Before I came to prison, I believed in nothing. I thought everything was random and life had no real purpose. Then I met Gabriel Arias-Maduro.

I know it sounds like hyperbole to say that one individual impacted my life to that extent, but in this case, it’s simply the truth. I know he was put in my life for a reason, and I know that reason is to change this world for the better.

I met Gabriel my very first day in federal prison, and over the next nine months, I spent more time with him as an individual than I have ever spent with any one person outside of my family. We worked out together, ate together, watched T.V. together, and I witnessed him create the best music I have ever heard. Never once did I see him have a bad day or fail to positively inspire every person he came in contact with. He is the most talented and inspiring individual I have ever known.

Gabriel taught himself how to play guitar in prison and became the best in the institution in less than a year. He started writing his own music and lyrics, perfecting twenty-five songs in less than two months. I witnessed his very first creation, “Family,” leave an entire room of grown, hardened men in tears, missing their families. As I write this, the melody and lyrics still flow through my head and make me emotional. His music really is that good. Gabriel worked out every day and shared his knowledge with me, which led me to lose fifty pounds in three months. He’s an expert at yoga and teaches others as well. He was the best athlete on the compound and played every sport at the highest level. He journals every single day of his prison experience by using his left hand to write because his goal is to be completely ambidextrous before he gets out. He is the only inmate I have ever met who views prison in an entirely positive light. He sees this as an opportunity to better himself in every possible way, and he lives that vision every single day.

Despite moving away from his life of crime and going to school to create a new life in Orlando long before his arrest, he was sentenced to eleven years behind bars. I know laws are in place for a reason, but sometimes there are circumstances and people that should be looked at over numbers on a guideline sheet. It’s a shame that the outside world is denied Gabriel’s infectious personality. I’m sure that, if given the opportunity to go home early, he would not only keep himself from recidivating, but he would also prevent countless others from entering lives of crime.

I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the influence of Gabriel Arias-Maduro. I know without a doubt that he will make the best of any opportunity he is given to get out early. He is the opposite of a risk to society. He is a guaranteed success story. People like myself needed Gabriel in prison, but now it is time for the world to have him back.