“The Redefining of John Rizzo”
My name is John Rizzo. I am 54 years old and serving a sentence of 50 years. I currently reside in Sing Sing Correctional facility; however, I refuse to allow my imprisonment to define me. Instead, I find meaning in what I am able to achieve under these trying and difficult circumstances.
I obtained a GED and am currently pursuing an associate's degree in behavioral science at Mercy University. So far I have 27 credits and am now working on obtaining 12 additional credits. I have completed all of my mandatory programs, which include vocational, substance abuse and anger management. I became an ASAT clerk and gave a speech at Hudson Link’s 2024 Beyond The Block Event in Sing Sing. I am a family man with nine children and thirteen grandchildren.
I am not eligible for Parole until 2054. I was 41 years old when I was sentenced to 50 years, which is a natural life sentence without saying so. Have you ever felt neglected, unloved, or misinterpreted? If so, then welcome to my upbringing. For 11 years, I lived a country or suburban lifestyle until I was in my teens. Then I moved to the city and started attending city schools, which was a totally different environment than what I was accustomed to as a suburban youth. Due to the drastic changes in my environment, my personality shifted from better to worse. I started to believe that I was above the law, so I skipped classes, experimented with drugs and alcohol, and fought on the streets. Eventually, I stopped attending school and started fighting with my family.
What I have come to learn the most about my life is how powerful my decisions are. I’ve learned that the decisions you make can either damage or benefit you. In my situation, I made poor decisions and have suffered as a result. Not finding what I needed at home led me into the streets to search for it. People I thought were friends— I now know WERE NOT! My venture into the street life spun me out of control as I drunk and hung with the wrong crowd—cause nothing else mattered to me. Then I met the love of my life, had children, and got a job, but I could not stop drinking or wanting to hang out, which caused my divorce, and that ordeal made me feel unloved, disused, and discounted.
As a result of my divorce, I entered into a deep state of depression and felt I was at the lowest point in my life. I stopped caring about anything and hung out more with the wrong crowd. This eventually led me to prison. I started crying when I went before the court and received a 50-year sentence. Once that happened, I considered my children and family and the hurt they must have felt and yelled "No More!" It was time to take responsibility for my actions. I had to rethink and adjust my life. So I attended classes and obtained my GED. I then made a request to be moved nearer to my family and go to a prison that has a college program. I ended up being transferred to Sing Sing Correctional Facility and enrolling into the Hudson Link/Mercy University program. This made my family happy and proved I was evolving. I told them I was sorry, but I believe the two profound words "I'm SORRY" have no meaning unless there is evidence to support it.
Therefore, this was my way of showing evidence of my remorse. How does one redefine his or her self? It is determined by how he or she “bounces back” from adversities and failures and reinterprets his or her life for the better. Everyone should know that the system did not change me— I did. Therefore, people on the outside should not define me by my past actions, rather by my rehabilitation.
Furthermore, some means of measurement should be available to observe, document, and reward personal rehabilitation. I am among many others who have decided to make wise use of their time. I can tell you I am not the same person I was in the past. There is well-documented evidence that shows that it is very rare for men and women over the age of 50 to return to prison after their release. Thus, if New York State legislators pass The Second Look Act (S.321, A.531), or even the elderly bill, the population inside New York State prisons will be reduced, and it will save the state from wasting its budget on the medical bills of elders who have aged out of crime and pose no threat to society. There are many incarcerated men and women who have long crossed into the realm of rehabilitation. The bills that will be proposed in this next legislative session are not get out of jail free cards but opportunities for many incarcerated men and women to prove their rehabilitation and show that they are fit to re-enter society. If you look closely it is not hard to see that many of us are redefined and worthy of relief.
Written by John Rizzo
