that I had to focus on the goal that I had set with Carole. Since I’d set a goal of earning my first million by August of 2018, I needed to think prudently about every risk and opportunity. With stock market indices rising and falling by several percentage points each day, I realized that it was too risky for my portfolio. Further, with my commitment to build a digital product strategy, the work I had to complete for clients who retained me, and responsibilities of creating regular podcasts, I couldn’t allow the ups and downs of the stock market to distract me.
After liquidating my stock portfolio, I decided to take a pause. Carole and I purchased a 90-day Certificate of Deposit for $160,000 in the spring of 2015. I would need to look for more opportunities. Although the CD offered us stability, our monthly interest statement from Wells Fargo showed that the CD paid less than $9 per month in interest. Saving, it would seem, was not a prudent strategy to advance the goal we set of earning our first million by August of 2018.
The 0-0-0 credit score I had when I walked out of prison had changed. By paying our mortgage and credit card bills on time each month, I built the score to the mid 700s. Carole and I decided to use the combination of our credit, our cash savings, and our tax returns to launch a plan of acquiring more real estate.
We considered the pros and cons of investing in real estate. On the plus side, we saw how effectively real estate could advance our net worth. In 2015, we knew that more than half of the equity we had built since my release from prison in 2013 came from our real estate investment. That means we made more money while we were sleeping than we earned while we were working. If we had been able to purchase additional properties from Chis and Seth, each of those properties would’ve appreciated equally in the neighborhood. In other words, if we could have replicated our initial investment five times, we would already have a net worth of more than $1 million.
We wouldn’t have had to work any harder. We simply needed to control more appreciating assets in appreciating markets.
Instead of looking at the past and wishing that we had purchased more, we chose to act. We started looking for where we could replicate the strategy. Wages from earnings alone would not deliver our first $1 million. We’d need to create wealth through prudent investments, and real estate offered a great opportunity.
We contemplated purchasing a house for us to live in. The compensation package that Andi offered when Carole and I moved to Orange County included housing expenses for our first year. When we began looking at houses to buy, we saw that real estate values in the Irvine / Newport Beach / Costa Mesa areas of Southern California had appreciated nearly as much as San Francisco. With prices for single-family residences in Newport starting at $1 million, and in nearby Irvine starting in the $750,000 range, we decided that it would be best for us to continue renting. Rather than buying our own house, we anticipated we could move closer to our goal if we used our savings to purchase additional rental properties outside of Orange County.
The more research I did, the more I realized how podcasting could serve as a wonderful tool to build authenticity. After watching a webinar on Podcaster’s Paradise, I pulled out my credit card and paid $1,000 to enroll in the podcasting course. Through that course, I learned everything I needed to launch Earning Freedom, which would become my new podcast. I purchased microphones and software to get started. Then I retained Scott Houston, an audio engineer to set up my podcasting studio. I retained Brent Boates, a graphic designer to create my logos. I retained Zach Swinehart to redesign MichaelSantos.com so it could more easily accommodate podcasts. And on March 15, 2015, I launched the Earning Freedom podcast on iTunes.
When I began Earning Freedom, I envisioned the podcast as part of my overall strategy to create digital products and services. I set a goal of creating new content for an ongoing show that would follow a coherent structure. Each episode would last roughly 30 minutes and adhere to one of three formats:
I considered the podcast as another seed that I would plant to grow my garden of resources, and it would become part of the Earning Freedom mastermind course. If I nurtured this seed every day, the investment of time, energy, and resources would add value to society. People would see how they could use the same strategies that empowered people through prison to achieve a higher potential in their lives. Regardless of what struggles or challenges they faced, strategies would always exist to build and grow and create value. Through Earning Freedom, I would strive to inspire people. If I succeeded, a revenue stream would follow. I especially liked that the Earning Freedom podcast would allow me to transmit ideas around the world, providing inspiration and actionable lessons that anyone could use to enhance prospects for success.
I used an Adobe software program to convert each recording into an MP3 format. Then I would write show notes and social media messages to promote the podcast. I subscribed to Libsyn, an easily accessible Internet cloud-based platform to host the podcast. From Libsyn, I created an automated feed that loaded each new episode of Earning Freedom into iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and other podcasting hosting services. By creating this production process, I could begin building a library of inspiring content with actionable messages.
After launching, the show rose to reach number two in Apple’s “New and Noteworthy” in the self-help category. As a consequence of the publicity, more people reached out to hire me for ghostwriting services and to assist their preparations for a successful journey through prison.
Although I could supplement my income by providing consulting or writing services, I didn’t want to divert too much attention to one-on-one projects. Creating a business around digital products remained the focus, and I intended to use the Earning Freedom podcast as an integral component of the strategy. By the end of 2015, I recorded more than 200 episodes, featuring guests from every sector of society.
Several guests described their transformation while in prison. They spoke about how their adjustment patterns led to awesome opportunities upon release. Some guests spoke about going into prison with histories of violence and substance abuse. Their transformation inside led to their becoming college graduates. The show featured formerly incarcerated individuals who emerged to become practicing lawyers, authors, and entrepreneurs. The Earning Freedom podcast also featured interviews with high profile community leaders.
Without a staff to assist me, I needed to organize the process. Since every episode was a digital file, stored on an Internet server, I created a system that would make it easier for others to assist me with the production process. Even my mother, who is in her mid-70s, played a role in helping to build the Earning Freedom program. Each day she would log into different web-based programs like Google, Hootsuite, and Twitter to bring more attention to the program. As a consequence of that work, I found more guests who would tell their inspiring stories.
For example, I once sent random Twitter messages to community leaders looking for guests. I received a reply from Lou Cirne, the Chief Executive Officer of New Relic. New Relic is a multi-billion dollar company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange. While interviewing Lou in his office, he told me what he would expect from a formerly incarcerated individual who wanted to transition into the job market. The Earning Freedom podcast also featured interviews with Dan Caldwell, the founder of TapouT, the legendary clothing company catering to the growing market for mixed-martial arts. I interviewed best-selling author Michael Port. And I interviewed Johnny Lee Dumas, host of the top-rated podcast Entrepreneur on Fire.
What do all of those guests have in common? Each of them helped me communicate a message that I learned from other masterminds. Namely: it’s never too early, and it’s never too late to begin sowing seeds for a better life. Their stories show that if we choose to live in the world as it exists, rather than as we wish it would be, we can create pathways that lead us to success. That strategy of deliberateness worked for the many formerly incarcerated people I feature on the Earning Freedom podcast. The strategy worked for formerly incarcerated individuals who emerged successfully. The strategy worked for business and community leaders I interviewed. And the strategy continues to work for me.
I’m convinced a strategy of deliberateness will work for anyone who chooses to lead a values-based, goal-oriented life.
