After 30 years of wrongful imprisonment, I am finally home.

My name is Donald "C-Note" Hooker. For three decades, I was separated from society, my family, and the life I should have lived. Over those thirty years, despite the cold walls of California’s maximum-security prisons, I refused to let my spirit or my voice be buried. I picked up pens, pastels, and paper. I wrote plays, published poetry, and created visual art that traveled far beyond the prison walls—reaching academic journals, national galleries, and community exhibitions across the country.

Now, after 30 long years, my wrongful conviction has been recognized, and I have been ordered released.

I am writing this directly to you because I am building this next chapter from the ground up, entirely on my own.

The Reality of Re-Entry After Three Decades

Stepping out into the free world after 30 years is like waking up in a completely different century. In my first 45 days home, I took the essential first steps: I obtained my official state identification, my Social Security card, and established my primary bank account. The administrative foundation is laid, and I have verified my identity and direct deposit directly with this platform so every dollar reaches me without delay.

However, the legal recognition of an injustice does not come with immediate restitution. Any formal state compensation or claims process takes years to adjudicate through bureaucratic channels and courts. When you walk out of prison after 30 years, there is no bridge funding for the rent, groceries, healthcare, or equipment required to stand on your own two feet.

I am not waiting around for systems that move at a crawl. I am ready to work, to create, and to live with dignity—but I need a bridge to secure that independence.

Where Your Support Goes

This campaign is an investment in my survival, my autonomy, and my creative future. Every contribution directly funds the following essentials:

Housing & Living Stability ($10,000): Securing safe, reliable, long-term housing, including a rental deposit and the first several months of rent, utilities, and daily nutrition.

Studio & Fine Art Materials ($5,000): Canvases, archival paper, drawing and painting supplies, drafting tools, and framing materials so I can immediately resume producing original works and public commissions.

Digital Infrastructure & Archiving ($4,000): A dependable computer, flatbed scanner, and creative software to properly digitize, license, and catalog 30 years of prison artwork, poetry, and dramatic manuscripts.

Healthcare & Mobility ($3,500): Uncovered dental care, medical checkups, vision needs, and reliable local transit to attend exhibitions, meetings, and daily appointments.

Emergency Buffer & Re-Entry Gap ($2,500): Immediate wardrobe essentials, telecommunications, and day-to-day reserves while commercial projects and print sales take root.

My Commitment to You

Art saved my life inside, and it remains my calling outside. I spent three decades speaking truth to power through color, lines, and verse.

By supporting this campaign, you aren't just helping someone survive the shock of re-entry—you are empowering an artist to reclaim his rightful place in the cultural conversation. I will post regular updates directly here on this page, showing you the milestones your generosity makes possible: from setting up my first true art workspace to sharing new works, exhibitions, and community projects.

Whether you donate $10 or $500, or simply share this campaign across your social networks and community groups, you are directly helping right a 30-year wrong.

Thank you for believing in my freedom, my dignity, and my art.

With respect and gratitude,

Donald "C-Note" Hooker

Artist, Poet, Playwright