I was born in Chicago during the winter of 1978. My mother moved us to Georgia shortly after. My father remained a stranger for most of my life. I lived a forgettable suburban childhood. We moved a lot during my teens, causing me to attend three high schools before dropping out at 16. A sense of social insecurity guided me to the wrong crowds and to prison.
In 2002, a jury convicted me of murder in North Carolina. A judge sentenced me to life without parole a week after my twenty-fourth birthday.
Overburdened by the grief I caused as an impulsive youth, I turned to writing as a refuge. Poetry, fiction, and memoir helped me retrace the ragged path of my ruin to find change in the most hopeless place: prison. I cannot undo the harm I caused so many people, but I strive to prevent others from following in my footsteps.
I am the former editor of the Nash News, a prison newspaper. I am a Smart Justice Fellow with the ACLU of NC. I am a member of The Society of Professional Journalists. I am a member of the American Penal Press Contest Advisory Board. I am supported by Empowerment Avenue, a nonprofit that aides incarcerated journalists. And I work with Emancipate NC to right systemic wrongs. I write to better the world we all live in, whether in prison or out.