Owen Hanson, a former USC football player who became known as the "Cocaine Quarterback" for his role in logistics for a Mexican drug cartel, has credited President Donald Trump's First Step Act with providing him a second chance after earning time off his federal prison sentence.
Hanson shared his experience on "My View with Lara Trump," explaining that the First Step Act, enacted in 2018, significantly altered how incarcerated individuals perceived rehabilitation by rewarding participation in educational programs and activities aimed at reducing recidivism.
Before the law's passage, Hanson stated that federal inmates typically expected to serve at least 85% of their sentences with limited avenues for early release. The prospect of earning sentence reductions through good behavior and educational pursuits, he said, instilled a renewed sense of purpose among inmates.
"I remember when the counselor called me in his office," Hanson recalled. "He said, 'Owen, you've earned three years off your sentence for going back to school and getting your degree.' He said, 'You also earned another two years of halfway house.' And I was like, 'Wow, you have hope.'"
Hanson recounted his journey from his time playing football for USC to his involvement with a cartel, which led to a 10-year prison sentence. "They gave me ultimatum. They said, 'We're going to either kill you or you're going work for us and pay it back,' and I became their logistics coordinator, 'the signal caller' for this cartel that I won't name a name, but I had to work for them, and it cost me 10 years of my life in prison," he shared.
While incarcerated, Hanson earned a master's degree. He stated that the First Step Act helped prepare him for life after prison, where he now speaks to student-athletes about the risks associated with drugs and criminal activity.
"It's a very humbling experience, and in the beginning when the judge sentenced you to nearly two decades in prison, and they tell you it's time to rehabilitate, you kind of wonder, and you look at yourself in the mirror while you're in your prison cell and maybe the judge is doing me a favor," Hanson said. "And I tell people [that] prison's the best thing that could have happened to me, [it] saved my life. [I was] able to get sober, get my master's degree, come out and help others is like the biggest flex for me."