Marlon King

Marlon first came to the First 72+ as a housing client after serving 24 years in Angola State Penitentiary. While incarcerated at Angola, Marlon worked as a re-entry coach, preparing inmates to re-enter society. He also received his Associates and Bachelors degrees in Christian Counseling, worked and mentored in the eye clinic, and volunteered at the hospice center in Angola. Marlon knew that upon release, he wanted to continue the mentorship work he had done behind bars.

Directly after his release in 2022, Marlon found himself back in prison – not as an inmate, but as an instructor and mentor. For two and half years, Marlon worked at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility as a culinary instructor for inmates. 

Marlon joined our team as a re-entry coach in June of 2025, bringing his wealth of experience to our clients. His favorite part of his job is speaking in classes and doing what he calls “sidewalk counseling,” which is providing an informal space for clients to hear his experience and share his own. He says of his job: “It makes me feel like I’m coaching the old me. I’m encouraging myself. ‘You can be better than this – prison is not your destination.’”

Outside of work, Marlon likes to spend time looking at the river out on the levees and throwing rocks in the water. This was one of the things he used to tell people in prison he was excited to do once released.

He also finds joy in things that people who haven’t been directly impacted by the carceral system might take for granted. He says, “Society is where you pay bills and get stuck in traffic… and I like that!”

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