John Thompson

< PREV NEXT >

2007

John Thompson

Resurrection After Exoneration

http://christop.bizland.com/rae/

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Community Improvement & Economic Development

The Bold Idea:

Louisiana has the highest exoneration rate in the country, as well as the highest rate of per capita incarceration and prisoners serving life without parole in the world. Almost half (48.6 percent) of the 14,000 prisoners annually paroled or released return to prison. Recidivism is a special concern among exonerated men, who have wrongfully spent multiple years in prison and are financially, professionally, and spiritually impoverished. The need is even greater in New Orleans, where essential resources and support for re-entry are virtually non-existent in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Resurrection After Exoneration (RAE) will build a transitional home for men recently released from prison and help them break the cycle of dependence and poverty with medical, financial, legal, and educational aid. In addition, this exonoree-run social enterprise will help its residents tap into their own resourcefulness in order to establish a stable and positive future. The profits of the businesses will initially support RAE, thereby reducing the organization's dependence on grants.

Biography:

John Thompson spent eighteen years on Louisiana’s Death Row for a crime he did not commit. He walked out of prison with ten dollars and a bus fare, and he vowed to never go back. His intimate familiarity with what people experience behind prison walls as well as the great obstacles they must overcome after being released led him to launch RAE.

Moment of Obligation: What experiences led to the desire to start your own organization?
My eighteen years wrongfully convicted on death row was obviously the foremost experience that led me to this point. When I came home and I was witnessing just what was not available for other exonerated men like me when they came home, I started realizing why that was happening to them. I knew my years of struggle would not let me stand by and just watch it happen. I knew we could not have survived all of those years of torture to come home to nothing at all but hopelessness and despair.

Gall to Think Big: What has given you the ability to dream big and take on deeply entrenched social and difficult problems?
I think when you survive execution date after execution date for a crime you didn’t commit, you start to think that anything might be possible. I am also lucky because I have a support network that has allowed me the luxury to think about what is lacking for other people. If I was struggling myself, like some of my other exonerated brothers do, I would not be able to look outwards like I can.

New and Untested: What’s innovative about your new idea for social change?
Resurrection After Exoneration is going to be self sustaining and our business will fund our living and adjustment needs. We are not asking for handouts; we are creating the opportunity to prove ourselves to the world. We are also going to give to the community and we are going to ask the community to give back to us. We are going to prove to the community what we are capable of and ask them to invest in our readjustment.

Seeing Possibilities: What are the most important qualities to be a successful social entrepreneur?
Focus. Making a commitment and showing through your actions that your commitment is real. Actions speak louder than words. Knowing how to surround yourself with the right people who can help you and knowing how to get them to maximize their help to you.

Which musical artists/albums get you going and keep you inspired?
Tupac Shakur—he talks about things we can relate to. He came from poverty and addressed everything we face. He talked about what he saw and he explained it all in his music. He made us feel passion; he told the world about injustice and then he made an awesome song about his mother.

What books do you recommend?
The Bible because it’s a blueprint for life. It tells you about love and respect and helping your brothers. Marcus Garvey’s biography is very interesting. It tells you how one man can make people follow him and build a movement.

Which websites do you visit often?

• cityofno.com
• legis.state.la.us (I love to look at our legislature’s website and the City of New Orleans website. I love to track laws and rules and see what’s going on)

What advice or quote do you keep close to your heart as a social change leader?
"What goes around comes around." I always think of it to mean that if you send out positive energy, that’s what comes back. If you send out bad energy, that’s what comes back. Treat everyone with respect.