By Michelle Goldberg
On April 4, 2017, Damon Christian Watson exited a Los Angeles County jail after serving nine months for identity theft, burglary, and various other offenses. Isolated, embarrassed, and battling drug addiction, he slipped back into the lifestyle he had prior to his incarceration.
“I was walking dead,” Watson shared with me. “I was a homeless drug user on Skid Row. I was unrecognizable.”
If you believe that individuals are liberated when they leave prison, consider the tale of Watson. Like numerous past offenders, Watson exited the criminal justice system devoid of the support needed to alter his course, a significant factor contributing to the high rates of recidivism. The Bureau of Justice Statistics indicates that around 68% of individuals released from state prisons are rearrested within three years; 83% are arrested again within nine years.
“Prison dismantles individuals, rendering them incapable of rebuilding,” stated Watson, who now serves as the senior director of legal services and corporate development at New Jersey Reentry Corporation, a nonprofit dedicated to aiding former prisoners. “You come out facing hopelessness and lacking resources. And without those, you are not fundamentally different from the individual originally incarcerated.”
This represents the grim aftermath of America’s mass incarceration crisis, a system that emphasizes punishment over rehabilitation or redemption. Watson himself epitomizes the potential losses to society when we persist in penalizing those who have fulfilled their sentences.
My husband recently reestablished contact with Watson, whom he had known since childhood, but I was unaware of New Jersey Reentry or Watson’s involvement until I began researching programs for recently released inmates.
At 53 years old, Watson was raised in Los Angeles and had always excelled academically. As the child of one of California’s first Black individuals to obtain both a J.D. and an M.D., and the offspring of a medical malpractice defense attorney who worked her way through night school, Watson attended esteemed elementary and high schools, as well as Princeton and Harvard Law School, where he shared a room with Ted Cruz and contributed to law review. He married and joined a prestigious law firm.
However, within five years, he lost five close relatives, including both parents, which led him into a deep depression. Addiction was prevalent in his family, and Watson transitioned from being a non-drinker — having not consumed alcohol until after law school — to becoming dependent on cocaine and methamphetamines. He lost custody of his two children, ended up divorced, unemployed, homeless, and disbarred.
During this tumultuous time, he faced several felony charges, resulting in years spent in and out of jail and on probation.
The odds that once appeared favorable for Watson now seemed stacked firmly against him. After getting sober and seeking employment — even with qualifications that greatly exceeded those of most ex-offenders — he found himself repeatedly defeated, losing job opportunities once his criminal background was revealed.
“That was incredibly frustrating,” he recalled. “It felt like a punch to the gut.”
Watson learned about New Jersey Reentry, a program founded a decade ago with the assistance of former Governor Jim McGreevey, and he felt compelled to work there. He applied, secured an entry-level role, and has since received three promotions. He currently oversees the legal services team under the organization’s general counsel. New Jersey Reentry operates eight reentry sites, each staffed with a social worker, legal services coordinator, case manager, employment specialist, intake coordinator, and facility director.
Together, they have supported over 22,000 former inmates in overcoming numerous burdensome and often needless challenges they encounter upon release: unpaid fines, overdue child support, and outstanding warrants. They provide connections to social services such as Medicaid, food assistance, and addiction counseling. They maintain a directory of what they refer to as “background-friendly employers,” businesses that are prepared to disregard a criminal record and offer individuals a second chance.
Through his efforts at New Jersey Reentry, Watson has assisted in expunging the records of at least 20 former inmates. (He is also working to clear his own record.) He has remained sober, remarried, and this past summer completed his first Ironman competition.
When individuals enter his program, Watson explains that they only need two people to believe in them. One must be themselves, possessing the internal conviction that they can achieve more. The other, he informs them, is someone who can help them navigate negative thoughts and behaviors during tough times. “For now, that person is me,” he tells them with emotion as he underscores the significance of this message, which he understands intimately.
“They require that support,” Watson expressed. “Nobody has faith in these individuals. They need people who will look them directly in the eye and offer a glimmer of hope.”
You too could be that individual. New Jersey Reentry relies on funding from the state and private contributions. In New York, a comparable organization, the Fortune Society, whose motto is “Building people, not prisons,” provides services for former prisoners in the state. Established in 1967, the Fortune Society aided 11,673 individuals in getting back on their feet last year.
It may often feel straightforward to contribute to those who appear the most deserving. The greater challenge lies in extending support to those whom society and the established systems have persistently indicated deserve nothing at all.
