He Went to Prison at 19. His Work Fighting Wildfires Helped Set Him Free

A man who entered prison as a teenager is getting a second chance after spending much of his adult life working to become someone very different from the young man who committed a fatal crime nearly two decades ago.

James LaRon Ellis was 18 when he fatally shot 20-year-old Javon Holden in Lakewood in 2008 and 19 when he entered prison. But at a resentencing hearing Friday in Tacoma, Pierce County Superior Court Judge Stanley Rumbaugh ordered Ellis released after roughly 17 years behind bars, according to The News Tribune.

What helped make that possible was what Ellis did with those years. While incarcerated, he completed numerous job-training programs and became a wildland firefighter through a Washington Department of Natural Resources program, leaving prison to help protect homes and communities from wildfires before returning to his cell. Rumbaugh described that work — doing something dangerous and difficult and then returning to prison — as “remarkable.”

One of Ellis' attorneys told the court that firefighting allowed him to experience a world he had barely known. He spent days working in communities, saw the ocean for the first time and was welcomed by residents for the work he was doing — only to return afterward to life as a prisoner. “He’s greeted as a hero by the community, and he returns to prison, where he’s treated like a prisoner,” attorney Kelsey Page told the court.

The decision to release Ellis involved more than his firefighting record. The judge considered his age and circumstances at the time of the crime, his childhood and an extensive record of rehabilitation during his incarceration. Even prosecutors acknowledged that work, recommending a new sentence that would have put his release only another 33 months away. Rumbaugh ultimately concluded he didn't see what those additional months would accomplish that the previous 17-plus years hadn't already done.

When Ellis finally understood that the judge was ordering him released immediately, friends and loved ones watching the hearing celebrated. Ellis appeared overwhelmed. “I’m thankful,” he told the court, adding that he planned to continue growing and “give back to the community in a big way.”

The News Tribune has the full story of Ellis' crime, the unusual legal path that brought him back before a judge, and the life he hopes to build after prison. Read it here.