Building Pathways to Freedom Through Merit
For the past three weeks, I have been traveling from one prison to another to advance our ministry through Prison Professors. The journey has taken me through Texas, Louisiana, Florida, West Virginia, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Each presentation lasts about 2.5 hours. We created a self-directed course to show the presentation to those who would like to see. Anyone who would like to watch the presentation can click the following link:
During my presentations, I met people who want to use their time differently. They want to prepare for success, strengthen their families, earn trust, and build records that show they are worthy of higher levels of liberty.
I feel grateful for the opportunity to serve.
When I travel into prisons, I do not see the work as a presentation, a program, or a lecture. I see it as part of a larger mission. We want to help people understand that regardless of where they are, they can begin preparing for a better future. They can define success. They can set goals. They can build habits. They can document growth. They can create a record that shows more than what prosecutors, courts, probation officers, or prison officials may write about them.
Through Prison Professors, we encourage people to memorialize the steps they’re taking to prepare for success.
We ask them to write biographies, journals, book reports, release plans, and personal-development goals. We ask them to show how they are using time to prepare for success upon release. We ask them to build a body of work that family members, case managers, probation officers, judges, employers, and community leaders can review.
We have received hundreds of unsolicited emails and letters from people in federal prisons. Those messages show that this work is reaching people. More importantly, they show that people in prison are responding with action.
One message came from Daniel King, a man at Allenwood Low, in Pennsylvania. His words captured the purpose of our work better than I could explain it on my own. After attending our presentations, Daniel wrote:
“Your presentation was far more than a lecture; it was a roadmap grounded in lived experience, discipline, and a clear understanding of what it truly takes to rebuild a life after incarceration.”
He went on to describe how the message helped him understand the value of personal accountability, long-term planning, written reflection, and daily discipline. He wrote that he had committed himself to building a comprehensive release plan, writing an autobiography, and maintaining daily journals.
Daniel understood the central point. Writing is not only a reflection. Writing becomes preparation. Writing becomes evidence. Writing becomes a way to show that a person is not passively waiting for release, but actively building the mindset and habits necessary to succeed.
That is the outcome we want to inspire.
Daniel also wrote that one of the most powerful lessons from the presentation was the importance of controlling what we can control. In prison, many things remain outside a person’s control. A person cannot control the sentence, the housing assignment, the rules, the delays, or the decisions of others. But a person can control attitude, effort, discipline, preparation, and the way each day gets used.
That message guided me through 26 years in prison. It continues to guide our work today.
I am grateful that Daniel heard the message and turned it into action. I am grateful that many others are doing the same. Every email we receive from someone in prison strengthens my belief that people will respond when they receive clear guidance, practical tools, and a reason to believe their efforts can lead to better outcomes.
I am also grateful to the #BNB community and the many supporters who have joined us in this mission. Your generosity helps us distribute free books, courses, and self-directed learning resources to people who otherwise may not have access to them. You help us build pathways for people to earn freedom through merit.
This work requires more than words. It requires travel, books, curriculum, technology, staff time, and constant follow-up. It requires building relationships with institutions, encouraging people in prison, supporting families, and creating systems that measure effort. The support we receive allows us to continue showing up.
Our mission is simple:
We want to help more people prepare for success before, during, and after prison.
We believe preparation should be visible. We believe effort should be measurable. We believe people should have opportunities to earn trust by documenting the work they do to change. We believe society benefits when people return home better prepared to live as law-abiding, tax-paying, contributing citizens.
The emails we receive from people like Daniel remind us that this mission is working.
They also remind me why I must continue serving.
I am grateful for every person in prison who chooses to write, reflect, study, and prepare. I am grateful for every family member who encourages that work. I am grateful for every warden, case manager, teacher, reentry coordinator, and staff member who opens doors for programs that help people grow. I am grateful for every donor and supporter who makes it possible for Prison Professors to provide these resources for free.
And I am grateful for the opportunity to turn the lessons I learned through struggle into a ministry that can help others. The work continues. Together, we can build stronger records, stronger families, and stronger communities. Together, we can help people in prison earn freedom through merit.
Below I include Daniel’s full letter.
Dear Mr. Santos,
I hope this letter finds you well. I want to express my sincere gratitude for taking the time to visit us at Allenwood Low and share your experience, insight, and practical guidance on preparing for release. Your presentation was far more than a lecture; it was a roadmap grounded in lived experience, discipline, and a clear understanding of what it truly takes to rebuild a life after incarceration.
Hearing you speak about personal accountability, long-term planning, and the importance of documenting growth through structured effort resonated deeply with me. Your message did not rely on inspiration alone. It emphasized measurable action, daily habits, written reflection, and intentional preparation that can be demonstrated to case managers, probation officers, and the Court as evidence of genuine change. That perspective was both empowering and clarifying.
I have been working through the materials and guidance provided by Prison Professors for several months now with the encouragement at the beginning from Celeste Blair. She is such an encouragement and a true Tribal Leader. As a result, I have committed myself to writing a comprehensive release-planning, autobiography and maintaining consistent daily journaling. This practice has required me to look honestly at my past decisions, the thinking patterns that led me to prison, and the character deficiencies I must correct if I am to live responsibly moving forward. It has also helped me put structure around my future by defining who I intend to be, how I will contribute positively to society, and how I will hold myself accountable every single day after my release.
Your visit reinforced that this work is not theoretical. It is practical, visible, and meaningful. When you explained how documenting progress creates a verifiable record of transformation, it helped me understand that my writing is more than reflection, it is preparation, it is evidence. It is a demonstration that I am not passively waiting for release, but actively building the mindset and habits necessary to ensure I never return to prison.
I was particularly grateful for the few moments you took to speak with me personally. That brief interaction carried significant weight for me. You listened, asked thoughtful questions, and encouraged me to continue developing my written record and release plan with even greater clarity and purpose. Having the opportunity to hear directly from someone who has successfully navigated this path has gave me renewed focus and determination.
One of the most powerful aspects of your message was the emphasis on controlling what we can control. In an environment where so much is outside of our influence, you reminded us that our mindset, our daily actions, and our preparation are entirely within our control. That perspective is something I will carry with me long after this letter is written. It changes how I view each day of my incarceration not as lost time, but as time that can be invested in building the person I must become.
Your story also provided something equally important: credibility. You have lived the process you teach. You understand the challenges of reentry, the skepticism that returning citizens often face, and the importance of presenting a documented history of growth and responsibility. That authenticity made your message both believable and actionable.
Because of your program and guidance, I now see my release planning as a disciplined, ongoing project rather than a distant event. My autobiography continues to grow as I examine my past with honestly and outline my future with intention. My daily journaling has become a tool for self-correction, accountability, and clarity. These habits are shaping the way I think, that way I respond to challenges, and the way I envision my role in society after release.
I also appreciated how you framed preparation as a form of respect for the community we will return to, for the professionals who will supervise us, and for the opportunities we hope to receive. That concept struck me deeply. Preparation is not only for our benefit; it is a way of showing others that we understand the seriousness of our second chance and are committed to honoring it.
Thank you again for your time, your transparency, and your willingness to invest in the men here. Your visit made a lasting impact on me. It strengthened my resolve to continue this work with consistency and purpose, and it have me a clearer understanding of how to reset my growth in a meaningful and professional way.
Please know that your message was not lost once you left the institution. For me, it has become part of my daily discipline and long-term planning. I am sincerely grateful for the example you set and the guidance you provide.
Respectfully,
Daniel King
22678-058