Martin Lockett's Nugget

Martin Lockett is a writer and speaker whose words have impacted thousands of people, even before leaving prison. He served almost 18 years for manslaughter, caused by an accident one New Year’s eve where he drank excessively and drove through a stop light, colliding with a car carrying three people. Upon learning that the two people who died that night were volunteers in the drug and alcohol recovery community, Martin chose to honor them by dedicating his life to helping others through addiction counseling and drinking and driving prevention.

Martin has made the most of his incarceration by striving to achieve an education and certifications to become a counselor. His list of educational accomplishments includes:

• Earned his high school GED
• Earned a Certificate of Human Services from Louisiana State University
• Graduated from Indiana University: Associate of Arts
• Graduated from Colorado State University-Pueblo: Bachelor of Science in Sociology with honors
• Graduated from California Coast University: Master of Science in Psychology with honors
• Became a member of the Delta Epsilon Tau International Honor Society
• Completed comprehensive substance abuse treatment program
• Interned and earned state certification as a substance abuse counselor (CADC I)

While in prison, he worked in the educational programs for inmates where he:

• Moderated DUI victim impact panels for three years that included offenders and victims and told his own story
• Recorded detailed account of the night of the crash for use at various online panels during the pandemic
• Mentored and trained inmates to become mentors for addictions recovery
• Tutored inmates through the GED curriculum
• Counseled inmates through addictions treatment

As a writer, Martin has used his time behind bars to write in various forms, all with the intention of helping others with his story and life experiences.

• Wrote and published two books: his memoir, Prison to Purpose Pipeline and My Prison Life, his collection of essays
• Published hundreds of blog posts on adjusting to prison life, maximizing opportunities behind bars, the impact of incarceration on families and communities, and current social justice issues
• Published articles in the Oregonian: Honoring my victims every day (2019);Time to pull back on mandatory minimum sentences (2020); Returning to Portland from prison with a commitment to make amends (2021); and Ex-offenders seeking a fresh start need help finding a home base (2021)

While serving his time, Martin Lockett modeled exemplary behavior throughout the entirety of his sentence by not receiving a single disciplinary report. He has focused on achieving his pledge to take up the work of his victims, which he intends to do for the rest of his life.

You can find Martin at martinlockett.com