After recording a sufficient number of episodes, and writing a lesson plan that facilitators could use to teach the course, I began to distribute the Earning Freedom program. Mike Tausek worked with his team to introduce the program to men in Maine’s high-security prison. After completing the course, Mike sent me several testimonials from the men inside.
Last week Diane said that on the first day of class (because I was mad) I couldn’t get hot water for my coffee. She said I gave an attitude (which I did). I was going to be in trouble. … In the past I would’ve just “F” this class and went back to my room. But I didn’t because I am trying to change. These classes have really helped me grow. I want to say Thank You to Michael Santos Diane and Deputy Warden Tausik for this great opportunity to teach myself and others. It can be done. It’s not about what you did yesterday. It’s about what you’re going to do today and with the rest of your life. I want to thank myself for actually gritting my teeth and just baring it that day. My last self would’ve just quit and wouldn’t have been rewarded through this Mastermind course. It has been a significant part of changing my thoughts. I’d like to say thanks and congratulations to all of my “peers” for giving this group a chance and sticking together through this great process. Again, thanks for the opportunity. It really has influenced me in a way that nothing else has.
Sincerely, Eric Lauderhill
Eric’s testimonial convinced me that through digital programs like Earning Freedom, more people would find hope they needed to overcome struggle and prepare for success. My challenge was finding more purchase orders, as I would need a revenue stream to build a sustainable business.
Mike Tausek came across the Straight-A Guide course that I created for Justin’s nonprofit foundation. We had distributed the course to several jails, schools, and prisons. Mike contacted me to learn more about what it would take to bring the Straight-A Guide to Maine’s prison system.
The Straight-A Guide was a comprehensive course, with ten modules of five lessons each. The course included workbooks, videodisks, and softcover books. Further, facilitators needed to proceed through a full day of training to learn the concepts. I created the course with intentions to sell the Straight-A Guide to institutions across the United States, yet as I described earlier, we lacked capital to fully implement our plan.
Since I had accepted the fulltime position with Andi’s organization, I didn’t have liberty to travel to Maine so easily, I told Mike. I explained to him that I was working to create new, digital products, and suggested that he allow me to create something new that we could test inside of the Maine State Prison. If the idea worked in Maine, I would strive to expand into other markets.
Deputy Warden Tausek asked what I had in mind.
I suggested that I create the Earning Freedom Mastermind Course. Since he was in Maine, I used a Hockey metaphor. To paraphrase Wayne Gretzky, I said that rather than skating to the puck, we needed to skate to where the puck was going. From my perspective, the educational market would expand its use of digital products. They were less expensive than physical products to both create and distribute. With digital products, I told Mike, I could create new content for prisoners in Maine that would be both timely and relevant. Further, the mastermind course could be interactive, giving the men inside opportunities to ask questions and receive answers from people who emerged from prison successfully.
I anticipated that I could create Earning Freedom courses from my desktop computer. I’d need to research how, but since I had Andi’s support, I’d learn how to create webinars and audiobooks. I told him that I would create a 10-part lesson plan and a series of videos that featured interactions with formerly incarcerated individuals. Since I could use technology to film the recordings, I could produce the course in an efficient manner and distribute it through Internet links. Most importantly, participants could ask questions and I’d film responses to their questions. I believed an Earning Freedom course would help build intrinsic motivation for people who lived without hope.
Mike Tausek saw the value that digital courses could offer. He agreed to purchase a one-year license to use the Earning Freedom course in his prison. We settled on a $1,000 price point for the annual license.
Single orders for a $1,000 were not going to build an empire. But as Andi said, businesses took time to build. I budgeted three years to build products and services that would serve institutions like the state of Maine’s prison system. The same course that I created for Maine would be of value to people across the country, not only for people in prison—for anyone. Rather than limiting the course content for people in prison, I intended to create content that would apply to every citizen who aspired to overcome struggle and reach a higher potential
I’d need to build in stages. Those stages would require the following:
With a plan in place, I started scouring the Internet to learn more about how to create digital products.
Before I describe what I learned from researching digital products, I need to give a bit more background. Since emerging from prison, I worked to build multiple income streams. The work I did while I was incarcerated helped set the stage for such opportunities. Those who read this book from inside of a jail or prison should recognize how decisions they make today will influence prospects or opportunities for success in the weeks, months, and years to come.
Earlier, I wrote about my friend Lee opening a job opportunity for me to work in one of his companies immediately after my release. While on that job, I simultaneously earned revenues from public speaking events. A steadier stream of resources came through personal consulting and writing services I offered for others. Rather than taking time off for relaxation, I took advantage of every opportunity available to build financial resources that Carole and I could use to achieve our goals. Although I had to work seven days each week, the progress we made brought a sense of fulfillment. We both were working toward a better future than anyone would’ve expected after multiple decades in prison.
As a consequence of my writing and publishing from inside, I had a level of authenticity when I returned to society. Remember, I began with a plan, thinking about the avatars I wanted to influence. By executing that plan through every day of my journey, when I returned to society I had a strong support network. Some of the people in my network were defense attorneys. When they had clients facing prison, and those defendants had questions about prison, the attorneys would recommend their clients contact me. I charged those defendants a fee to help them prepare for the journey ahead. Those people became my clients. They looked for guidance on how they could:
Clients would pay a premium to learn lessons that empowered me through the decades that I served. Others retained me to ghostwrite books for them. And fees I earned from providing one-on-one consultation or writing services helped to build financial resources that I could leverage.
While researching information on how to create digital products, I stumbled upon information that would contribute to the business I was striving to build with Andi. The bonus was that it would also contribute to consulting work I did on the side. My research led me to podcasts—a concept that I had been familiar with before.
The podcast I found was called LawPreneurRadio with Miranda McCroskey. It profiled attorneys. By listening to LawPreneurRadio, I had a new idea. On the episode I heard, Miranda was interviewing Diane Bass, one of the premier defense attorneys in Orange County. I listened to the entire interview and felt inspired. A podcast could be a great “digital product” to create. After all, podcasts were accessible to anyone who had access to the Internet. If I were to create an Earning Freedom podcast, more people would learn of value that I could provide. A podcast could potentially lead to more consulting business, while it would simultaneously lead to a library of digital content that I could use to inspire others.
After listening to Miranda’s interview of Diane, I reached out to both women.
I liked the idea of using podcasts to profile experts, just as Miranda had profiled Diane.
As I found throughout my journey, we strengthen ourselves when we bring more mentors into our life. When we can show that we’re 100% authentic, always committed to leading lives of relevance, meaning, and contribution, people are more willing to help.
