Colorado Correctional Industries,
My name is Jason Bondurant, I am forty-two years old, and I have been incarcerated for seventeen years. I am currently an office clerk for the license plate manufacturing plant at Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility. I began my prison sentence as a deeply remorseful person, and I wanted nothing more than to take full responsibility for all the harm that I caused and to hold myself accountable to repair that harm to the best of my ability. That process started by realizing what I needed to change. As a free person, I was irresponsible, unreliable, and dependent upon others, so, as a part of my rehabilitation, I made a vow to change those character traits that contributed to my very harmful behavior. I wanted to develop self-sufficiency, trustworthiness, diligence, and authenticity, and Colorado Correctional Industries (CCI) provided me with an opportunity to work through my character flaws and become the person I always wanted to be.
I have worked for CCI at the Tag Plant for twelve and a half years, and I have seen firsthand the financial stability offered to those of us whom are fortunate enough to enjoy this opportunity. Being able to support oneself during incarceration and save money to use upon release is a very important component of rehabilitative success. However, this opportunity goes much deeper than economics. Over my time here, I have taken many rehabilitative programs such as Restorative Justice, Aggression Reduction, workshops with the University of Denver's Prison Arts Initiative, and am attending college virtually through Regis University. My supervisors have all been enthusiastically supportive of my efforts to transform myself, which has fueled my journey down this road to redemption. Without their care and encouragement, I do not know where I would be. What is most amazing to me about their support is that it has remained constant even through changes in leadership, which speaks to the culture and spirit of Colorado Correctional Industries. CCl's mission to build opportunity for the incarcerated people who are striving to change their lives for the better has held true in my experience.
In addition, as an office clerk, I have learned lessons about commitment, perseverance, problem solving, responsibility, leadership, and accountability, all as a direct result of this opportunity. I carry these lessons into my life outside of work and hope to serve as an example that we can change the harmful behaviors that are so destructive to others and ourselves. My prison sentence provided me with the time I needed to self-reflect and determine the principles and values I want to live by, and the Tag Plant has given me the space to do the work of putting those principles into practice. In many ways this job feels like a work-release program because the environment here resembles that of the free world. CCI creates a common ground where people from many different backgrounds can work alongside one another towards a shared goal, which helps bridge the gaps that exist in daily life behind these walls. Early in my time here, the supervisor of the plant said to me, "We are not in the license plate business, we are in the people business." I carry that philosophy with me to this day. It has become a part of who I am, and, ultimately, discovering who I am and becoming who I want to be is what my journey is all about. I am a father, a son, a brother, a repentant human being, and I am CCI.
