In 2002, Jesse Crosson was a recent high school graduate with a rapidly worsening drug problem. His mother had tried to intervene, but by Thanksgiving that year, she felt helpless. The child she'd raised, kind and eager to fit in, was now out of control.


Things got worse, quickly. A week later, high on drugs, Jesse and three other people committed a home invasion and robbery. And a week after that, he got into an altercation that ended when he fired shots into a car that was chasing him. He hit and injured the two men in the car.


Jesse pleaded guilty to multiple felonies. Sentencing guidelines called for 11 to 16 years, but Albemarle County Circuit Court Judge Paul Peatross doubled that time to 32 years.


Jesse received a conditional pardon on his sentence and was released in August 2021, almost 19 years after being incarcerated.


In prison Jesse turned his life around. He earned a college degree in psychology. He's trained as a cook and electrician. He teaches yoga and Spanish. And he's a mentor to other inmates with mental health and substance abuse issues.