He is also, in his words, “low-key a nerd.” He reads. He writes essays. He studies other cultures and different perspectives. He does “words of the day.” He looks for ways to understand himself and the people around him. But none of those things change the sentence attached to his name. Life without parole means that Vang can spend decades developing the skills and perspective that might allow him to contribute meaningfully to his family and community, while remaining legally defined by what he did at 19. A contradiction sits at the center of his story: What happens when someone changes, but the sentence does not.

If there is something I would like people to understand about serving a life sentence, though it is almost inexplicable to put in words the emotions behind an individual’s mental [state] serving a life sentence, it is the feeling of being alive but not being able to live.

-Aleong Vang

Incarcerated Fatherhood

Incarceration has complicated Aloeng’s relationship with his son, Asyn. They talk on the phone everyday, but Aloeng says lessons get lost through this form of communication. He tells his father about school, his friends and the things he encounters growing up. Sometimes he calls when he is upset.

Leading Through Community Involvement

Aloeng has found ways to exercise responsibility and leadership inside prison, even within a system designed to restrict his ability to make choices. He became involved with restorative justice after taking Restorative Justice 101, a program within the Minnesota Department of Corrections that asks participants to examine crime, its effects on victims and communities, and the responsibilities involved in repairing harm.

After completing the course, he became a member of a restorative justice council. Aloeng helps facilitate classes and participate in fundraising efforts that benefit people in the broader community.

The council recently partnered with Bridge to Basics, a nonprofit that provides hygiene supplies to people who need them. Aloeng and other incarcerated people are helping package hygiene kits for families and for high school students who may be living on their own.
During Operation Metro Surge, a flood of volunteers gathered in local churches and organizing spaces weekly to pack hygiene and food kits for families who couldn’t leave their
houses. I would talk with them over bundles of diapers and fruit cups about the tragedy of their isolation, how our government was failing to take care of its constituents. I wonder how many people know that Aloeng is doing the same from Oak Park Heights, packing up toothbrushes
and toothpaste for his vulnerable community members. I wonder how many of them thought of our incarcerated neighbors when they spoke of isolation.

Aloeng’s work also extends into writing. Aloeng participates in the Minnesota Prison Writers Workshop, where he reads and writes extensively. He is part of the Oak Park Heights and MPWW collective, which will serve on the editorial board for the 2027 publication.

The Community He Wants to Return To

Aloeng already has plans for what he would do if he were released. His mentor, Pamela Hoff, started an organization called “Welcome Wagons”, which helps refugees acclimate to living in the States. Pamela has told Aloeng that, if he comes home, she would like him to help. His answer is essentially: whenever you need me. Even before release, he wants to find ways to contribute.

Aloeng is connected with family members who are deeply active with grass-rooted organizations linked to the Hmong communities, and hopes to be able to join their efforts. His vision of freedom is therefore not simply about leaving prison. It is about returning to relationships.

Towards Growth and Emotional Intelligence

Aloeng’s most ambitious work may be the work he is doing inside himself. At some point during his incarceration, he began asking himself two questions: Who am I? And who do I want to become? He describes self-discovery as a process of learning how he thinks and feels, identifying unhealthy patterns and developing better ways to respond to them. That work has led him toward an interest in emotional intelligence.

Aloeng has many ideas for future programs of community care. One that he is currently trying to get off the ground is an emotional intelligence course for incarcerated individuals, where they could process emotions honestly and in the company of those with similar lived experiences. He calls it “Revelatory Moments” and describes its goal as helping people identify emotions in themselves and in others. The path of self-discovery gives him purpose and meaning, especially when he is able to share that growth with others.

His interest in emotional intelligence is connected to the person he has spent thirteen years becoming. He believes growth requires learning to reflect instead of simply react. To understand the root of an emotion before allowing it to control an action. Prison often demands a performance of toughness. Masculinity can become a matter of survival. It teaches to suppress fear, suppress grief, suppress vulnerability and keep moving. Aloeng is trying to learn another way.

Aloeng says some of the people who have taught him the most are men who have been incarcerated for two or even three decades. He absorbs their knowledge about how to survive difficult circumstances without losing yourself. When he faces a problem with his son, he can turn to someone whose son is now grown and ask how they navigated a similar situation. When he is overwhelmed, someone might simply ask him, “How are you doing today?” Inside prison, he says, it can be easy to shut down from the outside world. Isolation can make a person feel forgotten.

For Aloeng, hope is not the same thing as wishing. At 19, he says, hope was a meaningless word. His mind was closed off, and he was not prepared to understand the work required to create a different future. At 32, he understands hope differently. At 19, Aloeng was sentenced to die in prison. At 32, he is asking lawmakers to look at the person standing before
them now. He knows his potential and his capabilities. He is asking to be recognized as the person he has become.