Despite my background of serving decades in prison, both Diane Bass and Miranda McCroskey agreed to meet with me. They each played a role in influencing my pursuit of a successful career. Diane introduced me to scores of influential criminal defense attorneys. When the attorneys had clients facing time in federal prison, they would refer those people to me. Like Diane, Miranda took the time to meet with me. She mentored me on what it would take to build a successful podcast and she introduced me to Podcaster’s Paradise, the online teaching service that would help me become a podcaster.
After teaching my final class at SFSU in May of 2014, Carole and I loaded our Chevy Aveo to make the seven-hour drive south to Newport Beach. Earnings from books I wrote while in prison provided resources Carole needed to live while she advanced through nursing school. Those earnings also allowed her to purchase the small, four-cylinder Aveo. The car brought a lot of memories for both Carole and me through our journey. From prison yards, I used to wait for her to drive in on visiting days.
When I got out of prison Lee asked what type of car I was going to buy, because Carole would need to drive hers.
The tone of Lee’s question told me a great deal. Although I wanted to buy a nice car, and I had savings in the bank, I knew that wasting money on an impressive car wouldn’t be prudent. For one thing, blowing resources on a high-end car would not have endeared me to Lee. In fact, I’m sure that if I would’ve purchased an expensive car, he would’ve lost all respect for my judgment. Successful people like Lee or Andi were always calculating. Our daily decisions determined whether people like them would want to invest their time, energy, or resources in helping us grow.
We learn many lessons from the ways that successful people think.
Carole and I kept her Chevy Aveo. As soon I got my driver’s license, I purchased a used Ford for $4,000 in cash so we wouldn’t incur any wasted debt like a car payment. That decision, I think, met Lee’s approval. And I suspect that it had a lot to do with Chris and Seth agreeing to finance the first house we purchased.
We left the Ford with a friend to sell on consignment and we drove our little Chevy Aveo south on Interstate 5. The car wasn’t made for long trips, and it wouldn’t blend in too well in the upscale communities of Orange County. Fortunately, Carole shared a vision with me. We both were after long-term stability and we both worked toward those goals each day. In the pages to follow, I’ll describe some of the ways that I supplemented my income and contributed to our stability. When we left the San Francisco Bay area, we had about $100,000 equity in our house and another $100,000 in savings. It wasn’t a bad position to be in, considering that my prison term had ended only 10 months previously. Rather than splurging on luxuries, we chose to focus together on the million-dollar net worth we intended to build by August of 2018.
Andi tasked me to work in the communications division of his well-staffed organization. He owned a number of businesses that cumulatively generated annual revenues in excess of $50 million. Overall, he employed more than 100 people. Initially, I would strive to add value by assisting with marketing and communications. True to his word, Andi gave me considerable liberty to develop new business ideas that we could grow together. When not working with his team, I thought of different markets or businesses we could launch.
His corporate headquarters occupied a full floor of a 10-story office building in the high-rent district of Irvine, California. While visiting one day, Andi asked what I felt passionate about creating.
“I’d like to inspire people, to help them grow and overcome obstacles.”
“You’re certainly the guy who can do it.”
As we spent more time together, I convinced Andi that a market existed. Potentially, the market could even be big enough to attract an investor like him. In truth, if a business didn’t offer the potential to generate revenues in excess of $10 million a year, Andi wouldn’t waste time discussing it. Yet I believed a massive market existed for products I could create.
“If we taught strategies to break limiting beliefs, we’d have a product that would serve every human being on the planet.”
Although prison provided the context of my story, I told Andi, my message wasn’t only about prison. It was about overcoming struggles and that message had much broader implications. At some point during the journey of life, every individual experienced struggle. Too frequently, those struggles derailed an individual’s confidence. People who experienced challenges that included financial reversals, divorce, obesity, business or career complications, lived with misery. If we could create products and services to reach that market, we could bring enormous value that millions of people would appreciate. By creating the products in a digital format, we could build something that truly scaled.
Andi asked what I had in mind.
More than my employer, I considered Andi a friend and mentor. As we spoke, I wanted him to partner with me in building a new business—one that didn’t relate to the reasons he brought me down from San Francisco to work with him.
My idea was to expand upon the entire “Earning Freedom” concept. Since few could imagine serving decades in prison, and few would expect anyone to emerge from a lengthy stint in prison successfully, I wanted to use my story to inspire others. I could create products and services that would teach others the strategies I learned from masterminds. As I did with the Straight-A Guide, I’d create curriculums under the Earning Freedom brand. Instead of focusing only on the prison system, however, we’d create digital products for both end users and institutions.
“As I told you before, I’ve always invested in people,” Andi said. “Focus on the business you want to build. Just know that ideas take time to develop. Nothing happens overnight.”
With Andi’s support, I started. Before I could create a revenue stream, I needed to create a resource that would encourage more people to believe in me. Although the written word was great, I learned many lessons about society since my release from prison. For one thing, attention spans were shorter. Rather than reading lengthy books, many people preferred to gather information through audiobooks and videos. I was exploring digital platforms like audiobooks and videos when I received a call from Mike Tausek, a deputy warden from the state of Maine’s prison system.
Since I was still on Supervised Release, making a move to Newport Beach would not be so easy. I reported to a probation officer in a different judicial district. As a resident of the San Francisco Bay area, authorities required that I report to a probation officer in the Northern Judicial District of California.
Andi’s employment offer required that I relocate to the Central Judicial District of California. Besides convincing my probation officer to support my move, I’d have to persuade a probation officer from the Central District to authorize my transfer. If I could overcome those challenges, I’d have a few additional complications to resolve.
Fortunately, the seeds I began sowing from the start of my journey positioned me well to seize opportunities like the one Andi offered. I felt confidant Carole and I would be able to transition from Northern California to Orange County. But I needed to see what she thought. After Andi made his offer, I called Carole to ask what she would like me to do.
“Take the job.” She didn’t hesitate.
As an experienced registered nurse who was pursuing a graduate degree, Carole expressed confidence that she would find new employment. Carole always supported efforts to build a career around my journey, but she liked the idea of me transitioning away from the prison industry and into other ventures. Andi’s compelling job offer opened a world of opportunity.
With Carole’s support, I consulted with two of my closest friends, Justin and Lee. Both of them were like brothers to me. I’d been working with Justin and the nonprofit foundation he created. We used that foundation as a resource to both fund and distribute products that spread our message of personal growth, accountability, and developing critical thinking skills. If I accepted Andi’s offer, I’d have less time available to work with him. Yet when I told him of the opportunity, Justin saw the value.
“If you become more successful, your story will inspire more people that the lessons we offer really work. Your success could lead to more orders, and it sounds like you’ll still be able to devote time to work on our projects. Take the job. We’ll both have to work harder, but we’ll figure it out along the way.”
