From Cell to Silicon Valley: An Inmate's Unprecedented Journey to Tech
Preston Thorpe is not your typical San Francisco tech startup employee. For the past 11 years, he's been serving a prison sentence. Yet, he's just landed a full-time programming job at Turso, a San Francisco-based tech startup, clocking in for work directly from his cell.
This extraordinary story, initially reported by TechCrunch, highlights an unprecedented instance of remote work, bridging the gap between a 30-foot barbed wire fence and the bustling tech industry.
A CEO's Vision and a Prisoner's Redemption
Turso CEO Glauber Costa personally offered Thorpe the position, deeply moved by his story. "I reached out to him in January, just to understand and get to know him," Costa told TechCrunch. "Since then, I’ve had deep conversations with him about his change of heart that led him to be in the position where he is today. Knowing his story increased our respect for him personally."
Thorpe's journey to this unlikely career began with a dark turn. At 20, he was caught selling drugs bought on the dark web, leading to a 15-to-30-year prison sentence in 2017. However, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a profound change. "I had this kind of epiphany: 'I’m going to make something of myself,'" Thorpe shared with TechCrunch during a video call from prison.
The Maine Program Making it Possible
Thorpe's ability to work remotely from custody is thanks to an experimental program within Maine's correctional system. He's one of approximately 30 inmates in the Earned Living Unit at the Mountain View Correctional Facility. This innovative initiative allows inmates to earn a living, with 10% of their income going to the state, plus other fees like child support or restitution.
Before joining Turso, Thorpe remotely enrolled at the University of Maine and even became an adjunct professor there, showcasing his dedication to turning his life around.
Maine Department of Corrections Commissioner Randall Liberty champions the program as a resounding success. "I have to be able to explain this to people on the right and the left," Liberty told TechCrunch. "When they hear that Preston is making the kind of money he makes, their jaw drops. And I say to them, 'If you truly care about making the community safer, if you care about being fiscally responsible, if you care about victims and survivors in the community, this is the way to make them whole.'"
A New Chapter
For Thorpe, this opportunity is nothing short of life-changing. "It’s like waking up from a dream, me from five years ago," he told TechCrunch. "All the memories I have of the streets and why I came to prison, it doesn’t even feel like it happened to me."
While Thorpe still has at least seven more years of his sentence to serve before he might work from a home office, his new role as a programmer offers a powerful testament to redemption and the transformative potential of rehabilitation. His story raises compelling questions about the future of work, criminal justice reform, and what it truly means to be a "remote employee."