An award-winning journalist, Kerry cut his teeth in print and radio news while attending LSU and Nicholls State University. After graduating with a degree in communications and journalism he joined an industrial instrumentation company to develop and produce training programs. Later, he started his own communications consulting firm.
He joined Parole Project shortly after its inception, first as a volunteer when there was no paid staff and then as full-time communications director in January 2018. He was named deputy director in July of that year.
In April 1990, Kerry was sentenced to life in prison for a crime that he, the victim’s family, and the investigating detective maintain he did not commit. With their unwavering support, he received a commutation of sentence three days before Christmas 2016, securing his immediate release.
While incarcerated, Kerry joined the staff of the Angolite magazine in 1996 and was named editor in 2001. As editor, the magazine’s reporting earned national recognition with the Thurgood Marshall Journalism Award in 2007. In 2011, Kerry won the PASS Award for Journalism from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. The magazine also won three APEX Awards of Excellence for Magazine and Journal Writing. His 2011-2012 three-part series on the history of women in Louisiana’s penal system received widespread critical acclaim.
In 2019, he was a contributing author on “The Meaning of Life,” a book about the use of life without parole sentences, and in 2020 he was named a finalist for the New Orleans Press Club Award for Feature Writing for his article “View From A Windowless Room” in 64 Parishes Magazine. He also speaks on reentry and criminal justice issues.
In addition to his work with Parole Project, he is Represent Justice Ambassadors alumnus, was named to the advisory board of the American Prison Newspaper Project, serves on the board of the Louisiana State Penitentiary Museum and Cultural Center, and on the Louisiana Board of Regents’ Untapped Talent Steering Committee to improve employment and career opportunities for formerly incarcerated people.