Lee and I had spoken about Andi before. Since Andi was an entrepreneur and visionary who built businesses that grew to billions in revenues, he would impress any businessman. Lee liked hearing stories about others who built successful businesses from nothing more than ideas. When I told him that Andi invited me to join his team, Lee encouraged me to accept. “Sounds like an opportunity to learn, contribute, and grow. Take it.”
With encouragement from Justin and Lee, I took the next step of contacting my probation officer. Once I had support from probation, I contacted Jeff at SFSU and told him that I would not return to teach in the fall of 2014. Instead, Carole and I would be moving to Southern California.
We had only recently finalized the mortgage to finance our house. The housing market in the San Francisco Bay area was on fire and we likely could’ve sold our house easily for a substantial profit. Yet I felt strongly that housing prices would continue to rise. Carole agreed. Rather than selling our property, we agreed that we would make our first real estate purchase a part of our retirement plan. Instead of selling, we’d find suitable tenants who would rent from us. The rental income we received would allow us to pay the mortgage.
Carole led that initiative to find suitable tenants by running an ad on Craig’s list. More than a dozen applications came to us within days. During the year that we lived in the property, Carole wanted to decorate to make the house more “homey.” Yet I considered the investment as a stepping-stone, something we would eventually rent. Instead of decorating, we kept the house stark, looking new. It was part of a longer-term strategy to eventually attract stable tenants who would want to make the house their home.
Chris and Seth equipped our house with upgrades like granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and a whirlpool bath. Carole and I were going to miss the house, but we found a wonderful family with impeccable references who pledged to take good care of our property. They loved the neighborhood and signed a long-term lease, expressing interest to remain until their children graduated from high school. Carole’s due diligence contributed to us finding the right family. The $2,800 monthly rent would cover our $2,500 mortgage payment, leaving us with a reserve to pay our annual property taxes.
Since we financed our property with a 15-year mortgage, a significant portion of each payment would apply to principle reduction. Our debt on the property would drop by $1,500 each month, allowing us to build equity quickly. After 15 years, Carole and I would own the property free and clear. We considered the investment as an awesome resource to advance our plans for a stable retirement. Owning real estate, it would seem, could become an integral component of our plan to build a million-dollar net worth within five years. Carole and I made a commitment to work together in ways that would position us to acquire more.
To succeed in building the Straight-A Guide program, I would need to find a different source of support. My Socratic questioning convinced me that I didn’t have sufficient experience to accept responsibility for $3 million worth of investor money. But that didn’t mean I would have to abandon the idea altogether. Instead of raising money necessary to hire a staff, lease office space, fund travel, marketing, and advertising expenses, I decided to venture into the market and get more experience.
To validate the concept and build the business, I knew that I’d need to continue efforts I’d been making since I concluded my prison term eight months previously. Yet those efforts required me to spend money on airfare, on rental cars, on hotels. I had to travel frequently. Further, I needed more resources to pay for services like web development and marketing. I wanted to attend trade shows, purchase display booths, and interact with administrators who would consider purchasing my products. I didn’t have enough funding to launch those plans.
Since I felt passionately about inspiring people who lived in struggle to work toward reaching their highest potential, and I believed that a market existed, I made a decision. Instead of asking for investors, I’d go out into the corporate sector and ask for sponsorship.
During my time in prison I became acquainted with many men who ran successful business ventures. For one reason or another, authorities charged them with crimes, juries or judges convicted them, and those business leaders went to prison. When I was confined in Lompoc, I built a friendship with leaders like Lee, founder of a company that employed several hundred people. When I was confined in Taft, I built a friendship with Greg, leader of a publicly traded technology company worth billions. When I was in Atwater, I built a friendship with Andi, founder of several companies that generated hundreds of millions in revenue.
When we were together, those men had an opportunity to assess my work ethic and character. I didn’t only consider them as some of my closest friends, but they were also business mentors for me. Whereas I lacked experience in running businesses, they had built track records of extraordinary success. I decided to reach out and ask them for guidance.
I hoped to find 10 different corporate sponsors that would pledge $10,000 per year for three years. Those resources would provide me with $100,000 per year that I could use to fund expenses. If I succeeded in raising the capital, I would be able to work fulltime toward building a business while not being stressed out about paying travel costs and marketing expenses. By working on this venture fulltime for three years, I anticipated that I would gain traction in the marketplace. More purchase orders would come through, leading more people to use the program. The program would then grow organically, through word of mouth and referrals. In time, I’d have a self-sustaining business.
In the spring of 2013, I began my search for corporate sponsorship. My first call was to Andi, an entrepreneur with a successful track record of building business that exceeded $10 million in annual revenues. I have incredible admiration for him as a person and as a business visionary. During his senior year in college, he launched a venture that saved money for customers and generated substantial profits for his firm. Andi leveraged those profits to launch numerous other ventures that proved equally successful while he simultaneously helped his family and friends. His combination of vision, ability to plan, and capability of building teams that could execute brought results of a modern-day Midas. He didn’t begin a venture that didn’t have the potential of generating massive revenues. And if the venture didn’t stick, he abandoned the idea and moved on to the next one. His approach to business and life inspired others to want to work harder, smarter.
Andi met with me in his boardroom and he introduced me to several leaders on his team. As I told him about ambitions I had about creating products and services that I could sell to the billion-dollar industry of “corrections,” he questioned me.
“Why would people who operated prisons care whether the people inside came out successfully?”
“What makes you think they would buy products that you created?”
“How long do you think it would take before you started generating purchase orders?”
“Can you really build a business around these ideas?”
His questions prompted a lengthy discussion that we carried over as we
went to lunch at Houston’s, a trendy restaurant in nearby Irvine. The parking lot was filled with Mercedes Benzes, Porsches, Bentleys, and Teslas, like Andi’s. Toward the end of our meal, Andi made his point by suggesting that I look at the others in the restaurant.
“What do you see here?”
Houston’s catered to a crowd that dressed well, drove high-end cars, and didn’t flinch at lunch tabs that easily topped $100 for a table of two.
“The thing is,” he said, “you and I know the prison system is messed up. It’s great that you want to improve it. But the reality is, no one in places like this really cares about either the prison system or the people serving time inside.”
“It’s my job to change those perceptions.” I wanted more people to realize that our nation’s commitment to mass incarceration influenced every American citizen.
He shrugged. “I guess you need to ask yourself a question. Do you want to change the world or do you want to make money?”
My response was that I thought I could succeed on both fronts, earning a good living while simultaneously working to empower and inspire others.
“Maybe you can, maybe you can’t” he said. “But you’ve got a lot of passion for this stuff that no one really cares about. If you could translate some of that energy into business, you could come work with me, start making some money right now, and build products to change the prison system on the side.”
