TL;DR: Our friend, Luis Esquivel, will be released from prison after 28 years in the next 2-3 weeks. We are raising money for him to rebuild his life. All funds will go directly to him upon release.

We are the friends and chosen family of Luis Esquivel, a prisoner in Calipatria State Prison, Calipatria, CA. We made this GoFundMe to get Luis back on his feet after he is released from prison. We made this GoFundMe because knowing Luis has been one of the most profound blessings of our lives.

Luis Esquivel entered prison in March 1996 when he was 26 years old. He has been in prison for 28 years. In that time, he spent nearly 17 years from 1998 to 2015 in the SHU (Solitary Housing Unit) at Pelican Bay Prison. For nearly 17 years, Luis was in a cell, alone, for 23 hours a day.

In 2013, Luis and other prisoners in the SHU went on hunger strike for more than 100 days, protesting their treatment and living conditions. He was one of the 10 lead plaintiffs in the Todd Ashker, et al., vs. Governor of the State of California, et al., court case that led to the ending of indefinite solitary confinement and a great reduction in the number of prisoners in solitary confinement across the California state prison system. Luis is too humble to talk about this experience much, but his work and willingness to put his body on the line has had a profound impact on the living conditions of state prisoners all across California.

After the court case, Luis re-entered the general population, where he has applied himself to learning and art. He is a gifted artist, and we are fortunate enough to display his art on our walls. He has earned several certificates in various programs, notably a certificate each in both plumbing and electrician training. What he is most excited about, though, is the certificates he earned in youth counseling and youth mentoring. Luis strongly believes in early intervention with kids, so that they are prepared to make wise and informed decisions. He has noted to us that he looks around him in prison and just sees so many kids, and he wants to be able to intervene for others.

Luis was given a release date of the end of November of this year, but yesterday was told he's up for early release sometime in the next 2-3 weeks. While this couldn't be more exciting, we are also now in crunch time to get him the resources he needs to start over.

Luis would be the first to tell you that he wishes he’d made different decisions and various points in his life. The US prison system, though, is not a place for helping with bad decisions; it is one of the most dehumanizing places on the face of this earth. Throughout it, Luis has somehow managed to retain who he is, what he cares about, and continues to extend himself for the good of others. Luis is a profound, gentle, and humble man, and the world outside of prison will be a better place because he will be in it.

Thank you for anything you can give to help Luis get on his feet and start this new chapter of life. And thank you for helping us spread the word.