Edward English grew up between Houston and Ohio in a turbulent home marked by an absent father and an abusive stepfather. Put on Ritalin from ages 7 to 17, he struggled with confidence and identity — eventually turning to drugs as a way to escape. What started as experimentation spiraled into an eight-year heroin addiction that led to his arrest in 2011 for possession, distribution, and trafficking. Sentenced to nearly eight years in prison, Edward served 4.5 before being released in 2016. Behind bars, everything changed. Through faith, mentorship, and personal growth programs, he transformed his mindset and rebuilt his life from the inside out — a journey he documents in his memoir Emersion. Today, Edward is 14 years clean, a husband, father, and commercial plumber in Columbus, Ohio, dedicated to helping others overcome addiction and find purpose after prison. His story is one of pain, perseverance, and the power of true transformation.

Jonathan Alvarez grew up in Yonkers, New York, where his life was shaped by loss and survival from an early age. At just 10 years old, his father was sent to federal prison and deported for drug trafficking — leaving Jonathan to fend for himself. By 12, he was selling drugs on the streets, and by 17, he was indicted on a gang-related murder charge that led to nearly 13 years behind bars. But prison didn’t break him — it transformed him. While incarcerated, he earned his GED, associate’s, and bachelor’s degree in social studies before being released in 2018. Since then, Jonathan has become a powerful voice for justice reform, founding 914United, a nonprofit helping justice-impacted youth in Westchester. In 2023, he was appointed to the New York State Prison Education Committee, earned his Executive Master of Public Administration from CUNY Baruch College, and became an adjunct professor at Monroe College. Now leading his motivational campaign “Become More: Prison to Purpose,” Jonathan’s story is one of redemption, education, and proof that no matter how far you fall, you can always rise again.

Najla Arrington was born in New York but grew up in North Carolina, where a turbulent and abusive childhood pushed her to survive by any means necessary. On her own at a young age, she turned to scamming and fraudulent checks to fund her lifestyle and escape the chaos at home. What started as small hustles quickly grew into a full-blown bank fraud scheme that eventually landed her in federal prison. Najla’s story is one of pain, survival, and transformation — from a broken childhood to facing the harsh reality of prison life, and ultimately finding strength through redemption. Her journey exposes the dark truth behind white-collar crime, fraud, and the system that punishes survival.

Norm Pattis is one of America’s most fearless and outspoken trial lawyers — a champion of the marginalized who has built his career defending clients in some of the highest-stakes criminal and civil rights cases in the country. With over 150 jury trials and admissions to federal courts including the U.S. Supreme Court, he’s earned a reputation as one of the fiercest defenders of the Constitution and free speech. Known for taking on controversial cases and clients that others refuse to touch, Norm has spent over 30 years fighting against government overreach and injustice. In this conversation, he opens up about the realities of the criminal justice system, what it truly means to defend the guilty and the innocent, and the personal toll of standing up for what’s right in a system built to break you.

Ben McChesney spent 25 years behind bars, serving time in more than a dozen state and federal prisons across the country — from low-level facilities to some of the toughest penitentiaries in America. His story is one of chaos, survival, and defiance. After being accused of stealing several pallets of firearms in what became one of the largest gun heists in his state, Ben went on the run to Mexico for two years before being captured. Acting as his own attorney, he fought multiple cases, beat a federal kidnapping charge, and survived years of violence and transfers across 14 federal prisons. Inside, he ran underground poker tables, fought predators, and lived by his own code. Raw, unfiltered, and brutally honest, Ben’s story exposes the reality of long-term prison life, corruption, and what it truly takes to survive 25 years in the system.