I asked what he had in mind. Andi suggested that I join his team as a fulltime employee and contribute as needed. He was offering an opportunity of a lifetime.
“The thing is, I invest in people. I know you work hard. Keep at this thing, you might build something. If you do, we’ll carve it up in a fair way. If not, we’ll build something else together.” Showing that he wasn’t a guy who made empty promises, Andi offered to cover my housing expense for the first year and pay a $100,000 salary while we figured out what I’d do.
First and foremost, I anticipated that investors would want to know the total available market for products that I could create. As I wrote above, I envisioned a multi-billion-dollar annual market. I arrived at that number after reviewing published reports showing that state and federal governments spent in excess of $80 billion per year on corrections. Although I didn’t have any data, I estimated that at minimum, 5% of those budgets funded programs designed to reduce recidivism and to prepare offenders for successful lives upon release. Using those metrics, the total available market exceeded $4 billion each year.
Obviously, if I could put an organization together, we’d only receive a fraction of those resources. But if we implemented the program successfully, and we became an evidence-based program after three years, it would seem that the The Straight-A Guide could secure an average of at least 20 clients in each state, for a projected, estimated total of 1,000 clients. If each client placed an average order of $10,000 per year, we’d have a business that generated $10 million in annual revenues.
Again, I could only “project” into the future, or visualize prospects for success. I’d need to convince others that a market existed and that the potential for upside validated the risk associated with the investment. After all, anyone who put money into such a venture would have to wait three years before they would see a return on investment.
Would a return on investment warrant the risk? I continued to run the numbers.
Since we’d be creating digital products, gross profit margins would likely exceed 70%. After all, once I produced a product, the costs of production would drop significantly. Based on estimates of $10 million in revenues, the company should generate north of $7 million in annual profits after year three. With those numbers, it would seem that investors might be willing to provide $3 million in funding in exchange for 50% of a company we’d create. Such an equity split would return all investment capital within five years; the investors would still own 50% of a growing company.
Despite the promise that I saw, I suspected that investors would view the opportunity from a different perspective. An infinite number of opportunities competed for their attention and their capital. Although the Straight-A Guide offered a “social good” in that it would influence people in prison to begin preparing for success, and the business venture had the potential for generating lasting profits in a growing market that was poised to grow, investors would perceive risks. I anticipated their objections:
If you’re asking us to invest $3 million for a 50% stake in your company, you’re implying that your idea is worth $6 million. What experience do you have in overseeing ventures with this level of complexity?
If prison administrators resist buying from a convicted felon now, what makes you think that they’ll be more inclined to purchase products you create three years from now?
What track record do you have for returning capital to investors?
The more questions I asked, the more I realized that I wasn’t yet ready to seek venture capital from investors to fund my idea. I’d never run a business before, I’d never managed a group of professionals, and I didn’t have a track record for returning capital. Although I believed a growing market existed, and we’d validated the concept to some extent by receiving more than $100,000 worth of purchase orders from several government agencies, the realities were that I needed to learn more about the market before I could raise capital necessary to build a team.
Until then, I needed to approach the challenge differently—creatively.
The wisdom of Socrates has lived for longer than 2,000 years. His teachings influenced my thinking and approach to problems. To figure out next steps in the development of my career, I turned to his question-based approach to learning. The more questions I asked, the more truth I found in his saying, “The one thing I know is that I know nothing.”
By the spring of 2014, I’d been free from the Bureau of Prisons for eight months. The experience of creating the Straight-A Guide and striving to bring the product to market taught many lessons. More than anything, I learned that I needed help. In order to build a truly sustainable business, I’d need to inspire a team of qualified professionals who could accelerate sustainable growth.
I did some simple back-of-the-envelope math. Attracting candidates who could execute a plan would require sufficient capital. To start, the organization I envisioned would have to pay livable wages. We’d need at least $300,000 per year to build a team of five people with appropriate skills. In addition to those resources, we’d need resources to pay for office space and equipment, travel, marketing, advertising, and web development. Then, we’d need resources to fund an independent research project to evaluate the effectiveness of the Straight-A Guide. All in, I anticipated that we would need between $600,000 and $1 million per year to fund a sustainable operation. Further, we likely would need three years worth of funding before we would become a fully validated, evidenced-based program. Simply put, to bring this dream to life, I anticipated that we would need between $2.5 and $3 million of venture funding.
As a convicted felon who had only recently been released from 26 years in prison, I anticipated significant challenges in raising $3 million. Yet raising funding of some sort would be necessary if I were going to succeed in building a business. I couldn’t work for free and I couldn’t expect anyone to join the team I envisioned if I couldn’t offer livable wages. Working to change the world would be great, but people needed to eat, too.
Before picking up the phone and trying to raise money, I used the same strategy that I taught through the Straight-A Guide. That strategy of identifying values, setting goals, and articulating a message helped me conquer 26 years in prison and I was convinced it would help me chart the next course of my journey in society.
To start, I thought of my avatars—the prospective investors. What questions would they want me to answer? If I could understand their motivations for investing, I would advance my prospects for success.
(Discuss crabs in bucket, importance of building credit…)
Carole and I met with a mortgage banker and provided all of the documentation requested. We took the next step of ordering an appraisal of the property. By considering comparable prices in the neighborhood, the appraiser provided documentation valuing our property at $454,000.
To avoid additional charges for mortgage insurance, we agreed to accept a mortgage of 80% of our home’s appraised value, or roughly $363,000. We wrote a check for $17,000 to cover the remaining amount we would owe to pay off the note to ABS Development. With the $12,000 we had put as a down payment when we initially signed the purchase agreement, and the $17,000 in additional funding we had to pay at the time of the close, our total out-of-pocket investment in the property was $29,000. But in less than 18 months of ownership, our total equity in the property surpassed $90,000—or more than three times what we put into the property.
In applying for the mortgage, Carole and I considered the term of the loan. Traditionally, most people finance their properties over a 30-year term. The longer amortization brings the advantage of lower monthly payments. With the longer term, however, payments during the first half of the loan went primarily to satisfy interest. Since we wanted to build equity in the property at an accelerated rate, we chose to finance our property over a 15-year term. The monthly payments on such a loan would be around $2,500, but each payment would reduce our principle balance by more than $1,500.
The advantage of owning real estate that we financed over a 15-year term became readily apparent to us. As long as the housing market continued to heat up, our property’s higher valuation would increase our equity. If we looked at a five-year plan, and property values increased by 20% over that term, our $454,000 property would be worth $544,000. In addition, by making our mortgage payments on time over a five-year term, we would reduce the amount of mortgage debt we owed on the property by at least $100,000. If those plans worked out, we could project an equity in the property of more than $280,000 after five years—a 10x return on the money we invested to purchase the property.
