Cal State LA will confer bachelor’s degrees to the third cohort of the Prison Graduation Initiative (PGI) at the California State Prison, Los Angeles County in Lancaster on Thursday, Dec. 5.
This group of participants is an extraordinary cohort as it was formed during the start of the pandemic, prohibiting in-person instruction for more than a year. With their determination to transform their lives, these students will be earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication while incarcerated.
“PGI prepares our graduates to return to their communities with highly valued degrees, applied skills, and the knowledge and insights to reenter their communities and serve as agents of change that they have become,” said Bidhan Chandra Roy, program manager for PGI at Cal State LA. “Our approach was recently recognized for excellence by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities—becoming the first prison education program to have achieved this accolade.”
Addressing the graduates and guests during the graduation ceremony will be the Honorable Deborah L. Sanchez from the Los Angeles Superior Court and Cal State LA President Berenecea Johnson Eanes.
Allen Burnett will be the keynote speaker for this year’s PGI graduation ceremony. Burnett is the co-founder and executive director of The Prism Way, a community-based organization focused on re-entry, behavioral health, and self-development for justice-involved individuals.
Burnett was among the first graduating class of students from Cal State LA’s PGI. He received his bachelor’s degree in communication in 2021 and then completed his master’s degree in communication studies in 2023.
Burnett is an accomplished public speaker, with several publications featured in academic journals and articles. He is a consultant for Parole Justice Works, a nonprofit organization improving the California parole process for both crime survivors and potential parolees. He is also a member of the Transformative In-prison Workgroup’s leadership team and an advisory board member of Theatre Workers Project community-based organizations.
In 1992, at the age of 18, Burnett was arrested, convicted of murder, and sentenced to life without parole plus five years. In 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom recognized Burnett’s dramatic change and commuted his sentence. Having spent 28 years in prison, he was released after going through the parole process in June 2020.
Casi Amezcua, 48, is among the PGI’s third cohort and will participate in the graduation ceremony in Lancaster next month. He started his academic journey while serving his sentence at the Lancaster Prison, but was released after going through the parole process this past April. He then continued to pursue his college degree at the Cal State LA campus through Project Rebound, a program that supports the higher education and successful reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals.
Amezcua was arrested in 1999, convicted of murder, and sentenced to 180 years to life. He spent 24 years in prison. He reflected on his time in prison: “It seemed pointless to pursue a college degree when serving a life sentence. However, I’m glad I changed my attitude. A higher education gave my life a purpose, a challenge, a chance to finally be a good role model for my children.”
Currently, Amezcua is working part-time for CEO, also known as Center for Employment Opportunities, and is also participating in the new Prison to Career Equity Pathway program at Cal State LA that helps formerly incarcerated college graduates find jobs and reintegrate into the community.
PGI has grown considerably since its beginning at the Los Angeles County Prison in 2016. It has served over 118 students, with 50 students receiving their Bachelor of Arts in Communication while incarcerated and 15 students seamlessly transferring and completing their degree on our campus. In the upcoming year, PGI will serve a total of 139 students in three prisons (California State Prison, Los Angeles County, California Institution for Women, and California Institution for Men), having added a second Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies. In 2027, PGI will add a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an option in Management while expanding the student enrollment total to 172.
To learn more, please visit the Cal State LA’s Prison Graduation Initiative website.
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California State University, Los Angeles is the premier comprehensive public university in the heart of Los Angeles. Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. Cal State LA is dedicated to engagement, service, and the public good, offering nationally recognized programs in science, the arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education, and the humanities. Founded in 1947, the University serves more than 24,000 students and has more than 250,000 distinguished alumni.
