By Jason L. Jackson

A life sentence once meant that prison would be the place a man lived and died. Today, there is hope for many. Nearly three decades into a 50-year-to-life sentence, one fortunate man has gone home.

More than 27 years ago, Reginald Thorpe was a 24-year-old kid and still very new to prison. Thorpe said he asked an older inmate how long he had been locked up and remembered the look of shock he had in response to hearing the extensive amount of time the man said he had been incarcerated.

“I remembered that because one day a youngster asked me how long I’d been down, and when I told him 27 years he gave me the same look of shock I gave the old man all those years ago. The tables have turned,” said Thorpe. 

In 1998, Thorpe was arrested for first degree murder when he was 22 years old. He would ultimately be convicted and sentenced to life in prison two years later. With no prior convictions of violence, it would be his first time going to prison. 

Thorpe said both of his parents were criminals, addicted to drugs and involved in violent behavior, and that they contributed to his earliest exposure to violence. 

“I was cellmates with my dad while I was in the county jail. That was the last time I saw him,” said Thorpe, who remembered his dad telling him to “drink his soup.”

“My dad was telling me to man up and live with the choices I made,” said Thorpe. 

Thorpe ended up on the maximum security, level 4 yard in Salinas Valley State Prison and said the experience was shocking, especially after witnessing someone being stabbed his first day outside on the recreation yard. 

“At some point you come to expect violence because of the environment,” said Thorpe. 

Upon his arrival to SVSP, Thorpe met up with men he knew from the county jail. Thorpe said these men helped him adjust and learn the ropes of being in prison, including “how to communicate with other races, gangs, and interact with police.”

“I was gullible back then because I wasn’t experienced. It caused me to make choices out of fear, choices I otherwise wouldn’t have made. I was afraid of being a victim,” said Thorpe. 

After spending 15 years in volatile, maximum security prisons, Thorpe said he realized he was ready for a change and needed to work to better his life, his situation, and ultimately to be released from prison. 

His determination led him to San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in 2019.

“The environment was night and day compared to what I was accustomed to. There were so many classes and programs, and so many people learning about themselves and about what brought them to prison,” said Thorpe. 

Thorpe said he credits his first cellmate,  SQ resident Jerry “Maleek” Gearin, for assisting him in getting his life in order after his arrival to San Quentin.

“When Reg arrived, he was curious, and that was the motivating force that allowed him to be vulnerable and open to learning about himself,” said SQ resident Gearin. 

Gearin said Thorpe was always helpful and “the type of guy who would be of service to people wherever he goes.” He told the story of how Thorpe saved Gearin’s life during the Covid pandemic after he contracted the virus. 

“I had this bad cough and it had gotten worse,” said Gearin. “Reg kept an eye on me and alerted the officers and nurses because my condition was getting bad. They ended up taking me to the hospital, where the doctor said I would have probably died in another day if I hadn’t come in.”

For Thorpe, Gearin became like a big brother because he taught him about shame, guilt, anger, and pain, and how these feelings were rooted in his childhood traumas and contributed to the murder he committed.

“Maleek was the catalyst to my change and learning about myself,” said Thorpe. 

After his arrival at San Quentin, Thorpe immersed himself in the programming and classes that enabled him to “reconnect with his true self.” He said the culture of advocacy, of growth, and of community that exists at San Quentin afforded him the opportunity to learn about his strengths, his intelligence, and that he doesn’t have to be ashamed for being himself.

“I’m a good person at heart, but prison changed me for a long time. It changes a lot of people. I had to become mean and violent in order to survive the environment I was in. It was like I was wearing a Halloween costume for 27 years, but I don’t have to anymore,” said Thorpe. 

Today, Thorpe said he values life and learned to be responsible for his own decisions. He said he is anxious and excited about the future, and ready to learn about everything, especially the technology that has evolved over the decades.

Upon his release, his plan is to complete his Bachelors degree and obtain his Masters in social work. He is looking forward to working with the homeless and advocating for people suffering from addiction. 

“I harmed a lot of people in the past, and I am forever in debt to those people, especially my victim and his family,” said Thorpe, who believes his life is not free for him to live, but instead is meant to be of service.

Before his release, Thorpe left a message to the “brothers” he is leaving behind.

“Learn how to socialize and get involved with your community, in and out of prison. Figure it out because the opportunities are there. Go with the grain, apply yourself, and make the right choices and you will gain your freedom,” said Thorpe.