There’s a quote by psychiatrist and philosopher Viktor Frankl that reads: “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
After spending 20 years in prison and being home for one year, Dutch chooses to live in that space.
“I was so reactive and I just didn’t think things through,” said Dutch who recently celebrated his 50th birthday. “I didn’t have a pause button but now I pause and pray. That’s new for me.”
Dutch shares his story from his home in Iberville Parish, about 16 miles south of Baton Rouge. He lives there with his fiancée and black cat who enjoys solace more than people. Since December 2025, Dutch has worked as a plumber foreman for a state facility, a job that he loves. “It’s the first job I’ve had that doesn’t feel like a job,” he said during an interview in his living room.
There’s a stack of DVDs beneath a flat screen TV and two love seats form an L-shape in the middle of the living room. There are two pairs of slippers lined up neatly beneath a coffee table. Dutch sits in the middle of one of the sofas. He’s dressed in a purple LSU T-shirt, dark jeans, and black Puma sneakers. He is bald with a five o’clock shadow of facial hair. There’s a ruggedness to Dutch but also a vulnerability. He’s not afraid to share his emotions, and when he laughs and smiles, he lights up a room. He is both thoughtful and intentional when he speaks, remembering the transition from prison to freedom.
“I remember when I first came home, everywhere I went felt big,” he said. “It’s like when you’re a little kid and your house feels big but once you grow up you realize it’s not that big and the house is actually kind of small. That’s what the world felt like after prison. Everything was huge and really fast.”
He shares a tour of his workshop and the buildings at his jobsite – pointing out which ones he has recently worked on. He loves to uncover older pipes and plumbing and his curiosity about his work is contagious.
“Dutch is an awesome employee,” said Ricky Hamilton, the construction supervisor at the facility. “When it comes to getting things done, we get together, lay out his priorities and he just does them. There is no micromanaging. He makes my life easy. Once he tells me he will take care of something, he’s already getting it done. I trust him completely. His knowledge is superior and he has stepped up every time. He does the research; he is solution oriented. I wish I had 1,000 Dutch-es.”
Born and raised in southern California, Dutch grew up as an only child of divorced parents. He split childhood between his father and grandparents in Lakewood, just south of Los Angeles, and his mom in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was a mischievous and bright child who loved playing football, baseball, and basketball. He was wildly independent and impulsive which often led him to trouble. When he was 16 years old, his mom kicked him out of the house.
He moved to Yakima, Washington, with his father who had remarried by then and had two sons with his new wife. His dad drove trucks around the state and also used drugs. Dutch began drinking and smoking marijuana and looking for belonging. A gang recruited him when he was 17 years old.
“They look for kids with family problems, and I fit that,” he said. He began selling drugs and over the next four years, bounced around the state of Washington, living with an aunt and uncle while his dad was on the road. In1999, he impulsively decided to join a friend on a bus to West Monroe, Louisiana, to see his friend’s parents.
“And that’s when my life changed,” he said.
In Louisiana he met his first wife, she got pregnant and they had their first child, a son, Caleb and a year later, a daughter, Kelsey. Both he and his first wife were addicted to methamphetamine. That addiction eventually led to a 2005 armed robbery which landed Dutch in prison on a 30-year sentence. His son was five and his daughter was four.
As Dutch reflects on those years, there’s a quiet wisdom in his voice – a steady cadence that replaced the mischief that once defined him. The playful spark is still there in his smile, but his eyes carry something deeper now. He missed his children growing up, and he wanted to return home, a better man.
“During my incarceration, I always wanted to learn more and do something positive,” he said. In 2013, Dutch began a spiritual journey that reshaped the way he moved through and viewed the world. By 2015, he was taking college courses, and just two years later, he became the lead facilitator for Celebrate Recovery, a faith-based addiction program. Over time, his commitment to growth deepened into something tangible. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communications, along with triple minors in sociology, business administration, and business management. What he learned as a Parole Project client also helped him navigate his new world.
“I learned how to communicate better and how to pivot during stressful situations,” he said. “My time there taught me to open my mind, take a breath and not be so impulsive. The staff there had the biggest impact on me. They had open hearts and minds, and just knowing the people who worked there experienced what I did was awesome. I felt empowered when I left.”
While Dutch was incarcerated, his ex-wife along with her family raised Caleb and Kelsey in a stable and loving environment “Her family was solid, loving and forgiving,” he said, “and I’m so thankful for that.” In October 2025 – just two months after his release – Dutch walked Kelsey down the aisle at her wedding, an emotional milestone for them both. Today, Caleb serves in the National Guard and is on track to be promoted to captain, while Kelsey is a teacher, newly married, and the mother of a baby girl named Lainey. He is close with his ex-wife and kids who live in Shreveport and the recklessness he once felt when he was younger is now replaced with peace and self-love. He measures success not by what he owns, but by how he feels, who he loves, and the ability to be present and thoughtful.
“I feel serenity and peace every day, and it wasn’t always like that,” he said. “I can honestly say I’ve learned how to forgive myself and love myself. I appreciate the people around me, and I have a strong, healthy relationship with the ones I love.”