As I made these projections, it became clear that real estate ownership could and should play a significant role in my plan to build credibility. If I could replicate the strategy a few more times, it would seem that I could reach the goal I had set of building a $1,000,000 net worth by August of 2018, five years after I concluded my obligation to the Bureau of Prisons. I would only need to make my mortgage payments on time, and build my career.
To build my career, however, I would still need to persuade more institutions to purchase The Straight-A Guide. Without independent research to validate the program as being evidence-based, however, I would continue to meet resistance in the marketplace. Administrators would object, saying that although I used the course to become successful, there was no guarantee that others could do the same.
To overcome administrative objections that I anticipated, I would need to build more credibility. One strategy to build that credibility would be to write more, to speak more, and to create opportunities that would put me in front of more prospective buyers. Each one of those strategies required financial resources. Accordingly, I needed to figure out ways to obtain more working capital that would allow me to reach a broader market. As the old saying goes, it takes money to make money.
When I concluded my obligation to the Bureau of Prisons in August of 2013, I set new goals with Carole. We were 49 years old and making progress, but we would have to cover a lot of ground to prepare for a stable future. Although I felt passionately about working to improve outcomes of our nation’s prison system, I also had a responsibility of preparing for our family’s future. Carole had sacrificed a great deal to marry me while I still had 10 years remaining to serve in prison. I wanted to provide her with the comfort of knowing that we were stable. I promised to work toward a goal of providing stability for our family.
While Carole advanced toward her Master’s degree in nursing, I had to figure out a way to build my own career. With limited resources, it would seem that I would need to think creatively in order to generate more orders for the Straight-A Guide. I needed to build more credibility, showing that the program didn’t only lead to success through prison, but also success in society. If I could achieve “success” in society, I anticipated that administrators might be more willing to purchase our program, even before researchers validated its effectiveness.
One principal of the Straight-A Guide is that we never ask anyone to do or say anything that we’re not willing to do or say ourselves. Accordingly, I began asking a series of questions. What approach could I take to define success? That type of question led to other questions. My definition of success wouldn’t matter nearly as much as what my avatars would expect. I considered avatars as being all law-abiding, tax-paying Americans. How would they define success after prison? Better yet, how would they define success in society?
Answering those questions led me to a conclusion. If I could build a financial statement showing a net worth of $1,000,000, others would deem me successful. I set a goal with Carole, claiming that I would work to build a $1,000,000 net worth within my first five years of liberty. To achieve that goal, I had until August of 2018. By succeeding, I would find it easier to inspire more people to see the value of The Straight-A Guide—with or without a validated research instrument.
When I set that goal with Carole, I still had a 0-0-0 credit score. Yet since I had completed my obligation to the Bureau of Prisons, rules no longer blocked me from applying for credit. I submitted an application for a credit card to Bank of America. The banker who had opened my account when I first transferred to the halfway house no longer worked there, so I was starting from ground zero. Soon after I submitted my application, I received a phone call from Bank of America.
The lady who spoke with me told me she was reviewing my application for credit and said that she had some questions. By living frugally, and saving resources that our work generated, the combined balances in our bank account exceeded $100,000. We didn’t waste money on alcohol or splurges after my release. Other than purchasing the Apple computers that I would need to launch my career, we didn’t buy much of anything. I purchased a used vehicle for $4,000 and we saved as much money as possible. The banker who assessed my application reviewed the assets I listed, but asked why her records showed that I didn’t exist in the credit system.
After I told her my story, she agreed to issue my first credit card. Once I received the credit card, I felt a bit more like a citizen. Soon my credit score rose to the high 600s. The next step would be for us to apply for permanent financing on the house we purchased.
I had promised Chris and Seth of ABS Development that I would pay off the balance that we owed on the property just as soon as I could qualify for a mortgage. We signed an agreement with them to purchase the property for $390,000 in the fall of 2012, while I was still in the halfway house. In an effort to help us get established, they accepted a down payment of $12,000 and agreed to accept interest-only payments on the outstanding balance until we could pay off the note. We were ready.
Like anyone starting a new venture, Justin and I had to overcome many hurdles as we tried to introduce our products into the marketplace. Philanthropic organizations provided us with funding to get started, but we still needed to create a sustainable business model. That meant we needed to find markets. The markets we identified included jails, prisons, and schools that served people who were at risk of going into jails or prisons.
As formerly incarcerated individuals with felony convictions, Justin and I faced challenges in breaking through to decision makers at the institutions where we wanted to sell the Straight-A Guide. I concluded my prison term on August 12, 2013, but I was scheduled to serve an additional four years on Supervised Release. At times, selling to “the system” proved difficult because of our criminal records. Still, we were committed to the work, sensing that our product would inspire more people inside to pursue self-directed paths of preparing for success.
On occasions when we broke through to decision makers, we faced another challenge. The corrections industry was becoming more professionalized. As such, administrators were reluctant to purchase programs that had not been evaluated as being “evidence based.” In other words, before considering a rehabilitative program for purchase, the administrators expected to see scholarly research showing a program’s propensity to achieve its intended outcome.
With the Straight-A Guide, we aspired to show participants that they could empower themselves and prepare for success in meaningful, measurable ways. Their key to success would begin with a commitment to leading a values-based, goal-oriented life. To the extent that they articulated their values, set clear goals, and moved forward in the principled way of the program, they would make progress. The course would inspire participants to reject the criminal lifestyle and develop stronger critical-thinking skills.
Through the Straight-A Guide, participants would contemplate their avatars and employ Socratic questioning techniques. We anticipated that such disciplined, deliberate adjustment patterns would assist the participants in becoming more resourceful. Rather than waiting for calendar pages to turn, or engaging in the types of thoughtless behavior that derails so many people in prison, participants would focus. They’d find mentors, they’d create opportunities, they’d seize or create opportunities to educate themselves. To the extent that participants committed to the Straight-A Guide adjustment plan, they would walk out of prison with a strong support network and confidence in their ability to thrive as law-abiding, contributing citizens.
Yet when making this presentation to the corrections industry, we’d frequently encounter resistance. Many would object that other people in prison wouldn’t be able to do what I had done, or grasp the Straight-A Guide. They wanted to see independent scholarly research showing evidence that the Straight-A Guide lowered recidivism rates.
We would face an enormous obstacle in providing such evidence. In order to gather the research, we’d need the following:
To succeed as an evidence-based program, we would need to coordinate an evaluation with an accredited researcher. If the independent researchers had access to data, and their research revealed that participants in the Straight-A Guide program were more likely to succeed upon release, as compared against similarly situated offenders who did not go through the program, we would have the ammunition we needed to sell this program to jails, prisons, and schools across the nation.
