Dean Thomas

Home After 18 Years

In 2002, Dean Thomas was convicted of first-degree residential burglary.  Under the “Three-Strikes Law,” Mr. Thomas was sentenced to a total of 68 years-to-life in prison. When the court gave Mr.  Thomas his life sentence, he presented as a person whose life was dominated by addiction, and it was not clear whether he would ever be able to get out from under its looming weight.

Against all odds, Mr. Thomas has written a different story.  Mr. Thomas quickly began the long journey to recovery.  He was diagnosed correctly and finally began receiving the correct treatment. Once he began the difficult work of mental health recovery, Mr. Thomas became a changed man. 

He participated in numerous mental health programs that were designed to increase his self-awareness and compassion.  Mr. Thomas applied these skills every day by rescuing birds that got caught in the barbed-wire fences at the prison; he was known affectionately as “the Birdman” among fellow incarcerated people.

In July 2020, at the recommendation of Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen, Mr. Thomas was resentenced. When he was released, Mr. Thomas was 57 years old and had 50 years-to-life remaining on his sentence. Today, he lives with his mother and step-father, working to become a traveling mechanic. He still returns to the gates outside the prison to feed his birds every week.