A former LWOP (life without parole) prisoner is aiding a coalition seeking to end life sentences in California.

Joseph Bell, a San Francisco native, was supposed to die in prison. Bell, who was sentenced to life without parole spent 22 years in prison for a crime he was involved in at the age of 26.

His prospects for release from prison came in 2018 by the narrowly passed legislative measure SB 1437, introduced by former state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley.

The senate bill allowed for felony murder charges only for those who either committed or planned a killing or took part in the crime, and who acted with “reckless indifference to human life,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

After having his LWOP sentence commuted, Bell now works with the advocacy group Human Rights Watch as a case manager. An “unusual group of officials came to his aid,” reported the Chronicle. That aid appeared in the form of former Gov. Jerry Brown and the former district attorney of San Francisco, Chesa Boudin.

“Mr. Bell committed a serious and violent crime,” said former Gov. Brown in the article. “But it is clear that he has distinguished himself by his concerted efforts toward rehabilitation in prison, including and creating a program to deter at-risk youth from entering prison.”

Bell’s murder conviction of LWOP was commuted to 25 years to life, which made him immediately eligible for parole. Bell was released in 2018.

“You’re scheduled to die in prison,” said Bell. “It leaves you hopeless. Sometimes I wished I had the death penalty [because] life without parole is like a slow death.”

“I believe people that put in the work [self-help and self-awareness] deserve a second chance if they take the right steps to better themselves,” said San Quentin Resident Carlos Meza. “Giving someone a life without parole sentence, especially if they were in their 20s when they committed their crime, seems to me to be an injustice to everyone involved.”

“I understand the impact that crime has on victims, and I sympathize with them,” added Meza, “But in that same vein, society shouldn’t condemn the victimizer without first understanding the ‘why’ leading them to committing their crime.”

Bell said getting to the point of rehabilitation did not start until he began maturing.

“I didn’t start maturing until I was 40. I just started getting older and doing a lot of self-care, self-work, and taking cognitive behavior classes,” Bell reflected.

According to the article, Bell began taking his self-awareness work seriously after more than a decade in prison.

“I did a lot of reckless stuff when I first got to prison, until I had something to live for,” said Bell.

Bell, who organized Education, Diversion, and Goals to Endeavor while in prison, was found to have taken part in the robbery, but not the actual killing of the victim of that crime.

Former state Senator Nancy Skinner weighed in on the rehabilitative progress inside and outside of the California prison system by the formerly incarcerated.

“[I’m] impressed with how many folks I’ve met or learned about who were released and are working with community organizations providing rehabilitation and support for formerly incarcerated people,” said Skinner.

Not long after his recall as district attorney, Boudin invited Bell to speak to students at UC Berkeley, where he founded the Criminal Law & Justice Center.

“I take responsibility for my part… I have gratitude for the breaks I got,” said Bell.