Sheena Eastburn
- PausePlay Childhood: “I was in my first drug rehab by the time I was 12.”
- PausePlay Domestic violence: “She was afraid he was gonna kill me.”
- PausePlay Crime: “As a teenager, you really don’t think of the consequences.”
- PausePlay Turning point: “Even if I was going to spend the rest of my life in prison, I was going to be the best person I could possibly be.”
Sheena Eastburn is a paralegal at a law firm, specializing in criminal cases. She founded two non-profits, Show Me Justice for All, an advocacy group; and P.R.E.P for Release, a reentry program. She is also a student, working towards a communications degree with emphasis in human conflict. While incarcerated, she was the Christian facilitator in Chillicothe State Prison for five years and started a ministry program called “Fired Up.” Once out, she founded Prison Did Not Break Me, a support group for people seeking to succeed in life after prison. She speaks to youth about her life at Teen Challenge forums. An animal lover, Sheena is on the board of the East Newton Animal Coalition Animal Rescue.
At age 17, she was prosecuted as an adult, convicted of murder, and sentenced to life without parole. Sheena attributes her personal growth to the many self-help classes she attended, with a focus on the impact of violence on victims, understanding domestic violence, and anger management.
In 2015, Sheena was resentenced as a result of the US Supreme Court’s ruling on life without parole sentences for children, and additionally, important new evidence was presented in her case. She was paroled in 2017 after serving 25 years in prison.
Sheena’s philosophy about leading is grounded in a belief that one should never stop growing: “A great leader teaches how to lead, while always remaining teachable themselves.”
