*A February interview with Rayshard Brooks, in which he discusses the challenges of life after incarceration and expresses a desire for redemption and a better life, surfaced Wednesday, four days after he was shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer.
The interview was given to a company called Reconnect, which focuses on fighting incarceration. The 27-year-old answered a Craigslist ad from the company looking for people to share their stories about navigating the criminal justice system.
CNN obtained the 40-minute interview with an assist from its political commentator Van Jones, who said a colleague in the criminal justice field entrusted it to him.
“You get treated like an animal,” he said in the video regarding life behind bars. He also speaks candidly about the “mistake” that put him there.
“I just feel like some of the system could, you know, look at us as individuals. We do have lives, you know, was just a mistake we made, you know, and, you know, not, not just do us, as if we are animals. You know lock us away, he said.”
Brooks said he was arrested for false imprisonment and financial credit card fraud. He said his public defender told him he could get 10 years, so he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in prison.
Watch CNN’s entire report below.
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