The Marshall Project

My First Job Out of Prison Was Back in Prison

“It felt like all eyes were on me.”

This article was published in collaboration with Vice.

I was released in 2015, after serving 20 years for murder in New Mexico. While inside, I worked as a baker in the cafeteria at the Corrections Department. Then, when I got out, my first job was in that same kitchen, serving green-chili cheeseburgers and burritos and chicken-fried steak.

Life Inside Perspectives from those who work and live in the criminal justice system. Related Stories

I was the first ex-prisoner allowed to work in the state system as part of

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Marshall Project

The Marshall Project4 min readCrime & Violence
I Wasn’t a Superpredator. I Was a Kid Who Made a Terrible Decision.
At age 14, Derrick Hardaway took part in the murder of an 11-year-old. The media used the crime to build the myth of the superpredator—and stuck him with a label he struggles to shed.
The Marshall Project11 min readCrime & Violence
When Police Violence Is a Dog Bite
An Alabama man killed by a K-9 officer was one of thousands of Americans bitten by police dogs every year. Few ever get justice.
The Marshall Project3 min readMedical
Should Prisoners Get Covid-19 Vaccines Early?
Now that shipments of Covid-19 vaccine are on the move and FDA approval on the fast track, the fight begins over who will get the scarce vaccine first. States have until Friday to finalize distribution plans and submit them to the federal government

Related Books & Audiobooks