Nightmare Success In and Out

What happens if your worst fear becomes your reality? Brent Cassity was a successful CEO working in a family business that grew to a national company that was recognized by the media of being the pioneers in their industry. Brent had it all and lost it all. He found himself standing at the gates of Leavenworth Prison to serve a 5 year sentence. Brent’s podcast explores the stories of inmates who were in and now out of prison. What was life like before they went in, life inside prison, and life now that they are back home. These conversations are deep, sad. often funny, but always interesting.

Latest Episodes:

Lathan Word: Wrongfully Convicted, Never Defeated | 12 Years to Freedom Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

What happens when you’re five days away from Marine Corps basic training—and instead begin a nearly 12-year fight for freedom?

Lathan Word joins Brent Cassity on Nightmare Success In and Out to share his wrongful conviction story. Sentenced to 15 years for an armed robbery he didn’t commit, Lathan refused to plead guilty and began studying the law behind bars. Years later, the witness against him admitted he had been lying—and Lathan finally walked free.

Lathan opens up about surviving prison violence, losing loved ones, finding strength through faith, and rebuilding after exoneration. We also discuss his memoir, Surviving the Curse: One False Move, and his work helping others through Right Your Conviction.

His message: When you find your way out of the maze, go back and show someone else the exit.

Learn more about Lathan and his book: lathanword.com

Subscribe to Nightmare Success In and Out for powerful conversations about survival, resilience, and second chances.

Show sponsors: Navigating the challenges of white-collar crime? The White-Collar Support Group at Prisonist.org offers guidance, resources, and a community for those affected at prisonist.org. Protect your online reputation with Discoverability! Use code NIGHTMARE SUCCESS for an exclusive discount Visit Discoverability.co. Auto Plaza Direct "Your personal car concierge!" Let them handle every detail to find your perfect car autoplazadirect.com. Author Saffron Gustafson www.mynameissaffron.com, "My Name is Saffron." Author Nevin Shetty, "Second Chance Economics: How Hiring The Formerly Incarcerated Can Unlock $1 Trillion in GDP." www.secondchanceeconomics.com

From Wall Street to Federal Prison: How Failure Rebuilt Pierre Rogers Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Pierre Rogers rose from childhood poverty to become one of the youngest senior vice presidents at Columbia Management, Bank of America’s asset-management division. By age 30, he had achieved his dream of owning a home and a Ferrari—but success, money and ambition came with a cost.

After leaving institutional finance to become a technology entrepreneur, Pierre became involved in a federal case connected to fraudulent PPP loan applications. He received a 42-month sentence at Federal Correctional Complex Lompoc.

In this revealing conversation with Brent Cassity, Pierre discusses the frightening call that changed his life, the role his ego played in his rise, the wife who stood beside him and the system he created to keep prison from defining him. He also explains why serving others became part of his healing and how his upcoming book, Built by Failures, challenges us to see failure as something that can rebuild us.

Can the worst failure of your life become the experience that finally reveals who you were meant to be?

Learn more about Pierre and Built by Failures at BuiltByFailures.com.

Subscribe to Nightmare Success In and Out for honest stories about adversity, incarceration, accountability, resilience and second chances.

Dickie Scruggs: King of Torts | From Billions to Federal Prison & Redemption Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

He was known as the "King of Torts"—one of America's most powerful trial lawyers, who helped take on Big Tobacco in historic multibillion-dollar litigation. Then came a federal investigation, a guilty plea, and a six-year federal prison sentence.

What happens when a man who seemingly had everything loses his freedom, reputation, and purpose?

In this revealing conversation on Nightmare Success In and Out, host Brent Cassity sits down with legendary Mississippi attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs for a rare interview about extraordinary success, devastating failure, surviving federal prison, and discovering a new reason to get up every morning.

From his college nickname "Zeus" and flying Navy fighter jets to representing thousands of asbestos victims, battling tobacco companies, and taking on insurance companies after Hurricane Katrina, Scruggs lived an extraordinary life before everything changed.

But the most inspiring chapter may have come afterward.

