Instability and emotional withdrawal in the past for resident since transformation

Jarvis Garner, incarcerated since he was 14 years old, found redemption from a life of crime and violence through hard work and hope to help him face a 47-year-sentence.

Garner, 37, housed at San Quentin for less than year, grew up in Stockton, living with his parents and his two brothers.

He said he comes from a loving, close-knit family, even though he admits that his family experienced a lot of constant moving while his parents were searching for work. That instability continued when drugs were introduced to his community when he was 5 years old.

He said his neighborhood became “chaotic and traumatic.” Garner watched as his mother became addicted to crack cocaine, and recalls feeling “bad and abandoned” as it happened.

“I saw a strong, beautiful woman be reduced to stealing, becoming homeless, and being neglected by her family,” Garner said. “Both my parents worked a lot while trying to take care of the family. It kept them in and out of the house so I ended up being raised by my brothers.” 

It was under the care of his brothers where Garner received some of his earliest experiences with crime. He committed armed robbery when he was 10 years old with one of his brothers. He looked up to his brothers and wanted to do whatever it was they were doing. 

“We got into the [criminal] lifestyle because of our environment. It’s what we knew all our life so it didn’t seem bad. We were just living,” Garner said.

In 2002, Garner was arrested and convicted for robbery, carjacking and kidnapping, and sentenced to 47 years.

He remembers feeling emotionally withdrawn at the time of his arrest, and not even being afraid. 

“I was apart of a lifestyle that said this was supposed to happen, that it was normal. Looking back, …I was too committed to the stupidity,” Garner said.

At Folsom State Prison in Sacramento, Garner met an older man from his neighborhood named James. He began to mentor Garner, who said that it was the wisdom and guidance of mentorship that prompted him to change his life and begin walking on a positive road. James told Garner to learn how to love before thinking and let his actions follow.

“I never forgot that,” Garner said.

Garner has earned his G.E.D.; he has become a skilled painter in the apprentice program and mentors the youth who are walking the same negative path that he once did.

He spends most of his time attending self-help classes, which include an anti-weapon group called Arms Down, and Narcotics Anonymous, and plays for San Quentin’s Kings basketball team.

Through doing the self-help work Garner revealed he is a much different person than the boy he was 23 years ago. 

Kojo Cluchette, a resident at San Quentin, has known Garner for more than 6 years. He said that he has watched him become more responsible over the years.

“I’ve watched him mature from someone who played around too much to someone who takes change and growth very seriously,” Cluchette said.

Over the years, Garner has become more positive, confident and learned to take initiative in his own growth. Upon release, he plans to reconnect with his family, start a business, and put his experiences to use in service to his community. 

“I’ve spent years missing out on the ability to grow naturally or to experience love… to be vulnerable. Now I’m excited to get out and live a productive, simple life,” Garner said.