By Ricardo Kaulessar       Photos by Ricardo Kaulessar

The odds of Governor Chris Christie, Jersey City Mayor

Steven Fulop, New Jersey U.S.

Attorney Paul Fishman and former NBA player Jayson Williams all being at the same place seems highly unlikely. Unless the issue is prisoner reentry.

The topic of ex-offenders coming back into society was what brought the four men into the same space as they were all keynote speakers at the Prisoner Reentry: Breaking the Cycle conference held on April 17 at Saint Peters University in Jersey City.

The event, sponsored by various entities including the Jersey City

Employment and Training Office, Integrity House and Saint Peters University, is an extension of the policy goal of the new Employment and Training Office Director, former Governor Jim McGreevey, to help those coming out of jail to integrate back into society.

Williams, the onetime New Jersey Nets star, shared his powerful personal story of rebuilding his life after serving time in prison for several brushes with the law including the accidental shooting death of his limousine driver, Costas “Gus” Christofi, in 2002. Continue reading Prisoner Reentry from Personal Testimony to Politics →