Jesse Pitts

I was born in the year 1970 and raised in my grandmother's house across the street from the projects of Well Heights in Los Angeles. As a child, I learned that if you were tall enough to reach the stove, then you were able to light a cigarette and bring it to your uncles and your aunties. My first introduction to law enforcement happened when I was two years old, when the cops raided my grandma's house. One of my uncles had a warrant out for his arrest and he tried to hide something in my diaper as I ran to hide from them. 

I was arrested for robbery and then went back to prison shortly after being released for a more serious crime. I remained active with my gang inside the prison in order to keep myself safe from harm. I got caught up in making weapons and followed the advice of the wrong people.

My mother moved out the projects when I was about 14 years old, but I decided to stay because of the gang that I was in. Four of my cousins moved in with me at our grandma's house, and we made the most of our freedom. We made quick money selling drugs and spent it just as fast; buying cars that didn't last more than six months. 

The guards had a gun on you at all times and would shoot, whether for horse playing or for fighting, so you had to walk lightly and hope that you made it back to your cell. I'll never forget this day in 1996 where 18 people were shot, one person was killed and 80 something people got stabbed. I thank God that I was able to make it back, still feeling blessed to this day.

I began teaching computer repair class in prison. This was challenging because the people that I was trying to teach had never seen or touched a computer in their lives. It felt good to put our time and skills to good use, as we ended up making computers for kids in school. They would donate their broken computers and we would rebuild them and ship them back out to the to the campuses.

It's difficult to explain to someone who doesn't understand what it's like to have your humanity taken away from you, but I went out of my way to try and secure a cell phone. It made me feel like I was a normal person and it felt good to be able to call somebody without standing in line and only getting 15 minutes or having to pay somebody to use their phone.

“I wanted to take advantage of the opportunities I was given to try and become a better person. I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to die in prison; I had to figure out how to come home.”

— Jesse Pitts

I recruited people to do things like crafting for the community where we made bead chains, blankets and stuffed animals so the highway patrol could give them to the kids when they had car accidents to keep them calm. We had a fundraiser for a kid that had cancer and we raised around $250,000 to help the family.

I was released with parole in 2021 after serving 29 years in California State Prisons. I’m so grateful I was able to attend my mother’s funeral and that I have a second chance to be there for my younger sister.

My trials and tribulations are still going, as my parole Max is 299 years. But I'm loving every minute of being out here in the real world and I have been going to do expungements and talk to people about how important it is for them to clean their record for things like job applications and applying for a loan.

I enjoy sharing my story with others so they understand what it is really like to be in prison. I go to events and meet people of all ages and background, hoping to inspire young men to not make the same mistakes that I made.