While incarcerated, Dickie discovered a renewed sense of purpose teaching math and helping fellow inmates earn their GEDs. That experience eventually inspired Second Chance Mississippi, his nonprofit helping adults pursue education, workforce training, and better opportunities.

Dickie opens up about life behind prison walls, the importance of family, rebuilding after public disgrace, and why helping others has become one of the most meaningful accomplishments of his life.

This isn't just a story about the fall of the King of Torts. It's a story about what happens when you refuse to let your worst chapter become your final chapter.

Subscribe to Nightmare Success In and Out for extraordinary true stories of resilience, redemption, and second chances.

Life After Prison: Ending the White Collar Life Sentence | Jeff Grant & Drew Chapin Oct 05, 2026

Show notes

The prison gates open. But does the sentence really end?

Jeff Grant and Drew Chapin join Brent Cassity to explore the lasting consequences of a white collar conviction—from career barriers and damaged reputations to isolation and the emotional weight of starting over.

They reveal why the White Collar Support Group has become a lifeline before, during, and after prison—and how connection helps people rebuild meaningful lives.

This episode previews the October 10 White Collar Conference, “Ending the White Collar Life Sentence,” featuring keynote speakers Josh Smith, former Deputy Director of the Bureau of Prisons who also served a federal prison sentence, and former attorney Dickie Scruggs, known as the “King of Torts.” Scruggs joins Brent for a fireside conversation about his criminal justice journey.

The conference also explores rebuilding careers, pardons, federal expungement advocacy, and reclaiming your story in the age of AI.

A powerful conversation about accountability, belonging, and second chances. Every sentence should have a period.

Conference information: https://whitecollarconference.com

The Death Row Artist Who Helped Solve Cold Cases | William Noguera Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

William “Bill” Noguera was 18 years old when he committed a murder he neither minimizes nor excuses. Sentenced to death, he would spend approximately 42 years incarcerated—but behind the walls of San Quentin, Bill began rebuilding his identity through accountability, education, service, and art.

Working from a prison cell, he became an internationally acclaimed, award-winning artist and the author of Escape Artist. He also created Death Row Diaries, mentored other prisoners, and developed a rare understanding of criminal behavior.

Bill later spent years earning the trust of convicted serial killer Joseph Naso, documenting more than 300 pages of conversations about potential victims and unsolved murders. After contacting cold-case investigator Ken Mains, their extraordinary partnership became the foundation for Oxygen and Peacock’s Death Row Confidential: Secrets of a Serial Killer. Bill tells that story in his award-winning book, Through the Lens of a Monster.

Now free after more than four decades, Bill joins Brent Cassity to discuss his childhood, crime, death sentence, artistic transformation, cold-case work, release, and the difficult meaning of genuine rehabilitation. It is a remarkable conversation about owning irreversible harm while choosing to make the life that remains mean something.

WILLIAM NOGUERA'S BOOKS

📕 Through the Lens of a Monster⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FGGYJZ9B⁠

📘 Escape Artist⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HG7QV2SK

He Met Him in a Cage on Death Row: William Noguera & Walt Pavlo’s Unlikely Friendship Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

In 2013, Forbes contributor and former federal prisoner Walt Pavlo walked onto San Quentin’s Death Row and into a cage with William Noguera—a man who had been condemned to die.

Neither expected that meeting to become a friendship lasting more than a decade.

William would spend nearly four decades on Death Row before walking free in 2025. Along the way, he became an accomplished artist and bestselling author and developed extraordinary relationships with serial killers, gathering information connected to solving decades-old cold cases. That work that ultimately became part of the Oxygen television series with William Noguera and FBI Investigator Ken Mains: Death Row Confidential: Secrets of a Serial Killer.

Walt had traveled a very different road—from a white-collar conviction and federal prison to becoming a prolific Forbes writer covering crime, punishment, and the criminal justice system. Walt is also the founder of Prisonology.com, an expert firm that assists attorneys and defendants in navigating the federal criminal justice system.

Now, William and Walt sit down together with Brent Cassity to tell the story of an unlikely friendship born inside a cage on Death Row—and how that friendship ultimately made it to the other side.

