Matthew B. has been involved with the criminal legal system since adolescence, and has always struggled to find his way out. Now recovering from addiction and working on a book, he is all too familiar with how a criminal record can create a cycle that is hard to break free from.

“When you take away everything from a person, and call it ‘corrections’, it’s not. The “corrections” programs aren’t there, they aren’t correcting anything. The people that go through the corrections system end up with nothing to lose. The only option they have is to sneak around to get ahead.”

Growing up, it was just expected that kids in Jessica’s neighborhood would eventually end up involved with the legal system. Poverty and limited opportunities led many to drugs and alcohol, and eventually to crime. At age 16, she had her first child and dropped out of school to be able to provide for them. Selling drugs was the way to provide for her family and after the way she grew up, she did not see any other options. “The only thing I knew was what I was shown. This is what I was taught, in the neighborhood I was born in, this is what everyone did. It was normal.”

“I used to be a no-good S.O.B.,” says Philip Parker. “But people can change. It took me 47 years to figure out I could. And if I can change, anybody can.”

Philip endured abuse as a young child, and he began acting out. When he was just 8 years old, Philip received probation for robbing a house. At age 14, he was sent away to a children’s home. A year later, he went back to his mother, but spiraled into drug and alcohol use. He experienced several stretches of homelessness as teen…

Love and pride are evident in Juan Howard’s voice when he speaks of his 18-year-old daughter, who works and attends college part time. She was still a baby when he was convicted of first-degree armed robbery and sentenced to 16 years. She visited him throughout his time in prison, and it was not always easy, he says, but “We have a lovely relationship now.”

Back in 2003, Juan, now 46, had a good job working for a moving company. He put in long hours, often seven days a week, and had plans to start his own moving company…