Corbyn: Transformation, Community, and the Right to Come Home
Corbyn is serving a 30-year sentence with 10 years of conditional release. But when he talks about his incarceration, he does not focus only on the years he has lost. He talks about the person he has become, the people he loves, and the life he is still trying to build.
His first eight years in prison, he says, were “rough.” He was lonely, made choices he regrets, and found himself in a dark place. Over time, something began to change. Through faith, relationships, and the opportunity to connect with people beyond the prison walls, Corbyn began to see a future for himself.
“I am a blessed individual for being able to be led to Holly,” he says. “It’s really a blessing, according to our faith, that God brought us together.”
But Corbyn’s story is bigger than one relationship. Holly became an important part of a life that gave him something to care about and something to look forward to. Their relationship allowed him to experience partnership, love, conflict, forgiveness, and growth across years of separation. It reminded him that he was more than his sentence.
“We are still successful today and even stronger than we’ve been in the past,” he says.
For Corbyn, relationships became a reason to keep growing.
Becoming Someone Different
Corbyn describes a dramatic change in his behavior during his years of incarceration. During his first 6 years in prison he incurred more than 100 discipline incidents (total). Over the past seven years, that number has fallen to essentially zero.
Corbyn understands that people need other people. They need someone to call, someone to visit, someone who knows who they are outside of their criminal record. They need reasons to imagine a future.
“Even just one person, one mentor, one brother, one sister, one somebody that is grounded in righteousness, or in faith—the strength and the power that that has for every individual that is incarcerated is deep.”
A Person With Something to Give
Corbyn has not simply received support from others. He has begun to understand himself as someone who can offer it.
“I am here to serve my community,” he says.
He wants to encourage other incarcerated people to receive assistance inside prison. He sees value in the experience he has gained and wants to use it for something larger than himself.
That desire to contribute is central to the person Corbyn has become. He is not waiting until release to begin building a meaningful life. He is trying to build one now, even within the limitations of incarceration.
He spends his time maintaining relationships, talking with family, receiving visits, developing his skills, serving the people around him, and preparing for what comes next.
“My faith is the number one reason,” he explains. “I live my life today, the same way I would live it out in the world, where I am invested in building unity and strengthening my family.”
The Life Waiting Outside
Corbyn imagines a life in which he can be present for his family, contribute to his community, continue living according to his faith, and put the skills he has developed into practice.
“If I am ready now, to be able to get out where I know for certain that I am not coming back, then there’s no reason for me to be inside of this prison.”
He also dreams of becoming a father.
He loves Holly’s children, but he wants the opportunity to raise a child with Holly. The possibility that he could spend so many years incarcerated that this dream is no longer possible weighs heavily on him.
“If I find out I can’t have kids…that would crush me.”
This is one of the quiet costs of a long sentence: not only the years spent behind bars, but the future that those years consume.
What Corbyn’s Story Tells Us
Corbyn’s story is ultimately about what happens when a person who has changed is still denied the opportunity to live differently and freely.
He describes a prison system that does little to prepare people for the relationships and responsibilities of life after incarceration.
“There’s nothing to prepare us—physically, emotionally, mentally—for our futures,” he says. “Our networking skills—our networking abilities to create relationships—all of that is diminished.”
Yet Corbyn has continued to reach toward the world beyond the prison walls.
He has built relationships. He has found faith. He has learned to care for others. He has discovered that he has something to offer his community. He has found reasons to imagine a future—and people he wants to share that future with.
His story reminds us that transformation is not simply about becoming a different person in prison. It is about having the opportunity to live differently—to be connected to family, to contribute to community, to love and be loved, and to build a life with purpose.
Corbyn has spent years becoming that person.
He is ready for the opportunity to live as him beyond the prison walls.
Read his full interview here