How an Incarcerated Software Engineer Got Hired by a VC-Backed Startup
What happens when raw talent meets a second chance? For Preston Thorpe, the answer is a groundbreaking opportunity as an incarcerated software engineer working full-time for a San Francisco-based tech startup. This remarkable story highlights the power of redemption, the impact of remote work programs for prisoners, and how the tech industry is slowly embracing non-traditional candidates. As more startups explore hiring incarcerated developers through experimental rehabilitation programs, Thorpe’s experience raises both hope and important questions about access, trust, and transformation.
Programs like the one Thorpe joined in Maine aren’t widespread—but their growing success stories could help reshape not only the prison system but also how tech companies think about recruitment, equity, and inclusivity. By placing Thorpe's accomplishments within the broader context of tech, criminal justice reform, and employment innovation, we better understand the value that hidden talents can bring to the industry.
Second Chances Through Code: The Rise of Incarcerated Software Engineers
Thorpe’s work began as a volunteer contributor to an open-source project by database startup Turso. His performance impressed CEO Glauber Costa so deeply that he offered Thorpe a job—even before fully understanding his background. The CEO later discovered that Thorpe wasn’t a remote digital nomad living abroad but rather a man serving an 11-year sentence for drug-related charges. Rather than backtracking, Costa chose to lean into Thorpe’s talent and resilience, making him a full-time remote employee from within prison walls.
This breakthrough was made possible by Maine’s experimental remote work program for incarcerated individuals. It’s part of a growing trend in the U.S. criminal justice system where certain facilities allow eligible prisoners to participate in full-time, rehabilitative tech jobs. These programs are not only helping to reduce recidivism but also challenging society’s perception of who deserves a seat at the digital table.
Thorpe’s journey also offers critical lessons for tech recruiters and VC firms that often pride themselves on innovation but rarely think outside the typical pedigree pipeline. His skills—nurtured behind bars—weren’t honed at MIT or Stanford, but through self-taught discipline, GitHub contributions, and genuine curiosity. For companies that claim to value results over resumes, his story is a call to action.
Breaking the Cycle: From Selling Drugs to Building Databases
Before his life as an incarcerated software engineer, Thorpe's trajectory was marked by hardship. Kicked out of his home during his teenage years, he found himself navigating survival through illegal means. His eventual imprisonment came after a series of missteps, including selling drugs sourced from the dark web. After serving time and attempting to reintegrate, he was arrested again just over a year later, a clear reflection of systemic failures to support reentry into society.
But a transfer to Maine’s Mountain View Correctional Facility just before the pandemic became the turning point. The state’s progressive prison employment policies opened up a path he never expected. He rekindled his hope, regained his drive, and leaned into coding. For many like Thorpe, tech offers not only a career but a lifeline—an opportunity to contribute meaningfully while rebuilding self-worth and gaining independence, even from within the confines of a prison cell.
Thorpe's honesty about his journey—from describing his past choices as "idiotic" to openly crediting the prison’s support system—adds a layer of authenticity often missing in the polished world of tech narratives. His is not a tale of overnight success but one of gradual rebuilding, fueled by access, mentorship, and a willingness to change.
Why Tech Startups Should Consider Hiring Incarcerated Software Engineers
Thorpe’s story underscores a powerful and often untapped resource in the tech industry: the pool of incarcerated individuals with the potential to become skilled contributors. As remote work culture becomes more normalized post-pandemic, geographic and institutional barriers are weakening. If a startup can hire someone from halfway around the world, why not someone from behind bars—especially when they bring the same, if not higher, levels of motivation and grit?
Startups like Turso that are willing to rethink hiring norms could benefit not just from positive PR but from accessing passionate, loyal workers who often go above and beyond to prove themselves. Furthermore, embracing talent from non-traditional backgrounds also strengthens a company’s ethical standing and commitment to social impact—factors that today’s consumers, partners, and investors increasingly value.
There are logistical challenges, of course—limited hours, monitoring systems, and legal restrictions—but the benefits of giving incarcerated developers like Thorpe a chance far outweigh the hurdles. From reduced recidivism and lower prison costs to improved morale and innovation in the workplace, such collaborations offer a rare win-win across the board.
As America rethinks criminal justice and workforce development, the success of this incarcerated software engineer provides a compelling blueprint for how both sectors can converge for real, measurable change. Thorpe’s story isn’t just inspiring—it’s instructive.
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