Prisoner statement on Parole

River North Correctional Center

My name is Danny Thomas I'm currently serving a sentence of life plus 20. Prior to my incarceration I completed high school & served my country in the US Army. Once I discharged from the army I started a good paying job & everything seemed to be on the right track. Admittedly a part of me indulged in the street life in the form of drug dealing. Consequently my dealing led to a conflict with another man & ultimately led to his death & my incarceration. I spent my near twenty years of incarceration reevaluating myself because I feel a strong desire to be a better man than I used to be, to be larger in outlook, greater in vision. I've stood side by side with counselors teaching programs to my comrades. I've held premium jobs working with the administrative staff. Unfortunately the only people who know my efforts are those who have no say regarding how long I remain in prison. I long for the opportunity to sit down in front of the parole board & allow them to see a changed more mature man who recognizes his failures & shortcomings. Moreover, a man who is prepared to go home & be a father I should've been & the grandfather I had growing up. Their is no value in rehabilitation if it remains caged & isolated from the world that needs him the most. Life makes room mistakes but it allows room for redemption. I & my comrades stand for the principle that "we are what we make of ourselves not what others makes us," Prison may confine us but it can not define us. Our goal is parole, peace