Finding Forgiveness and Hope
JARRETT HARPER shares his story from foster care to mass incarceration to criminal justice reform advocate as an example of how people who commit serious crimes are not only deserving of our compassion, but also a second chance to share the tremendous, life-affirming gifts they bring to the world. While society gave up on Jarrett, he never gave up on himself, and he used his gifts to help others in prison, never believing it would change his own circumstances. In his transformational remarks, Jarrett gives audiences a new way to look at the criminal justice system, most significantly the foster-care-to-prison pipeline, as well as an alternative lens to see their own lives. Even when the person we most need to forgive is ourselves, Jarrett echoes Just Mercy author Bryan Stephenson and powerfully reminds us that each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done. Jarrett's power of persuasion is tied to the way in which he encourages us to take absolute responsibility for our actions and our mindset, while at the same time walking righteously into our new beginning.
Humanitarian Jarrett Harper partners with Human Rights Watch to address the reintegration of people sentenced to life without parole
Criminal justice and foster care reform advocate JARRETT HARPER has lent his voice and story to the Human Rights Watch as part of a report advocating for supported reintegration of people sentenced to life without parole. Harper served as the face of a report assessing the post-release experiences of individuals sentenced to life without parole as well as legislative opportunities for the California legislature. Harper told Human Rights Watch, “I wanted my legacy to be more than an irredeemable foster youth. I came home, and I became a mentor. I became an advocate.”
Watch Jarrett Harper in conversation with the Washington Post Live >>
Jarrett Harper is the Founder and Executive Director of Better Days. He advocates for foster care reform &
criminal justice reform while working to stop life sentences for children, develop better rehabilitation resources for those returning to society, and end the foster care-to-prison pipeline.
A Los Angeles County foster care system survivor, Jarrett endured 20 years of mass incarceration. After
experiencing unimaginable trauma and abuse, at 16, Jarrett took the life of his abuser to protect himself and
his younger brother. A year later, he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole plus ten years.
Despite having no chance of release from prison, he found forgiveness and hope and transformed his own life
by helping change the lives of other men in prison who had the opportunity to get out.
After 20 years of creating and facilitating self-improvement programs for his peers, Jarrett’s sentence was
commuted by Governor Jerry Brown through the tireless work of a group of dedicated advocates, including
Bryan Stevenson, John Legend, Ty Stiklorius, Elizabeth Calvin from Human Rights Watch, Scott Budnick and
Loyola Law School. On June 18, 2019, he was released from prison by Governor Gavin Newsom. Shortly after
his release, Jarrett became an ambassador for Represent Justice’s Just Mercy campaign and has quickly
become a sought-after speaker, booking engagements for Google, YouTube, Verizon, USC, Princeton, The
Washington Post, National Urban League, Beit T’ Shuvah, The Boston Celtics and more.
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