Norman Brown grew up outside Washington DC. In 1993, at age 24, he was convicted of a drug crime and sentenced to life without parole. Despite the inhumane conditions in prison he was determined to survive and help newly incarcerated people do the same. He began to organize support groups and classes including a course “Young Men’s Empowerment Group.” Mr. Brown did not have a single disciplinary violation during the 24.5 years he served. He filed his petition for commutation in 2010 and was granted commutation on November 10, 2015. Since his release, Norman has continued his work mentoring formerly incarcerated people. He is the Deputy Director of Project New Opportunity, a program helping people to make the adjustment from prison to the community.