LIFER: One Man. One Dog. Transformed.

With Director Raul Perez & Brian Michael James. [Proof Video]

In this extraordinary episode of Restorative Justice on The Rise, Molly Rowan Leach sits down with Brian Michael James, who served 29 years and two months in prison beginning at age 16, and Raul Perez, director of the upcoming film LIFER.

Brian opens the conversation with stark clarity:

“Today is 1,154 days free after I served 29 years and two months from the ages of 16 to 45.”

What unfolds is not simply a story of incarceration — it is a story of belonging, trauma, accountability, radical forgiveness, and transformation.

Brian shares the childhood wounds that shaped his early path, the split-second decision that took a life, and the decades that followed. He describes the night that changed everything:

“That decision right there took me a total of three seconds to make… That man died that night.”

He speaks candidly about prison violence, addiction, solitary confinement, and the death of his beloved grandmother — the moment that forced him to choose whether to live or die:

“I decided that I’m going to live a life that would honor my grandmother… She planted good seeds in me. They just hadn’t sprouted yet.”

Years later, a poster on a prison wall changed the trajectory of his life: a dog rescue program.

After 25 years incarcerated, Brian knelt down and touched a dog for the first time:

“It was nothing less than a spiritual experience.”

The rescue dog, Flynn — who had been scheduled for euthanasia — became part of Brian’s healing. Through the program, he discovered purpose, responsibility, and connection:

“In the three months of this program, I discovered literally who I wanted to be and who I was as a man.”

In a powerful restorative arc, Brian also shares his participation in Healing Dialogue & Action (HDA), where he sat with mothers of murder victims. In one unforgettable moment, after asking how he could ever live with what he had done, one mother stood and said:

“How about we forgive you for that?”

Brian describes that experience as life-altering — a release that allowed him to move forward with accountability rather than self-annihilation.

When he finally appeared before the parole board decades later, he told them:

“Whether they let me home or not was not going to alter anything. This is who I am today.”

He was granted parole in 2022.

Today, Brian works to give back, speaking to incarcerated individuals and communities about hope, transformation, and responsibility:

“You are really, really needed in the world right now.”

Director Raul Perez shares why telling stories like this matters:

“We want to inspire change and hope… even if we change one person’s mind watching this… then we did our job.”

LIFER is more than a film about prison.
It is about radical forgiveness.
It is about the power of dogs to restore dignity.
It is about the possibility that no human being is beyond transformation.

About Our Guests

Brian Michael James served 29 years in California state prison and now dedicates his life to restorative work, advocacy, and speaking about transformation and accountability.

Raul Perez is the director of LIFER, a film inspired by Brian’s journey and the life-changing impact of prison dog programs.

If this episode moves you, please share it widely.
Stories like this shift culture.

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Host: Founder & Executive Producer Molly Rowan Leach (she/her), and Post Production Credits to our Social Media and Marketing Manager Logan Ward (he/him), who is also an accomplished Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker (Remarkable, 2024)

About: https://restorativejusticeontherise.org