Kerwin Pittman is making history. With the recent purchase of the former Wayne Correctional Center in Goldsboro, Pittman says he has become the first formerly incarcerated person in the United States to purchase a prison—and he plans to transform it into a space for opportunity, healing, and second chances.
Pittman, the founder and executive director of Recidivism Reduction Educational Program Services, Inc. (RREPS) and Policy and Program director at Emancipate NC, was sent to prison at just 18 years old and served 11 years and six months for conspiracy to commit murder. On January 26, Pittman will mark eight years since his release and return to the Southeast Raleigh community where he was raised.
After coming home, Pittman launched a nonprofit focused on supporting people returning from incarceration—pairing advocacy with practical programming to help ease reentry into society.
“I started a nonprofit when I came home and began advocating for individuals coming out of the system, but I also put in programming to try to help them reintegrate into society with a little more ease,” Pittman said.
His vision is deeply informed by lived experience. While Pittman had family support and stable housing after his release, he saw many friends struggle—often with nowhere to go or only short-term options.
“I had family support, so I had housing,” he said. “But a lot of my friends didn’t have any place to go. Or if they did, there was a time limit on how long they could stay.”
The purchase of the abandoned, 400-bed Wayne Correctional Center is an extension of that work. Pittman plans to convert the former prison into reentry housing and a workforce development campus, where formerly incarcerated people can access stable housing, build job skills, and earn industry certifications.
By reclaiming a site once used for confinement and punishment, Pittman is reimagining it as a place for restoration and possibility—demonstrating what is possible when those most impacted by incarceration are empowered to lead the solutions.