Preston Thorpe

Background

About Preston Thorpe

I am a software developer and open source author, maintainer and frequent contributor. You can see my work at https://github.com/PThorpe92 and read my blog at https://pthorpe92.dev I am very passionate about my work, and am grateful that I am fortunate enough to have a hobby that doubles as a career. I am also currently incarcerated at MountainView Correctional Facility in Maine (non-violent drug offender) where I taught myself how to program and am permitted to work remotely. Upon my release in 2025, I intend on continuing advocacy for reform of our national system of mass incarceration through access to education and technology. I would like to prove that technology and education can provide hope and purpose to incarcerated individuals, who otherwise lack self-identification as meaningful members of society. I believe that with technology and access to learning materials, individuals can use the time that is otherwise being wasted on developing skills that would normally take multitudes longer to sharpen due to the lack of available free hours in the day. Allowing an online presence builds a feeling of identity and setting people on a successful career path will change how they value themselves and it will foster an environment of positivity/reform, instead of perpetuating the negative mindset and culture that plagues the U.S. prison system.