The world doesn’t know or believe we have been rehabilitated.
– Renee Wyatt
For those in the general public who have no experience with incarceration, whether direct experience or that of a loved one, it can be difficult to imagine what people go through in the criminal justice system, from arrest to conviction to surviving their time in jail. Many with no experience with or relation to the system do not think about the experience of people who are or have been incarcerated while they are in prison and once they leave. These experiences reverberate across their lifetimes. Many people get stuck in a vicious cycle of incarceration, or they end up with sentences so long that they spend a majority of their lives in prison.
One of the best ways to understand the dehumanizing impact of prison is to learn from the personal stories of those who have been incarcerated.
Jessica Kent, 31
Jessica Kent (31) is a well-known YouTuber residing in Chicago who was sentenced to prison time in New York (one year) and Arkansas (five years) on drug-related charges. She struggled with addiction for ten years. She uses her channel to explain the daily life of someone in prison and to share her traumatic experience of giving birth in prison.
Kent often talks about inhumane treatment and mental health priority issues in prison on her channel, but today we will be looking at her story on her first year out of prison.
Kent walked out of prison for the last time on a spring morning in 2013. She left with nothing: no ID, no birth certificate, no social security number card, and no familial support. She was left only with her sweatpants (with inmate number 711548 printed on them) and shower shoes. She had to rely on the connections she made in jail to get to her next step.
Kent was originally from New York but paroled in Arkansas. As such, her family was hundreds of miles away. So, upon release, she decided her best option was to stay at a halfway house that she was accepted into while in prison.
A halfway house is an institution for people with prison-related or substance use histories to gain skills for re-entry and support. They provide a spit between independent living and in-patient restriction.
Jessica Kent’s halfway house gave her lodging. In order to live there, she had to participate in required meetings and programs to stay while also paying $100 a week. However, because of the barriers to finding a job, she struggled to pay and was quickly in debt to the house, as she also had to pay parole and other fines.
When on parole, there can be a supervision fee of $10–280 a month. If left unpaid, you can receive a penalty or have probation revoked or extended, as explained by the Fines & Fees Justice Center.
Kent was eager to work hard and gain custody of her daughter, now two, who was placed four hours away in foster care. She knew that having her child with her would give her the extra drive she needed to rebuild her life. To gain custody, she needed to get a job, a driver’s license, a car, and an apartment—all while having the barrier of felony charges tied to her name.
With connections, she got her first job at Eaton Telemarketing and worked over a dozen hours a day. She still struggled to make money, since she could not cash checks without her ID, and she was starving, as she could not sign up for food stamps. A bank worker was kind and trusting enough to help Kent out by cashing her checks in good faith until she could get her ID.
Jessica Kent was heading in the right direction to regain custody of her daughter. She moved out of the halfway house and in with a coworker, and she got a car loan from a friend after working for six months. But even with this success, temptation reared its head. Kent started receiving phone calls from friends in jail giving her instructions for drug exchanges, the easiest way to get cash and ensure she could get her daughter back sooner rather than later. However, she refused to participate in these exchanges.
I was dead broke and still said no.
– Jessica Kent
Jessica Kent continued to work paycheck-to-paycheck, got a new job at Landstar, and moved into a duplex. With $32 in her bank account, Kent was able to regain custody of her daughter.
She was joyous—but she also met with fear, as memories of her time in prison flooded in. “I am a f***ing criminal, what am I going to do with a kid?” was a sentiment she often felt directed toward her by guards, medical staff, and other people with whom she was incarcerated. Still, these intrusive thoughts did not stop her from reaching one year with zero relapses, and she was successful in getting her daughter back in just eleven months. She went from sweatpants to a duplex, a car, two jobs, sobriety, freedom, and immense pride.
People are going to doubt you, that’s just what they do. It’s your job to prove them wrong, it’s your job to be like, ‘F*** you, I’m going to do this.’ …[They will say] you’re always going to be an inmate, always going to be an addict, always going to use, always going to find yourself back in cuffs. …I am sitting here as a success story.
– Jessica Kent | Mother of two with a bachelor’s in Correctional Program Support Services, 2022
Michael Plummer, 43
Michael Plummer (43) was featured in a PBS News documentary called “Searching for Justice: Life After Lockup.” He was imprisoned in 1997 on charges of murder.
Plummer had a traumatic childhood with multiple family members killed or incarcerated. His mother suffered from addiction and his dad was in prison. At a young age, Plummer experienced homelessness, moving between shelters and the homes of extended family members. In 6th grade, he would steal for basic necessities. Eventually, he joined a small neighborhood crew, which became his new family.
When Plummer was 16, his crew clashed with another crew, and he shot and killed another teenager. This led to his conviction two years later in 1997, when he turned 18. He received a 30-years-to-life sentence.
Michael Plummer was convicted during the time of the “War on Drugs” and “Tough on Crime” movement, which significantly increased the amount of teens of color taken into the prison system with adult sentencing.
In prison, Michael Plummer focused on getting his GED and a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, also taking a job training program. He converted to Islam, providing him spiritual support. His goal was to show his daughter, who he had at 16, that he could change and redeem himself.
Plummer’s story is a good representation of a person who has been incarcerated who had access to rehabilitation tools and was committed to using them. Taking advantage of the job training program and having familial support was beneficial for Plummer, but many do not have these resources.
Some people grow up in orphanages, some people grow up in society. I actually was raised in prison. I spent my time there wisely, despite my predicament.
– Michael Plummer
On February 10, 2020, after 23 years in prison, Michael Plummer was released thanks to a D.C. law that allows judges to release some prisoners who committed crimes as juveniles. His release came only weeks before the pandemic lockdowns. He left prison with no access to his birth certificate, ID, or any other official documents. Due to the pandemic, all locations that might otherwise have helped him were shut down.
Can a guy actually live off of 800 bucks?
– Michael Plummer
Plummer was at a stand still. He struggled to get work, a house, a car or any financial assistance without a credit score or banking information. Even in non-pandemic times, there is a 10x higher homeless rate for those who were previously incarcerated. Still, thanks to having a supportive network, Plummer found housing with his brother and was eventually able to restore his legal identification documents with his lawyer.
With a license, a social security number, and a bank account, Plummer started to actually feel like a citizen as he adjusted to society. Through connections from prison, he found work in custodial and maintenance with a company that hires people who were formerly incarcerated.
He currently works full-time as a “credible messenger” at a non-profit working with the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation services. His own experience provides him credibility with the young people he works with and their communities. He shares his wisdom with the youth and their parents so they don’t have to go through what he went through. By offering advice, playing sports with them, sharing his story, and leading them in prayer, he is able to support these communities.
According to the PBS documentary, this type of mentorship impacts children and young adults. In two years, it has reduced recidivism in this D.C.-based program by more than half.
Now with two jobs and a new marriage, Plummer is rebuilding his connection with his daughter and granddaughter. Still, Plummer sometimes feels isolated. He told PBS NewsHour that there is a part of his mind that will always be back in prison. But with optimism and faith, he can survive the ups and downs in life.
People can outgrow certain behaviors. And we are willing to give you a chance, just like someone gave me one.
– Norman Brown | Credible Messenger, incarcerated for 24 years.
Watch the full PBS News documentary:
Where to Next?

Background

Re-entry
