Join us for our Embraced:Fully Monthly Interview Series on Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 6:00 PM (Pacific) on Zoom. Everyone is welcome!
Our special guest will be Jesse Nava, who spent 25 years in prison on a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Today he is home, and he says his life has just begun.
About Our Guest: Jesse Nava
In Jesse’s words:
Hello, my name is Jesse Nava, and I would like to take a few moments to tell you a little bit about myself so that you may grab a quick glimpse into my life, in hopes that you can appreciate the journey I’ve had to travel, and the transformation I’ve undergone in order to become the man I am today.
It starts in 1980. I was born on drugs, to the care of two drug-addicted parents… For the first four years of my life, I endured all forms of extreme abuse and neglect at the hands of those who were supposed to love and protect me most. Eventually, my parents were sent to prison, and I was adopted by my paternal grandmother.
This is the first time in my life I was ever shown love and affection. Despite my mother’s unconditional love, I was already such a hurt, scared, and confused child who couldn’t understand or convey any of these feelings, my emotions manifested themselves in extreme fits of anger. We moved around a lot; a new apartment meant a new school, and that meant new kids. We were poor, so I never had the new clothes or shoes that made fitting in at a new school easy, quite the opposite. I got made fun of by the other kids, which led to many physical altercations. I was consumed by this overwhelming need to fit in and be accepted by others. This made perfect harvesting for the gangs as I entered 6th grade.
I’ll never forget the feeling I felt of finally belonging to something, my gang. I even remember telling myself at 12 years old, I’ll die for these guys, and protect this feeling of acceptance at all costs… That’s exactly what I did… I had built such a reputation as someone who would do anything for his “friends” that at seventeen years old I was approached by one of my “homies’” dad and asked to murder an innocent man for a large sum of money. I cared less about the money or myself than I did for the approval of these older guys. In 1997, I made the fateful decision to commit the murder. This decision destroyed so many lives, and as a result of that decision, I was rightfully sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole.
Until God decided to bless me with a second chance, I spent 25 years in prison. I spent the first 19 years of my incarceration living the exact same way I was living in society, and doing everything I could to gain praise, recognition, and acceptance from the prison gang. Everything from drug dealing to attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. None of that really mattered, because when you’re living that life, you’re only remembered for your last mistake… Some people say that we can age out of our ignorance. This isn’t always the case when we’re trapped in a web of arrested development.
For me, I finally reached an emotional rock bottom in 2020 when I was sitting in administrative segregation for distribution of a controlled substance in an institution. This was my “ah-ha moment.” I was tired of being the person I had been most of my life and knew I needed something different. I was scared of change, because all the masks I had created for protection were all I knew… I knew I couldn’t do it alone, so I got down on my knees there in the hole and told God, “I don’t know what this is going to look like, but I’m done doing it my way, I need your help…” Despite all I had been through up to this point, that commitment to God, myself, and my family led to some of the hardest steps I’ve ever had to take in my life. But also, the most rewarding…
I spent the next six years of my life forgiving, healing, overcoming addiction, dismantling a completely distorted belief system, rebuilding a value system, reshaping my self-concept, developing emotional intelligence, getting educated, and rebuilding relationships I had destroyed. I had a complete paradigm shift. Today, I sit here as a free man, blessed beyond my wildest belief, and to think my life has just begun!
In This Interview We’ll Explore:
- A childhood of abuse, and finding love with his grandmother
- Joining a gang at 12, and the decision at 17 that destroyed so many lives
- Getting on his knees in 2020 and asking God for help
- Six years of healing, and coming home after 25 years
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Our Mission
In partnership with others, Embraced:Fully supports incarcerated and returning citizens in their moral and spiritual journey toward successful reentry. Through our Ready for Reentry course and our volunteer Correspondence Partners, we help connect people coming home with community, faith, housing, employment, transportation, friendship, and mentorship, building bridges of hope and belonging.
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