In her first interview from prison since her May 2023 incarceration, Elizabeth Holmes said she’s finding purpose in fighting for reform of the criminal justice system. And, despite being convicted of defrauding customers of her now-shelved Theranos blood-testing company, she said she hopes to resume a career in healthcare when her sentence is up in 2032.
The former health tech guru, who was once hailed as the next Steve Jobs, was sentenced to more than 11 years in jail on Nov. 18, 2022. She still maintains her innocence. “I refused to plead guilty to crimes I did not commit. Theranos failed. But failure is not fraud,” she told People in an interview published Wednesday.
“It’s surreal. People who have never met me believe so strongly about me. They don’t understand who I am. It forces you to spend a lot of time questioning belief and hoping the truth will prevail. I am walking by faith and, ultimately, the truth. But it’s been hell and torture to be here,” she told the outlet.
Holmes, who was portrayed by Amanda Seyfried in the Hulu series “The Dropout,” works as a law clerk, helping her fellow women prisoners with their cases. She recently drafted an American Freedom Act bill to reinforce the presumption of innocence in the justice system.
“This will be my life’s work,” she said.
She also intends to resume her career in healthcare, despite being labeled a biotech fraud, she said: “There is not a day I have not continued to work on my research and inventions,” she revealed. “I remain completely committed to my dream of making affordable healthcare solutions available to everyone.”
After nearly two years in prison, her sentence has been reduced to nine years for good behavior.