Our problem was not only one of funding, but also of time. To gather the necessary data showing that Straight-A Guide programs lowered recidivism, participants wouldn’t only need to complete the program. They also would need to complete their prison terms, return to society, and refrain from violating the law for three years. Crossing the hurdle of becoming an evidence-based program would require significant amounts of capital. We would need to pay the necessary personnel who could conduct the study. We would need to fund the costs associated with opening meetings with decision makers. And we would need to collect data from participants who enrolled in the Straight-A Guide program.
Until we were able to obtain evidence-based research, we’d continue to meet objections from administrators that would prevent us from scaling the program. If we had resources to acquire the research, we anticipated a massive market. Although we didn’t have clear data on the total available market, we knew that the corrections industry consumed more than $80 billion each year. If reentry and recidivism-reduction programs consumed only 5 percent of that budget, the market would be a $4 billion per year industry. In such a market, we anticipated that if we could become evidence-based, The Straight-A Guide program could anticipate sales north of $10 million per year.
Despite the challenges, Justin and I succeeded in persuading several administrators to purchase our program. Since we lacked the research to validate the Straight-A Guide, we could not command a high price point. Instead, we offered the program on a licensing basis at $5,000 per year, plus another $2,500 for training. If an institution purchased a license to use the Straight-A Guide program, I would visit the institution to train facilitators on how to teach participants. They could use the program as a tool to build intrinsic motivation and prepare offenders for success. After the training, we would leave the institution with the video content, the literature, and the lesson plans. Institutions could then use the program as a tool to improve outcomes.
Our initial clients included the Washington State Prison System, Santa Clara County, The City of San Jose, Orange County School District, Los Angeles County Office of Education, Orange County Department of Education, and The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Those orders generated financial resources, but the costs associated with delivering our program proved to be too high. Our model of offering the Straight-A Guide at a low price point would only work if we were successful in finding hundreds of clients. Despite funding from philanthropic organizations, and funding from purchase orders, we lacked sufficient capital to cross the tipping point.
In order to grow, we would need more resources. We needed resources to purchase advertising campaigns that would bring us to the attention of more institutional buyers. We needed resources to purchase booths at conventions that served the corrections market. We needed resources to fund our travel costs and to hire staff members who could help us execute our plan. Inexperience convinced me that purchase orders would flow into our organization as soon as I created the product. As time passed, however, I learned how much I didn’t know about the challenges of launching a start-up venture.
During my imprisonment, we developed the literature for this program. It all began under the theory that people in prison would be more receptive to learning from individuals who had transformed their lives while they experienced the prison system. Prisoners sometimes rejected a message when that message came from people who didn’t know the pain of being separated from the people they loved, or from the people who loved them. We wanted to reach prisoners. We wanted to convince those people that it was never too early, and it was never too late to begin preparing for a better life.
I wrote three books to share lessons that empowered me through the multiple decades that I served. They weren’t my lessons, but lessons I learned from people I called masterminds. In truth, we all faced struggle during the course of our life. Many people overcame struggles that were far more significant than a lengthy prison sentence. I learned from those people and I convinced that other people can learn from those lessons as well.
With continued funding from The California Wellness Foundation, The Sierra Health Foundation, The Cornerstone Project, and other philanthropic groups, we were able to create a comprehensive series of lesson plans and accompanying videos. Our 10 separate learning modules included five lessons in each module, for a total of 50 lessons. Funding allowed us to retain the team at Landini Media, SRV Studios, and Open Advance. Together we created more than 12 hours of high-quality video footage to complete our Straight-A Guide training program. Tulio Cardozo assisted me in designing the lesson-plan layouts.
Through the Straight-A Guide, we aspired to teach actionable strategies for self-empowerment. People in prison or in at-risk populations could use those strategies to transform their lives in the same way that others have done. The program worked as follows:
Transformation begins when we identify and articulate values by which we profess to live. In the Straight-A Guide, I taught that message through the context of my own journey. First, I needed to accept responsibility and let the world know that I wanted to become something more than what I was at present. Rather than allowing my past bad decisions to define me, I thought about my avatars. By asking Socratic questions about what they would expect of me, I could define the values by which I professed to live. My avatars would expect me to educate myself, to contribute to society, and to build a support network. Those three principles became the values by which I professed to live. Through the lessons plans I created in Module 1, I encouraged participants to identify values by which they professed to live.
Once I identified my values, I needed to create a definition of success for each value category. My own definition of success didn’t matter. Instead, I needed to resume my question-approach to learning. How would my avatars define whether I succeeded in my pursuit of education? I anticipated that they would measure an education by a college degree. How would my avatars define whether I succeeded with regard to my contributions to society? I anticipated that if I were to publish, they would consider that I had worked to make a quantifiable contribution. How would my avatars define whether I had built a support network? I anticipated that if I persuaded 10 people to believe in me, and vouch for me, my avatars would find it easier to accept me. Accordingly, I set goals of earning a university degree, of publishing, and of finding 10 people to believe in me within my first decade of confinement. In Module 2, the lessons encouraged participants to articulate their goals, and to make them consistent with their values.
Identifying values and goals was the prerequisite to embarking upon the Straight-A Guide. The next Module encouraged participants to move forward with the “right” attitude. What was the right attitude? In the Straight-A Guide we identified the right attitude as a 100% commitment to success—as the individual’s values and goals defined success.
Individuals who moved forward with the right attitude could articulate their aspiration. In Module 4, we taught participants how to see themselves as something more than their past bad decisions or their current circumstances. Instead, we wanted them to project into the future, to see themselves as the success they wanted to build. In essence, we taught them to become the CEOs of their own lives. If they knew what they wanted to become, then they could craft more effective plans that would help them reach the end result.
To become something more, or to reach their highest potential, participants learned that they needed to take incremental action steps. In Module 5, we showed that every person who achieved a high level of success followed this path. People had to execute their plans in order to reach a higher potential. Regardless of where an individual was at a given time, that person could begin taking action steps that would lead to a new and better reality.
In Module 6, we showed participants the importance of creating their own accountability metrics. They would need to figure out ways to measure their incremental progress. Even if they anticipated having to pass through decades before their release, or if they didn’t have a release date, this module taught participants ways to hold themselves accountable, making adjustments as necessary.
With Module 7, participants learned the cumulative influences of living a deliberated, values-based, goal-oriented adjustment. By living in accordance with the Straight-A Guide, participants would become aware of opportunities. Those opportunities were available to everyone else, but only those who committed to the deliberate path would find them and seize such opportunities. Simultaneously, others would become aware of their commitment to success. Accordingly, they would find people who would have a vested interest in their success—people who would invest in them to advance their success with new opportunities.
