Brian Asey, 57, paroled from San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in March, after serving 26 years in prison. Originally sentenced to 85 years to life under California’s Three Strikes Law, his sojourn took him to prisons in Tracy, Centinela, Solano, and Soledad.
Under Assembly Bill 109, “Realignment,” Asey arrived at San Quentin December 15, 2011. One of his first stops there was to San Quentin TV, where he immediately took an interest in videotaping, editing, and producing content for the prison’s close-circuit channels.
“I started volunteering down here before there was a media center,” said Asey.
His 12-year tenure at SQTV, as a volunteer and worker, predates the existence of Ear Hustle, Uncuffed, and Forward This. Back then, San Quentin News was in the main education building.
Asey said he saw a fundraiser for Haiti on the SQTV station. He said the then-Inmate Advisory Council chairman, Sam Johnson, introduced him to Troy Williams who was also incarcerated at the time. The two worked together on several projects. The first unproduced video they took part in was titled “Institutionalized.”
“When I first came down here, all I would do is shoot video,” said Asey. “I was intimidated by the computers so I documented everything.”
As time moved on, Asey learned his way around camera equipment, audio equipment, computers, and editing software.
“I was down there working but I didn’t have a job,” he said. “After we did the TEDx project,” he said a job assignment at SQTV followed in 2015.
“When Troy left, he left me in charge of San Quentin Prison Report,” said Asey. “Back then SQNews, SQPR and SQTV had odds with each other. I don’t know what that was all about.”
Almost ten years ago, Asey became one of the founding members of the SQ satellite chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the first ever chapter established inside a U.S. prison.
“When we initially started SPJ, it was the newspaper and the Prison Report,” said Asey. “He was later elected vice chair and ultimately chairman. To keep it right, we elected a representative from each organization to head the first SPJ and do the by-laws to make it work for both sides.”
In 2022, Asey earned his Associate in Arts degree from Mt. Tamalpais College, the on-site campus at San Quentin.
“As a result of me receiving this AA degree, I was part of Dream Big,” he said. “I was one of four recipients to receive a scholarship. Now I’m taking classes at Adams State. I’ve (also) been accepted to Project Rebound at San Francisco State. I meet all my requirements to attend.”
Project Rebound assists the formerly incarcerated in making their transition to college from prison. In his leisure time, Asey started playing basketball at San Quentin. By 2012 he was on the 40-and-over league.
“I played four years, and then I went to the front office,” he said. “We created a board and made it an organization by turning it into a program. We’re in the process now of trying to get sports recognized as a part of rehabilitation.”
Asey left his longtime position in the Media Center to join The Last Mile’s second audio video production course taught at the prison.
“I went over there to enhance my media endeavors,” he said. “What I plan to do with the different skills in multimedia is podcast—the engineering side of it.”
One project he was working on is the documentary “Growing Up Behind Bars.”
“It’s dealing with four guys who’ve been incarcerated since they were children.” “I’ve taken a number of self-help groups,” said Asey.
Non-violent Communication, Victim Offender Education Group, and Guiding Rage into Power (GRIP) are some of the major self-help groups Asey has attended during his time at San Quentin, to name a few.
“I never thought I was going home,” said Asey. “The reason I started taking groups was because of Troy (Williams). I heard a guy telling a story when I was filming GRIP: He asked, ‘At what point in my life did I turn left when everyone turned right?’” Asey was resentenced to 25 years to life. Because of all the work he did on himself, he was found suitable for parole by the Board of Parole Hearings.
In the end, he said “My biggest accomplishment, beside the TEDx, was creating the group that addresses childhood trauma and sexual harm.”
