Call me by my name, and other exercises in empathy from the local prison in Soledad.

Agata Popęda
January 19, 2023

SERGIO ZARAZUA IS 37 NOW, AND HE HAS BEEN LOCKED UP SINCE HE WAS 15. He keeps his head and face clean-shaven, which makes his already large eyes look even bigger and deeper. When asked to write down his name, he adds his prison number. He wants to be helpful.

It was a second-degree murder and attempted voluntary manslaughter conviction in Sacramento over two decades ago. Then another conviction arrived, for the same incident – shooting at an occupied vehicle and after, some years later, it was confirmed the crime was gang-related.

The first story he shares in the circle – just a few chairs, some inmates, some civilians – is about getting to where he is at the moment, the Facility’s B Level II Sensitive Needs Yard in the Correctional Training Facility, Soledad. Before that transfer five years ago, he spent 10 years in other prisons, including adjacent Salinas Valley State Prison.

“The sergeant asked me about my name,” Zarazua says, glowing with every sentence even though the smiling is done mostly with his eyes.

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