

San Quentin residents Gerard Trent, left, and journalist Kevin Sawyer, right, at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in San Quentin, Calif. (Kevin Sawyer/Bay City News)
SAN QUENTIN, Calif. – After serving 53 years of continuous incarceration in California prisons, Gerard Trent Jr., 78, paroled in October 2023 from San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.
Trent was an old-school “convict” from a bygone era of prison, when punishment was the purpose of incarceration and violence ruled the day.
“When I came into the system, people were going to test you, to see if you were up to the challenge,” Trent said.
Highly respected by many of those who did time with him, Trent’s story is one of determination and perseverance. However, by…