Jarrett Harper

Jarrett Harper is a criminal justice and foster care reform advocate working to stop life sentences for children, develop better rehabilitation resources for those returning to society, and put an end to the foster care-to-prison pipeline.

Harper is a survivor of the California foster care system and endured 20 years of mass incarceration. After experiencing unimaginable trauma and abuse, at 16, Harper took the life of his abuser to protect himself and his younger brother. A year later, he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole plus ten years. Despite having no chance of release from prison, he found forgiveness and hope and transformed his own life by helping change the lives of other men in prison who had the opportunity to get out.

After 20 years of creating and facilitating self-improvement programs for his peers, Harper's sentence was commuted by Governor Jerry Brown through the tireless work of a group of dedicated advocates. On June 18, 2019, he was released from prison by Governor Gavin Newsom. Shortly after his release, Harper became an ambassador for Represent Justice’s Just Mercy campaign and has quickly become a sought-after speaker, booking engagements for Verizon, Google, YouTube, Jordan Park, USC, Princeton, Big Brothers, and Big Sisters, Human Rights Watch, and Parole Justice That Works.