WILLIAM NOGUERA'S BOOKS

📕 Through the Lens of a Monster
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FGGYJZ9B

📘 Escape Artist
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HG7QV2SK

WALT PAVLO / PRISONOLOGY

⚖️ Prisonology — Helping attorneys and defendants navigate the federal criminal justice system
https://www.prisonology.com

60 Years in Prison. A Governor’s Pardon. Sam Harris’s Second Chance Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

Samuel E. Harris went from serving his country in the U.S. Army to battling addiction and receiving a 60-year prison sentence. More than 24 years later, a rare gubernatorial pardon gave him a second chance at freedom.

Sam joins Brent Cassity on Nightmare Success In and Out to share the military trauma that changed his life, the choices that led to prison, and the transformation that began behind bars. He opens up about founding an inmate-led recovery group, helping others pursue clemency, surviving the denial of his own pardon, and the emotional journey of returning home after nearly 25 years.

Now an author, speaker, veteran advocate, and co-founder of the Reentry and Recovery Alliance, Sam is using his experience to help others navigate recovery, reentry, and the legal system.

A powerful conversation about accountability, faith, perseverance, and the belief that no one should be defined solely by their worst day.

From Addiction and Prison to Award-Winning Journalist | Ryan Moser Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

Addiction cost Ryan Moser his marriage, his freedom, and precious years with his son. After cycling through juvenile detention and prison, he received a 10-year Florida sentence for a crime committed while addicted to pain pills.

Behind the walls, Ryan picked up a pen—and discovered the purpose he had been searching for his entire life. With little formal education and no journalism background, he became an award-winning writer, published approximately 250 pieces while incarcerated, and emerged from prison as a professional journalist.

Today, Ryan’s work has appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Marshall Project, Slate, Condé Nast Traveler, and other national publications. Now 12 years sober, he shares how writing saved his life, how he rebuilt his relationship with his son, and why lasting change requires going all in every single day.

This is a powerful conversation about addiction, incarceration, fatherhood, purpose, redemption, and turning the worst chapter of your life into the beginning of something extraordinary.

“I Ran Out of Tomorrows”: From Luxury Interior Designer to Federal Prison | Jennifer Michele Helm Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

Jennifer Michele Helm built a successful career designing luxury homes and believed she had finally made it. But behind the beautiful interiors and public image, her business and personal life were unraveling.

Jennifer had already survived one extraordinary nightmare. At 29, a devastating stroke caused by three holes in her heart took away her ability to speak and write. She fought her way back, recovered her voice, and rebuilt her design career.

Years later, financial mismanagement, denial, alcohol, and decisions she now accepts responsibility for led to federal charges. Jennifer pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and received a 51-month federal prison sentence.

In this candid conversation, Jennifer recounts the FBI investigation, her unexpected arrest, 13 months in county jail, Con Air, federal prison, and the painful separation from her children. She also explains how treatment, faith, meditation, radical accountability, and teaching yoga and Pilates to other incarcerated women helped her discover a new purpose.

Now the founder of ARCI Wellness, Jennifer is rebuilding her life only months after leaving prison. The woman who once designed homes for others is learning how to redesign herself.

Sentenced to 40 Years—He Became the Jailhouse Lawyer Who Set Himself Free | Chad Marks Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

At 24 years old, Chad Marks received a 40-year federal prison sentence. Facing the possibility of spending most of his life behind bars, he began teaching himself the law and became a respected jailhouse lawyer—helping other incarcerated men pursue sentence reductions and compassionate release.

Chad eventually turned that knowledge toward his own case. After the First Step Act changed the sentencing laws used against him, his sentence was reduced from 40 years to 20 years. In 2020, after serving approximately 17 years, he walked free.

Today, Chad is the author of Blood on the Razor Wire, a paralegal, prison consultant, podcast host and criminal justice advocate. He joins Brent Cassity to discuss surviving dangerous federal prisons, enduring solitary confinement, discovering purpose behind the wall and helping write his own path to freedom.

This is the remarkable reinvention of Chad Marks.

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