Mike Winder proof that kind-heartedness goes a long way

San Quentin Rehabilitation Center free-staff painter, part time percussionist, and valued member of the community Mike Winder retired to end his long and colorful career on a positive note.

“I wanted to make a living as a drummer,” Winder said. “But I had to pay the rent so I started painting, and that was 50 years ago.”

For more than 20 of his 50 years as a tradesman, the SQRC Plant Operations supervisor has rolled, sprayed, and brushed tens of thousands of gallons of paint onto the walls of the 175-year-old institution. On April 1, 2026, Winder set his rollers and brushes down for good.

“What I respect about Mike most is that he never looked down on us or treated us like we were criminals,” said Winder’s coworker of 11 years, resident Dennis Jefferson. “He always shows up with a smile on his face, a positive attitude, and a willingness to teach the next man the tricks of the trade.”

For decades Winder drove around San Quentin in a small, yellow, flatbed vehicle adorned with red flames and labeled “Paint Shop” en route to his next project. Working shoulder to shoulder with the incarcerated population, Winder believed that a person is not defined by their worst mistake and that redemption is possible.

“I’ve seen a lot of folks treat incarcerated people badly,” said Winder. “I never saw the point in that. We are all human and we are all capable of making mistakes.”

Winder’s philosophy is that men and women who serve time in prison are worthy of human kindness. He said everybody is capable of making poor decisions, but they are also able to learn from their mistakes and do the right things in life.

“It’s hard for folks to reenter a society that is so unforgiving,” Winder said. “When a person paroles, they should have the ability to find housing, employment, and be given a second chance to prove they can be productive members of society.”

Winder’s legacy of kind-heartedness grew when he tapped into his passion for music and began to sponsor and play percussion instruments alongside the incarcerated band members of The Greater Good.

After playing the congas during the 2025 San Quentin Film Festival, Winder said the Latino instrument has a different musical purpose than a standard set of trap drums.

When playing the congas, “the sound is different and I can add another layer and bring more flavor to the music,” Winder said.

According to The Greater Good pianist Mark Kinney, Winder enjoys playing with the San Quentin band because of the positive reaction from audiences during their performances. 

“Mike is a damn good drummer,” said Kinney. “He always shows up smiling and he brings a positive vibe to the stage that helps get the crowd fired up.”

Throughout his storied career in what has been at times one of the most infamous prisons in the nation, Winder was part of that history himself.

He said that before the death penalty moratorium, he worked, or at least attempted to work, during the last 12 executions carried out by the state.

“They used to call execution day ‘an event,’ and there would be so many protesters outside that sometimes I couldn’t get past the gate to work,” Winder said.

Having personally painted both the gas death chamber and the lethal injection chamber, Winder said the state never carried out an execution in the latter of the two.

“As a matter of fact, I still have a gallon of the ‘San Quentin Green’ I used to paint that million-dollar death machine,” Winder said. “Thank God they never got the chance to use it.”

Throughout the last decade of his career, Winder observed that the prison culture had become less violent. He remembered the last riot taking place 18 years ago on West Block’s Upper Yard. “Now that day is celebrated as a ‘Day of Peace’ event and there hasn’t been a riot since,” he said.

Winder recalled that tension in the prison was once so heavy and unpredictable that it created a constant sense of danger.

Now he sees the population living and working together in a much safer environment, having purpose, hope, opportunity, and a focus on learning a new way of life.

Winder spent his last days of employment applying one final coat of paint on the walls of East Block, formally known as Death Row.

Pointing 70 feet up to the building’s steel corbels, Winder said, “I painted those trusses 20 years ago from the top of an extension ladder perched on that gun rail.”

His whole crew stood around him ribbing each other and reminiscing about the years they spent working together. “My last day is April Fool’s Day,” Winder said with a booming laugh. “It’s only fitting I go out on April first, because that’s the same day that I started.”