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Jim felt as if his lawyer wasn’t listening to him. Authorities had charged him with wire fraud and other charges related to decisions he made during the course of business. He never saw himself as a criminal. As the founder of a business, he can look back and see that he had made process errors when he began. Yet it never occurred to him that those errors could expose him to problems with the justice system, or the loss of his liberty.

Upon learning that prosecutors had targeted him for prosecution, Jim turned to Google in search of a defense attorney. After he paid the fee, however, the defense attorney became less approachable, less willing to take Jim’s calls. The attorney promised Jim that he would take care of everything.

Understandably, Jim wanted to know more about where he stood. To get help, he hired a prison consultant. 

The prison consultant operated under the premise that he should never let the truth get in the way of a story. He pledged to help Jim get a lower sentence and get out of prison early. That was all Jim needed to hear, and Jim paid the consultant’s $10,000 fee.

What did Jim do wrong? 

To start, he bought into the theory that others could solve his problems. In my view, Jim should have put his CEO hat on. He should have taken methodical steps to work toward the best possible outcome, using the same principles that he had used to become successful in other areas of his life:

1. Identify the best possible outcome.
2. Create a plan that would accelerate progress.
3. Prioritize the action steps he would take.
4. Develop tools, tactics, and resources that would align with all he aspired to become.
5. Measure progress with accountability logs.
6. Adjust as necessary.
7. Execute the plan every day.

In sum, Jim should have invested in himself. Had he spent time learning more about the journey ahead, he could have begn the path to restore confidence.

I understand how easily it is to make bad decisions at the start of a journey. Like Jim, I outsourced all decisions to my attorney when authorities charged me with violating federal laws. I’d never been incarcerated before and I didn’t know how to respond. Ignorance, however, isn’t an excuse for making bad decisions. My not working toward a measurable plan, I put myself in a worse predicament. After a jury convicted me, a judge sentenced me to serve a 45-year sentence.

I urge others to make better decisions. That’s why I launched our nonprofit, Prison Professors Charitable Corporation. Through our nonprofit, I make three promises:

1. I’ll always be truthful.
2. I’ll never ask anyone to do anything that I didn’t do while going through prisons of every security level, and that I’m not still doing today.
3. I’ll never charge anyone a penny for any of the resources I make available through Prison Professors. 

At Prison Professors, we empower people who are going through any stage of the criminal justice system. Every day, we publish free, self-directed lessons accessible tools people can use to restore dignity, to pursue a pathway to success through personal development.We’re expanding our reach—building collaborative relationships with defense attorneys.

Why We're Partnering with Defense Attorneys

The United States incarcerates more people than any other nation. We put people in prison when civil remedies would be more approrpriate. And when we send people to prison, they serve too much time. Basically, we focus on the process of locking people in cages rather than the result that we want–more productive citizens who abide by our nation’s laws. 

To improve outcomes, we need to build strong coalitions. They must include prison administrators, legislators, voters, system-impacted people, and crucially, defense attorneys.

Defense lawyers are often the first line of support for individuals facing the life-altering reality of a criminal charge. While they focus on the evidence and legal strategy, defendants are left to navigate a whirlwind of fear, uncertainty, and shame. Their children’s milestones, careers, reputations, and future aspirations all hang in the balance.

That’s where our free resources come in.

What We Offer—For Free

Everything we produce at Prison Professors is grounded in lived experience. We maintain a vast—and growing—repository of free materials on our site: blog articles, YouTube videos, podcasts, digital courses, and daily accountability logs. Every day, we publish new self-directed lessons that people can us to build stronger mitigation strategies. People can use these lessons as a framework for rebuilding their lives.

We encourage members of our community to memorialize their efforts: journaling daily, writing book reports, publishing personal narratives, and building release plans. These documented efforts contribute to persuading stakeholders on the reasons to grant the highest level of liberty, at the soonest possible time.

Talent Profiles: A Digital Resume of Rehabilitation

To further show our commitment, our nonprofit funded and launched Prison Professors Talent—a digital platform where people can build and share a profile that showcases all the reasons they’re worthy candidates for the highest level of liberty, at the soonest possible time. We offer this service, free of charge. It become a great asset for personal advocacy that:

• Helps people document all the ways they’re working to prepare for success.
  
  
• Builds a support network of advocates and mentors.
  
  
• Creates a public record of ongoing personal growth and accountability.
  
  

When case managers and other stakeholders see a robust talent profile, they’re more inclined to see all the ways that a person has worked to earn freedom. 

Ask Me Anything: Real Answers for Real Concerns

We understand the fear and confusion people feel. That’s why we offer an “Ask Me Anything” feature on our site. If someone doesn’t find the answer they need, they can submit a question—and we’ll record a video response to support them.

Defense attorneys can help people restore confidence and hope while they’re working to build the next chapter of their life. 

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