Module 8 taught about the importance of celebrating incremental achievements. By celebrating each achievement, no matter how small, participants could sustain their growth patterns as months turned into years. They would know and understand how success in one area of life would lead to further successes.
The penultimate module taught participants that they could increase their successes by expressing appreciation for the blessings that came their way. It’s a version of a theory known as “The Law of Attraction,” showing that we could will more success and abundance into our life so long as we reciprocated, bringing more success and abundance to others.
Finally, the Straight-A Guide taught participants that by living in accordance with this values-based, goal-oriented strategy, they could empower themselves. They would rely on authorities or others to tell them they were free. Instead, they could create higher levels of liberty in their life by embarking upon their own path, living their own visions.
Once we filmed all of the lessons and finalized all of the lesson plans, Justin and I reached into the marketplace so we could start spreading our work.
I designed the third class to teach students about evolutions that occurred in criminal justice during the 18th century. Scholars referred to that era as The Enlightenment, a time when people had more hope. Two philosophers, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, presented different theories on human behavior. According to Thomas Hobbes’ view, people were basically beasts by nature. Hobbes’ theory held that people would only refrain from breaking laws if the state maintained a severe penal system that would punish wrongdoing. John Locke, on the other hand, believed that all people came into the world with a blank slate—meaning they were neither good nor bad. Instead, they learned behavior through their observations and experiences. People may have learned behaviors that led to criminal actions, but they could also “unlearn” those behaviors and become good.
Those types of philosophical questions, I explained to the students, led other philosophers to question the way we responded to criminal behavior. Instead of responding to every offense with corporal punishment, many began to propose different ideas. During the Enlightenment Era, the prison movement began. Instead of relying on jails or prisons to hold people until after the conviction, when authorities could carry out the corporal punishment, we began to use sentence people to confinement. Rather than punishing the body, we would extract time from offenders by forcing them into confinement.
In the following class, I invited the students to assess the level of progress we had made as a society. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being hardly any change and 10 being massive change, I asked them to rate the difference. How much of an improvement was it, I asked, for laws to allow governments to punish offenders by confinement rather than by cutting their heads off, putting them on a stake, and then lighting the heads on fire. Each student agreed that confinement was a significant improvement—a 10 on the scale. Then I opened discussions about how our system of confinement has evolved since the birth of the prison. We spent the remainder of our course discussing the ways that prison systems changed since the 1800s to the modern day.
To help students understand more, I brought many guest speakers into the classroom. A deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department visited, The San Francisco Sheriff visited, and a federal magistrate judge visited. I had formerly incarcerated individuals visit, probation officers visit, and representatives from community activist groups visit. Since I couldn’t bring my students into prisons or into the criminal justice system, I did my best to bring the system to them.
Besides the time commitment that would be necessary, I didn’t want to undertake further tuition expense. Since I’d made a commitment to Carole, I needed to devote time that would allow me to achieve dual objectives. On one hand, I wanted to pursue projects that would improve outcomes of our nation’s prison system and resolve one of the greatest social injustices of our time. On the other hand, I wanted to create income opportunities that would allow Carole and me to enjoy financial stability.
I taught for a full academic year at San Francisco State, but while at the university I pursued other ventures. Fortunately, The California Wellness Foundation continued to sponsor the work that Justin and I were doing. As a consequence of grants we received, we were able to fully develop our Straight-A Guide program.
In early 2013 I began sending letters to professors who taught criminal justice courses in the San Francisco Bay area. If they thought it would be helpful, I offered to visit and provide their students with a different perspective. Many students who majored in criminal justice wanted to pursue careers in corrections, probation, or other law enforcement professions. I knew the students would’ve read many theoretical textbooks on corrections or different sociological theories. Listening to someone who could share first-hand experiences might contribute to their educational experience.
Dr. Jeffrey Snipes, from San Francisco State University, responded to my letter. He led the criminal justice department at SFSU and he invited me to visit with him at the university. Jeff’s email encouraged me, as I’d never stepped foot on a university campus before. I had invitations to speak at other universities later in the school year, but I looked forward to meeting Jeff and walking through the campus. He told me that he had read one of my books when he was in graduate school, years earlier.
When I visited SFSU for the first time, I felt a sense of what I had missed as a consequence of the bad decisions I made as a young man. Thousands of students walked around the campus and they all looked as if they had so much promise. Jeff and one of his colleagues listened as I told them my story. We spoke for about an hour and then Jeff asked if I would like to work at SFSU. I didn’t quite get his question. My thoughts were that we were having a discussion about my making contributions as a guest speaker. Instead, he asked if I wanted to become a part of the faculty, as a guest lecturer, an adjunct professor.
Universities had a huge influence on my adjustment through prison. Although I didn’t get to experience university campus life as a student, Jeff and his colleagues opened an amazing opportunity for me to teach. He invited me to design my own course that we titled The Architecture of Incarceration. I would begin teaching in August, 2013, less than three weeks after I concluded my prison sentence.
I spent hundreds of hours preparing for the semester. Although my job only required me to teach 30 students, I accepted every student who wanted to enroll. Teaching opened opportunities to influence people who would devote their careers to criminal justice, and I wanted to serve them well.
In designing the course, I set a goal of helping the students understand influences that led to our nation’s massive prison system. We incarcerated more people per capita than any other nation on earth. But the US didn’t always have the world’s largest prison population. Our commitment to mass incarceration didn’t begin until the early 1970s, accelerating around the time that I began serving time—when President Reagan launched the War on Drugs. I wanted students in my class to understand how we “architected” the path to mass incarceration.
To begin the class, I told the students about my history of selling cocaine as a young man and about my transformation while serving 26 years as a prisoner. They were somewhat astounded, I think, when I revealed my past. Whenever students referred to me as “professor,” I’d insist they call me Michael, reminding them that I’d only recently finished serving a prison term. We spent that first class going over my complete history. I encouraged them to ask anything about my past, my prison experience, or my expectations about life upon release. Each class lasted nearly three hours and I pledged to be 100% authentic with them.
During the second class, we discussed the evolution of punishment in Western civilization. Prior to the 18th century, I pointed out, we didn’t use prisons or confinement as a punishment. Instead, we only used confinement as a kind of holding center until after the trial. After a finding of guilt, the offender would usually suffer some type of corporal punishment—meaning authorities would punish the body, usually with mutilation or death. They would behead convicted felons, or rip apart the body in grotesque ways. One example was drawing and quartering. They would tie a rope to each limb and fasten each rope to a different horse. Then, on cue, the horses would each race off in a different direction, ripping the person’s body apart. Other examples of corporal punishment included setting the body on fire, or drilling holes into the flesh and then filling the holes with molten steel.