Programming classes in prison: He became a programmer after he was released

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Kenyatta Leal has a skill that millions of people would trade for anything: the ability to have the cream of Silicon Valley executives knock on your door.

However, unlike most app developers, he does not have a degree from MIT or Stanford; he studied technology at San Quentin Prison.

He is the first graduate of The Last Mile, the world's first prison incubator.

Leal was sentenced to life in prison in 1994 for felony assault and illegal possession of a firearm.

He was incarcerated at California's oldest men's prison, which also housed Charles Manson and Bobby Kennedy's assassin, Thrawn Thrawn.

But in 2011, he found a way out: programming.

The business plan was to teach prisoners about the Internet, most of whom were already in prison when the Internet was invented.

The goal of the program is to allow each person to develop a business idea that can be implemented after being released from prison, as most prisoners find it difficult to find work after being released.

Leal was released on parole in 2013 and is now trying to convince more investors to support this unprecedented approach to criminal rehabilitation.

He told reporters: "I have been very lucky. When I first came to prison I felt very lost and I didn't know what I was doing."

"Then I started hearing about this thing called the Internet. My family would bring their phones when they visited me, and we would talk about the Internet."

“I would ask ‘What is Twitter?’, ‘What is a blog?’, ‘What is Google?’. I wanted to learn more.”

The project was started in 2011 by venture capitalist Chris Redlitz and his wife Beverly Parenti, who were invited to give a half-hour guest talk to the inmates.

However, they were so interested in the questions the prisoners asked that they stayed for several hours longer than they should have, and when they left, they vowed to return.

Programming classes in prison: He became a programmer after he was released

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The recidivism rate of California prisoners within one year after release is 61%, the highest among all states in the United States. Each prisoner consumes $47,000 per year.

It's hard for Americans to find jobs, and employers are demanding higher levels of computer knowledge. These ex-prisoners who have never seen a computer are not eligible for technology-related jobs.

Leal is one of 15 inmates selected from a pool of 200 to participate in intensive training, where entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley help them develop their own business plans, all at San Quentin.

Rapper MC Hammer also became one of the many mentors.

Each inmate who applies to the program must complete an application process, much like applying for a job, where they describe their history and aspirations and complete an essay question about their lives.

After their applications are approved, they have twice-weekly meetings and feedback sessions with entrepreneurs and community leaders, whom the inmates call "The Shark Tank."

The inmates, known as "employees," learned programming using special coding instructions developed by Hack Reactor, a San Francisco-based coding school.

Every four weeks, they also compete to be named Employee of the Month.

Six months later, they were pitching themselves to a room full of potential investors.

Leal became a star player in the class by developing a live fantasy football app called Coach Potato, which will be released after Leal completes his second degree in business administration.

Chris Schuhmacher, another star student who is developing a fitness app, was sentenced to life in prison 12 years ago for stabbing a friend to death after he stole a box of marijuana from his apartment.

Like Leal, Schuhmacher completed college at Pedder College while in prison, graduating as valedictorian of his class.

Another graduate, Horatio Herts, is advising state lawmakers in Pittsburgh on how to tackle obesity.

His business plan was called the Healthy Heart Foundation.

The foundation focuses on helping overweight Americans get back in shape.

Another student, James Houston, created a curriculum to teach technology to poor inner-city kids.

"There's entrepreneurial spirit in prison, but it's in the wrong place," Leal said. "If you start over in prison, you can start over outside of prison. I felt like I was excluded from everything and needed a way to start over."

"I think it's a whole new dimension," said Rachel Samuels, executive producer of prison documentaries, of Leal. "For example, Kenyatta is one of the most inspirational people I've ever met. You think: If he can change his life, why can't the rest of us do the same?"