S4E1: A Beautiful Pain: Accountability and Transformation with Damon "Sharuka" Venable

from Just Justice · host jessicahenryjustice

On this episode of Just Justice, Damon "Sharuka" Venable, Community Affairs and Policy Specialist with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, shares his journey from a Newark childhood marked by poverty and street violence to spending 35 years in prison before being granted parole on his first attempt. Drawing from his memoir, A Beautiful Pain, Sharuka reflects on accountability, survival, education, and the long process of personal transformation behind prison walls. He also explains why he believes that people must be seen as more than the worst thing they have ever done. Links: You can order Sharuka's memoir, A Beautiful Pain, here: https://transformativereentry.com/ For more about Jessica Henry, go to [email protected]. Or sign up for her newsletter at https://jessicahenryjustice.substack.com/subscribe. Production Editor: Kaz Araki

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This episode is 50 minutes long.

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This episode was published on May 12, 2026.

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