Michael G. Santos

Michael Gerard Santos (born January 15, 1964) is an advocate for criminal justice reform and an author of several books and courses. He teaches strategies that justice-impacted people can use to prepare for success after prison.

Santos spent 26 years in federal prison, on a 45-year sentence. He served time in prisons of every security level and served his sentence in 19 different United States federal prisons.

During his decades of federal prison incarceration, Santos successfully transformed his life for the better by obtaining an education, getting married, writing several books, blogging, and working to prepare himself for a successful law-abiding life.

After release from prison, Santos taught criminal justice students at San Francisco State University, works as a prison consultant, is a motivational speaker and life coach, and continues to advocate for reformation of America's criminal justice system.

Early life Michael Santos grew up with two sisters in Lake Forest Park, a city near Seattle in Washington. He had a relatively stable family life. Santos is the son of a Cuban immigrant father and a mother of Spanish descent. Santos began his sentence at the infamous United States Penitentiary, Atlanta. Since prisons did not offer access to computers, Santos in longhand manually wrote all books and articles. Santos' wife Carole would then transcribe his work into computer format. Carole also served as a liaison with publishers.

With help from his wife and family, from within prison Santos nevertheless built a significant presence on the Internet. Through the website MichaelSantos.com chronicled his long arduous journey. Moreover, the appeal of his writing resulted in Santos receiving widespread popularity. Media publications cite Santos saying his published writings are his way of contributing to society. His wife maintained his contributions to a blog. Those writings resulted in his receiving significant recognition and universities use his work in courses that teach criminal justice.

In 2015, Santos teamed with the Maine Department of Corrections to improve the outcomes of the state's prison system through programs designed by Santos.

Books Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-year Prison Term (2011) Triumph!: Straight-A Guide to Preparing Offenders for Reentry (2011) Prison! My 8,344th Day (2010) Step Up and Don't Look Back (2007) Gangsters and Thugs: Consequences That Hustlers Pay (2007) Inside: Life Behind Bars in America (2007) What If I Go to Prison? (2004)