Ron Pierce’s Journey

By Ronald W. Pierce

In mid-January, Truthdig published an autobiographical series in which Ronald W. Pierce traces his life from childhood to his murder conviction, a long prison incarceration and his eventual return to a free life. In these seven extraordinary installments, Pierce writes candidly about being sexually abused as a child, about the night he killed a man, about his more than three decades behind bars and in halfway houses, and about his struggle to adjust after his release. Pierce is now completing work on a Bachelor of Arts degree at Rutgers University, where he is an honors student majoring in justice studies with a minor in sociology.

Here are the links to the seven articles of the “Going Home” series. New readers will gain insight into an often hidden world, and repeat readers will re-experience Pierce’s emotional roller-coaster ride.

Part 1: Innocence Lost—From Abused Child to Convicted Murderer

Part 2: Welcome to Prison, and Rediscovering Humanity

Part 3: The End of Incarceration

Part 4: Restarting Life in a Halfway House

Part 5: Back to School and a Sense of Renewal

Part 6: Out of the Halfway House, and Then a Scare

Part 7: A Freed Felon’s Hard and Perilous Path