On the Outside

Arturo Jimenez was just 18 years old when he was convicted of a murder he didn’t commit. It would take 25 years and the efforts of the Northern California Innocence Project, based at Santa Clara University School of Law, to win his release from state prison.

That freedom was celebrated onstage as the Northern California Innocence Project marked its 20th anniversary with a conversation between Jimenez and four other men who had been wrongly convicted and released through NCIP’s work. They shared their stories of incarceration, family reunification, and being released into a world of COVID restrictions and technology that had advanced exponentially since they’d gone in.

Here is Jimenez’s story as shared on that stage, edited for publication.

I’m blessed. You know, despite what I went through, I don’t forget about those that are still inside that we left behind. Those are human lives, too.

I work for a nonprofit, Prisoners of Peace. We conduct workshops in prisons to teach the guys in there about the restorative justice system and our current retributive system, and fundamental listening skills, how to manage strong emotions in themselves and others.

That’s a lot of work. But I also do side jobs in construction, whatever I have to do, you know? I get my hands dirty for some extra money.

And it’s funny because I like that prison taught me to appreciate what I have. I know it may sound cliché, but there’s an old saying that you don’t know what you have until you lose it. And in my case, that was the case. I had a lot of cellmates who came from beyond-broken families, and it just made me realize, damn, you know? I have a good family.

“I kind of saw myself as one of those giant squids that change color to mimic its environment.”

Some of the things I’ve experienced since my release have been beyond my wildest dreams. I play basketball, swim, scuba, hike, and travel. It’s impossible to make up for the loss of time but I’m aware of how blessed I am to be free, have good health, and actually do the things I could only imag- ine while I was wiggling through the system.