About the Author

Gerald T. Balone spent 37 1/2 years in 17 prisons throughout the State of
New York. He was released from prison on August 14, 2007. Although his
was a long and tedious struggle, he gleaned insight into the mechanics of the
parole system and how an inmate might help himself in earning his release.

Gerald holds two Masters Degrees in both HealthcareAdministration from
the California College for Health Sciences and an Urban Ministry Masters
from the New York Theological Seminary. Numerous articles have been
published about him and his plight for freedom. While incarcerated, he was
a counselor, teacher, and motivational speaker.

Now at the age of 56, and living in Buffalo, NY, he wishes to pursue a
career as a motivational speaker.

"I felt like he related to the class so well and connected with each and every
person through his sincerity and how down to earth he was. He has been to hell
and back basically and it really is amazing to see how a person can flip their
world upside down by taking a step back and thinking about life. The way he
decided to devote his life going around, telling people his inspirational story, so
they realize people do change and you can turn over a new leaf in life if you
make the effort to do so. I really enjoyed everything he had to say and I believe
I have a better outlook on prison life and the mindset of a prisoner after hearing
Gerry speak."

"One thing that I took away from Gerald Balone’s talk was his sincerity. He mentioned
repeatedly that he was working to atone his actions, but he seemed very aware of the
fact that he would never be done with his work. Like a recovering alcoholic is never a
“recovered” alcoholic, Balone will always be atoning for his crime. He said that he is
serving a life sentence because he will never be not guilty for killing those people and
he understands that his freedom is conditional. Another thing that he mentioned was
that he was hoping to get back into all of the prisons that he “grew up in” to speak to
inmates about his experience. I found the word choice striking. People don’t normally
think of prison being a place to grow up in, but I guess that really is true for some
people, especially those that are incarcerated at such a young age."