The Beat: New Podcast Episode Featuring Andre Norman

The change began in the early 1990’s. Andre Norman lay in the dimness of a small cell in a Massachusetts prison, contemplating the darkness of his life. His path included a rough childhood, incarceration, ascending to the level of prison boss, and then realizing he was the King of Nothing, before turning his life around and helping others avoid traveling the same road.

His transformation began during a two-and-a-half-year stint in solitary confinement. Other inmates in the unit had reputations within as violent and incorrigible, which made them highly respected in the prison. But Norman saw that somewhere around 16 months in solitary confinement, even these respected peers began having emotional problems.

He watched one inmate begin smearing himself with feces and howling at the moon. Another began cutting himself, a third started setting his cell on fire while locked inside, and otherwise “solid” inmates began needing medications to make it through their remaining time in confinement.

To avoid what seemed an inevitable mental decline, Norman began regularly reading the newspaper and determining how he would solve the problems he read about from different vantage points. “There is a homeless problem—if I’m the mayor, what do I do? If I’m the police chief, what do I do? If I’m the head of a homeless NGO [nongovernmental organization], what do I do? If I’m homeless, what do I do?” What began as an exercise to keep his mind active ultimately helped Norman view himself and his actions through a different lens.

These exercises and other elements of his journey are at the root of Norman’s transformation from a violent and influential prison gang boss to the Ambassador of Hope. In 2024, as a result of critical self-examination, counseling, support from others, uncompromising drive and hard work, he is a different man. The 18-year-old who received eight concurrent sentences, with the longest being 15–20 years, has transitioned into a man who now works with law enforcement agencies and correctional institutions to address violence and victimization.

Through his Academy of Hope organization, Norman provides training for correctional staff and operates the No Entry Program for Youth, which focuses on changing lives before prison becomes an inevitable destination. He originated Boston’s violence interrupter program and has worked throughout the country and internationally. “I wake up every morning and have a simple policy. Who can I help today? I walk out my door with the full intent of helping somebody and there is not a day, over these last 24 years, that I haven’t found somebody that I can help in some capacity,” says Norman.

His interview with The Beat, the COPS Office’s podcast series, is both interesting and informative. He explains things and presents remedies from a perspective that is not what you may be used to hearing. Be it reducing gun crime and youth violence, establishing impactful violence interrupter programs, or how the formerly incarcerated can best work with law enforcement, you are guaranteed to learn something new.

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