In San Quentin State Prison and decades through a lengthy sentence, Rahsaan Thomas wasn’t at the peak of his physical fitness, nor was he expecting that to change much. Sentenced to 55 to life in 2003 after fatally shooting one person and injuring another during a drug deal, Thomas joined the prison’s long distance running 1000 Mile Club initially as a “coping mechanism” that helped him to process his long and seemingly endless jail term.
” “Our incarceration system not only punishes people, but it also has a tendency to dehumanize them,” says Maloney. “I think one thing we try to do is help them gain their humanity back and remind themselves that they’re not defined by the worst moment of their lives, the crime that they committed, but that they’re worthy and worthwhile human beings,” adds Maloney.