Jessica Hicklin learned how to code without the internet while serving what she thought would be a life sentence in Potosi Correctional Center for a murder she committed at age 16.
When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that juveniles cannot be given mandatory life sentences without parole, Hicklin had a path to freedom. In 2022, she left prison with a fully operational tech company that she founded while she was there, alongside fellow detainee Chris Santillan and prison educator Haley Shoaf.
Unlocked Labs started as a service that taught people in prison how to code. While it still offers that service, it’s expanded into much more.
“We enable skills, fundamental skills like emotional regulation, cognitive behavior therapy,” Hicklin said. “It's so important that folks who are involved in what can be a traumatic system, have that ability to not only survive, but to actually thrive.”
Unlocked Labs provides secure software on computers for detainees to access educational content, including parenting advice, meditation and even guitar lessons. It is available in state prisons in five states across the country, and the St. Louis City Justice Center is the first jail to receive the service.
Unlocked Labs and the CJC collaborated with the St. Louis Office of Violence Prevention on this initiative. It was funded by a $175,000 grant from the office.
“We have the ability to really work together to help individuals discover who they are when they're in a place where they have a lot of time to think about a lot of different things,” said Office of Violence Prevention spokesman Brett DeLaria.
Hicklin said Unlocked Labs shifts the environment at the CJC and all of the prisons it has rolled out in.
“When you start introducing education and hope and opportunity … the conversation shifts,” Hicklin said. “The entire culture of the place itself shifts from one of trauma and punishment to hope and healing.”
To hear more from Hicklin and DeLaria, plus firsthand perspective from jail residents using Unlocked Labs, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube, or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
