Tammy was 32 years old when she was incarcerated with a Life Without the Possibility of Parole prison sentence. Her release was secured when then California Governor, Jerry Brown, commuted her sentence after she had served a long 28 years.
Moneaya
Thank you, Tammy, for being here with me and Joe. Question number one is, how old were you when you were arrested, and what year was it, and how long were you incarcerated?
Tammy
I was… I had just turned 32, and, it was in 1991, and I was incarcerated for 28 years.
Moneaya
And what two or three accomplishments are you most proud of since you’ve been released?
Tammy
Since I’ve been released? That’s a good question. I would say, work… a good one for me, I believe that I’m a good employee. I come to work on time. I really don’t miss any days. I fill in where I need to be. And I am the Program Director. I am the boss of where I work at. So, I’m able to hire and all that Secondly, I have a good life. I pay my bills on time. I make sure that I respect society’s rules about being this good person in the world. I believe the world was waiting for me, and I was waiting for the world.
Moneaya
Thank you. What was a significant challenge and how did you overcome it?
Tammy
I’m gonna say navigating. I was born in San Francisco, and I left when I was 12. I didn’t wanna go back to Santa Clara County, ’cause that’s where all my trauma came from. So, to navigate the city again, it had changed so much it was like a new world to me, literally like a new world. And it was just navigating, San Francisco, my new life.
Moneaya
Okay. Thank you. What was your greatest support since you have been released?
Tammy
My greatest support since I’ve been released has been my family, also, while I was incarcerated, I met people who treated me as a human being.
Moneaya
Thank you for that. Thank you so much. Is there a family member or someone close to you that would like to speak to the impact of your coming home?
Tammy
That’s a good question. So, Friday I was with my mom. My mom is 86, so, I took her… we all take turns doing something with her, ’cause she can’t drive the car any more. My mother asked me a question – “How does it feel for you and Damian [Tammy’s husband] to be home free? What does it feel like?” And I told my mom “It’s great.”, all the challenges, sometimes we have this is what, my husband always says to me, “We asked God for all this. We truly asked God if we could be free. I love every challenge that comes along, every good thing that comes along, and even the bad. You just have to deal with it today.
Moneaya
Thank you. How have you freed yourself from the trauma of incarceration?
Tammy
I went straight into prison wanting to know about my trauma. I’m a survivor of human trafficking for 18 years, and I needed to know how I got into this situation. I needed to know everything that happened to me, because, even when I was going to court my co-defendant threatened me. He threatened to kill my family. I got a deal from the judge and the DA. I couldn’t even take it. And they go, “We know you’re not the person.” But I couldn’t take it. I went to prison with life without parole, and I didn’t shed not one tear. And on the record, my attorney had to put that she’s in communication with the co-defendant. Once again, I could not even stand up for myself in court.
So, I went straight into prison wanting to know how all this happened, and prison gave me my voice. I didn’t have a lot… I had trauma from staff when I took leadership positions. But prison gave me my voice as a woman. And prison gave me how to say yes, how to say no. I say, “Uh-uh, not at all,” I had life without parole. I would sign up for groups, and they go, “No, you, you’re a lifer- you got life without parole. This is not gonna do you no good.” I said, “Okay, so I’m gonna have to do a 602 because I wanna be in this group.” Even though you say I’m not going anywhere, I still have the right to rehabilitate myself. And that was my right, and I was gonna exercise my right. So they were, “Oh, okay, Tammy. I went into prison wanting to know about me. So that was for me. I had my trauma when in leadership.
Moneaya
How do you see ending the sentence of life without the possibility of parole?
Tammy
People, consistently, going to bat for it. Just that fight. Everybody at once is still doing that fight to end life without parole. There are a lot of people so undeserving of it. They really are. Is everybody standing together?
Moneaya
Joe, do you have any follow-up questions or anything else that you would like to ask Tammy? I’m done with the questions.
Joe
Just three follow-ups. First of all, you’re awesome, Tammy, and thank you again for doing this. You said one of the barriers was navigating and getting used to San Francisco where you were, and how did you overcome that navigation barrier?
Tammy
For me when I came back, I felt like a little girl again because they had all these tall buildings. San Francisco had grown. And I just rode the bus every single day. I went places every single day. I went back to where I grew up, just to see how different everything is from a little, from a 12-year-old to this adult woman.
Joe
Nice. What does PAC stand for? You said the PAC meetings.
Tammy
Oh, the PAC meeting is the parole department. I go every month. The PAC meeting is with parole. And there’s a bunch of resources at resource tables, people who are formerly incarcerated also. People, jobs, people to let you know, “Here’s a resource here.” If you’re a veteran, there’s a table for veterans. If you need some assistance or anything, there’s a table for legal assistance. It’s a table of resources for people who are recently getting out, who just got out of prison. And I go every month.
Joe
So, which group inside do you feel like was the most impactful for you?
Tammy
I have this wonderful lady Her name is Barbara Herron, and I went to her abuse trauma group twice a week for two-hour sessions. It was a group of abused women. And I went there for 10 years. I went to that lady’s group about my trauma.
Joe
That’s a blessing. Thank you Tammy