April is noted as being Fair Chance Month (also known as Second Chance Month), a recognition of those who face and overcome many of the challenges associated with a felony in the United States. The National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys (NACDL) has a resource page dedicated to the month and has been a proponent of change for those who have collateral consequences for years beyond a prison term. NACDL’s President, Michael Heiskell, released a statement, “April marks Second Chance Month, a time to reflect on the meaning of redemption, hope and opportunity for those seeking to rebuild their lives.”
Notable Second Chances
Each year we hear of amazing comeback stories. While appreciating that there are victims to many crimes, the best outcome is to restore those victims as much as possible while having the person incarcerated return as a more productive member of society that never returns to prison.
Today, the Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Josh Smith, is someone with a federal felony for drug crimes but is now a senior leader at the BOP. Smith left prison and became a successful entrepreneur and was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2020. Smith has shown dedication to supporting BOP staff while trying to point the agency out of its troubled past.
Also of note is Alice Johnson, the Trump appointed Pardon Czar, who was serving a Life sentence for drug charges. Johnson has become the face of second chances as she reviews and makes recommendations on a pardon application process that has been less than fair to many over the years. Rather than take her own pardon and move on with life, at 70 years old she is giving back by helping others regain their lives through receipt of a pardon.
Musical Return
On April 9, 2026, two-time Grammy Award Winner Irvin Mayfield will keynote the 6th Annual National Returning Citizens Conference (NRCC) in Jacksonville, FL (April 7-10, 2026) with an unprecedented one-man-show — a solo musical keynote speech that debuts his role as spokesman for the HumanWatch Foundation, a 501c3 organization that works to eradicate isolation caused by inequitable systems, such as the carceral system. Mayfield was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2021 for fraud but has since revived his career and pushes for change in criminal justice.
The person who invited Mayfield to the event and head of NRCC is Carlyle I. Holder, a proven career spanning more than 42 years in criminal justice. However, he is not a former inmate, he is a retired BOP warden. Over his 27 plus years of distinguished service with the BOP, he served 23 of those years as supervisor, manager, and executive. He was a Chief Executive Officer (Warden) for 12 years managing the largest Pre-Trial and Correctional Complex facilities in the BOP. Now he is focusing on making opportunities for those who want to take advantage of a second chance.
Telling A Story
Some of those who have returned from prison have used their darkest days of poor decision making to provide a cautionary tale for others. Tom Hardin, worked on Wall Street and became one of the FBI’s most important informants in breaking the massive insider trading ring in Operation Perfect Hedge. Now, he’s a best selling author telling hedge funds and financial institutions about his mistakes and how best to avoid them.
Rashmi Airan was a successful attorney then became embroiled in a mortgage scheme that sent her to prison. Now she not only uses her prison experience to teach others, she is a leadership coach that presents skills to be better professionals and a better person.
The list of those who have gone from prison to success are many and I’ve tried to write about them here as much as possible. Often, many of these speakers like Hardin and Airan are on stage with leading law enforcement and compliance professionals, putting them on equal footing with those who are teaching business leaders.
What We Can Learn
April’s recognition as Fair Chance Month is more than symbolic. It is a reminder that some of the most impactful people in our communities are those who have had to rebuild their lives from the ground up after incarceration. These are individuals who have faced consequences, accepted responsibility, and then made the difficult choice to move forward with purpose.
What stands out about people who succeed after prison is not that they avoided mistakes. It is that they refused to be defined by them. For many, incarceration becomes a turning point rather than an ending. They return home with a different perspective, a deeper sense of accountability, and often a commitment to ensure that others do not follow the same path.
Across the country, we see formerly incarcerated individuals stepping into roles that matter. They mentor young people who are at risk. They build businesses that create jobs for others with records. They advocate for smarter policies and stronger communities. They become fathers, mothers, leaders, and neighbors who understand both the consequences of poor decisions and the value of second chances.
There is also a unique credibility that comes with lived experience. When someone who has been through the system speaks to a young person or someone struggling, it carries weight. It is not theory. It is real. And that authenticity allows them to reach people in ways that traditional systems often cannot.
Fair Chance Month is an opportunity to recognize that redemption is not just possible, it is happening every day. It challenges us to look beyond a person’s worst moment and instead consider what they have done since. It also calls on employers, communities, and policymakers to create pathways that allow that transformation to continue.
At its core, this is about more than second chances. It is about what happens when people are given the opportunity to contribute, to lead, and to give back. Many of those who once took from society are now among those giving the most.
That is not just redemption. That is impact.
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