Former Lifer Now Working for Californians in Sacramento

Around two years ago, Jarad Nava was given a second chance at life outside of prison. At age 17, he was sentenced to 162 years of life in prison. If his name sounds familiar, Nava was featured in the documentary "They Call Us Monsters," a 2016 documentary featuring three juveniles incarcerated in Los Angeles who sign up for a screenwriting class while awaiting trial.

Nava said he didn't anticipate ever coming home until his sentence was commuted to 10 years to life. This gave him the opportunity to apply for parole a few months later, and after being found suitable for parole by the Board of Prison Hearings Commissioners, he walked out of prison after 9 years.

Obtaining parole is just the first part of the battle. Life can be daunting once formerly incarcerated people step out of prison, and, as they work towards a better future, they're also dealing with the ripple effects left by their time in prison. Formerly incarcerated people face employment, discrimination, and housing barriers. In fact, the nonprofit organization Prison Policy Initiative reports that formerly incarcerated people are roughly 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general public.

This is where California State University system's Project Rebound steps in. Project Rebound works to transform those who were formerly incarcerated into scholars through counseling, mentoring, academic resources, and career development, and assists students to prepare, apply, enroll, and graduate with a degree from Sacramento State.

Nava is one of those people who enrolled in Project Rebound on his release from prison. Today, while working toward his degree in Criminal Justice from Sacramento State University, he works as an assistant for the state Senate Public Safety Committee, an influential panel of lawmakers who review legislation related to the criminal justice system.

"I'm very grateful to be here because I wasn't supposed to. I think it kind of shows that there's a lot of people who are still incarcerated, who have changed their lives, and who, if given the opportunity can be very successful out here," Nava said.

“To be able to properly focus on which policies are important to let people start their life again, you need the input and viewpoints of those individuals that have been part of the process,” said state Sen. Aisha Wahab, a Hayward Democrat and chair of the Public Safety Committee. Nava “has worked so hard to turn his life around, so hard to stand on his own two feet, so hard to really say, ‘I’m interested in doing more,’” Wahab said. “He has so much potential, and that’s the thing about human beings. We are not to be judged by a single action. We have an entire life that we need to consider, and the potential good that is possible from every individual.”

You can read the Los Angeles Times feature on Jarad Nava titled "From Life in Prison to a Second Chance."