Once you get in the box life gets harder! The re-offending rate is so high not because people are necessarily wanting to be criminals for the rest of their lives but because re-entering society, getting respect, a job, a normal life are difficult things once stamped with a prison past.

However, the story of one man with a unique name and a unique story shows that recovery from your past mistakes is possible.

TheArthur Duncan (yes, that’s his name) is now an attorney, however his earlier life was marked with prison time after growing up around gang culture and eventually selling drugs.

Duncan decided he would make a change though, he used his intelligence to get the degrees needed to become a fully practising attorney and at 43 years old he graduated from Buffalo university.

Duncan says of his turn-around

“A lot of people thought I was wasting my time, saying, I never seen nobody, an ex-drug dealer become a lawyer.

“There’s a second chance out there, because of one mistake your life is not over, you can turn your life around,

“You can turn your life around and be who you want to be in life. Think about what you want to accomplish in life, not what everybody else wants to accomplish, not for the neighborhood, not for the block, for YOU! So when you put yourself first and be the best person you can be then everything else will fall in line.”

You can read more about his incredible story in his book Felon-Attorney.