Inmates Remember Man Who Proved You Can Change Your Life Around

He was a drug addict, a burglar and a fugitive, but Arnulfo Garcia is remembered by those who knew him best as a mentor and a teacher.

The San Jose, California native had a troubled early life. He became a heroin addict at an early age and was convicted for robbery after breaking into a home. At one point he fled to Mexico to avoid jail time, and eventually found himself facing 65-to-life because of a "three strikes" law.

During his 16 years in the California prison system, Garcia experienced a dramatic transformation. He sobered up, and started working with the San Quentin News, America's only newspaper written and edited by inmates.

When Garcia started work at the paper it was located in an old mobile classroom, and they made do with almost no supplies. By the time he left jail as the paper's editor in chief this year, the News had dozens of employees and almost 30,000 subscribers in 35 prisons across California.

The News had even launched a new magazine for prisoners called Wall City. Amazingly, Garcia and his team accomplished all this without an internet connection. As one of Garcia's coworkers remembers, "He taught me how to be a man, how to be a father, to be responsible and accountable for my actions.”

And Garcia had even bigger plans for his release from prison...

Read the full story on Shared.com

Photo: Shared.com


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