Rick Gardner (L), Mano Gonzalez (R)
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO) – A man who spent 28 years in prison says he is doing very well after being released from the State Penitentiary in Bismarck nearly a year-and-a-half ago.
Last May, KFGO News told the story of Mano Gonzalez, a man sentenced to life in prison for crimes committed in Oregon. Gonzalez was granted parole in December of 2023 and became a free man in February 2024.
After his release, Rough Rider Industries – a self-funded manufacturing facility that employs North Dakota prison inmates – hired Gonzalez as a supervisor of the men he once served time with.
Today, Gonzalez is married, owns a pickup, and is enjoying his freedom, adjusting to life outside the walls of the prison he spent so many years in.
Rough Rider Industries Director Rick Gardner said even though Gonzalez is from Oregon, he chose to stay in North Dakota.
“He’s seen a lot more opportunity for him here in North Dakota than there was back in Oregon,” Gardner said. “I guess, if you’re going to start your life with a clean slate, what better place to start it at than here in North Dakota where… this was a new community to him. It offered him a chance for a fresh start.”
Gonzalez has also moved on to another career.
“Mano worked here at Rough Rider Industries for approximately six months (and) had just made his probationary period when he decided that there was better opportunities as far as pay and hours offered. So, Mano chose to leave Rough Rider Industries and took a position with a contractor in the state,” Gardner said. “He’s doing very well. He checks in with me about every six months. He said things are going good.”
Gardner said he always finds it amazing that men who went through the Rough Rider Industries program continue to check in after leaving prison.
“You would think, ‘once they get out of prison, they’d want to leave that part of their life totally in the rear-view mirror,’ but I have guys all the time stopping in, calling me, just giving me updates on how they’re doing,” Gardner said. “So, it kind of makes me feel like we actually had a positive impact in their life that, once they’re out and doing well, that they keep us in the loop as to how they’re doing and (they) seem very appreciative for the opportunity that they receive while they were incarcerated.”
Gardner said Gonzalez is still adjusting to the high cost of living, but is saving to buy a house.
Gonzalez told Gardner he’s amazed by how much time people spend on their phones.
Comments