Two years after coming home, Hudson Link alum Bruce Bryan returned to prison—this time, in Kenya.

In a country where the right to an attorney is not guaranteed, many are stuck in remand for years without ever stepping foot in a courtroom. But Justice Defenders, a nonprofit registered both in the US and UK in partnership with the University of London, is changing that. They train incarcerated people and prison officers to become paralegals, with some even becoming licensed lawyers. These legal advocates—while still serving their sentences—then file motions, appeal sentences, and stand before judges on behalf of themselves and other incarcerated people.

As the US Ambassador to Justice Defenders—and a champion for bringing higher legal education to New York—Bruce visited four prisons in Nairobi to share his story, forge new alliances, and lay the groundwork for powerful partnerships. In each facility, he stood before rooms packed with 200 incarcerated women and men—each eager to hear from an American who had once lived behind bars.

Bruce spoke of the hope he held onto during his 29 years of imprisonment for a crime he did not commit. He shared how education became his lifeline, and how, with the help of Hudson Link, he earned his college degrees. He called the women and men before him his sisters and brothers. “Their struggles,” he said, “were his struggles.” And that “what affects them,” he reminded the crowd, “ripples across oceans—to New York, to America, to everywhere justice is still being fought for.”

Traveling alongside Bruce was Peter Stern, Hudson Link supporter and CFO of the Brooklyn Nets. After years of teaching financial literacy inside Sing Sing and Bedford Hills Correctional Facilities, Peter set out to learn from other prison-based programs—this time, abroad. His goal: to bring these insights home, and help shape how the NBA and the Brooklyn Nets deepen their commitment to criminal justice reform.

They were also joined by journalist Anderson Cooper, who was filming a CNN documentary about the work of Justice Defenders, set to air in December 2025.

‍For Bruce, it was a full-circle moment.

In 2020, while still incarcerated at Sing Sing, he had watched Cooper’s 60 Minutes story on Justice Defenders. Moved and inspired, he placed the organization on his vision board and made a quiet vow: one day, he would stand in Africa and shake the hands of incarcerated lawyers and paralegals.

‍Now, that vision is a reality.

*Editors Note: We'd like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Hudson Link Alumnus Bruce Bryan, Babita Patel, and the Justice Defenders for generously sharing their firsthand accounts and experiences on such a transformational journey. This story will certainly bridge gaps across the diaspora and beyond, inspiring us all.

(Photos: Courtesy of Babita Patel Photography)