Babis Theologis, the Greek man who has spent the longest time in prison without having committed homicide, marks 2.5 years of freedom after serving 31 years in Greek and U.S. prisons. Speaking to Proto Thema and the TV show “Proti Lexi” (“First Word”) with Antonis Sroiter, he describes the immense challenges of returning to normal life, the brutality behind bars, and his mission to deter young people from criminal behavior.

Reintegrating into society proved deeply unsettling. “I used to lock my bedroom door before sleeping. Only then did I feel safe,” he says. “I came out into a world that had moved forward by thirty years.” Every day, technologies and simple mobility in the city were initially overwhelming.

Comparing prison systems, Theologis says Greek prisons are “like colleges” compared with American facilities, where extreme violence and rigid gang rules dominate daily life. Survival, he explains, depended on constant alertness and adherence to unwritten codes imposed by inmate hierarchies.

Today, determined never to return to prison, he uses social media to speak openly against violence and delinquency, stressing that incarceration is not a badge of honor.

As part of this effort, he is preparing a social experiment: a “voluntary solitary confinement cell.” Participants who believe they can endure prison conditions will be locked in isolation for 30 days. Those who succeed will receive €5,000. The process will be live-streamed, aiming primarily to show young people the psychological toll of imprisonment.

“I don’t believe anyone will make it,” he says, emphasizing that this time he will remain outside the cell—and outside prison for good.