SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Days after his release from jail, Kerry Lathan sits in a Santa Monica restaurant. He bows his head over his meal and starts praying.

He has a lot to be thankful for:

“There is a little ray of hope after all the injustice that has been done,” said Lathan.

He’s injured, traumatized; but he has his freedom and he has his life.

“I’m breathing fresh air, not recycled air, I’m not trapped in a box, I’m out amongst the living,” said Lathan, taking a deep breath.

He and his lawyer will soon host a press conference, that’s because Lathan's last seven months have been a whirlwind.

Late last year he was released on parole after serving a 25-year prison sentence for murder. Then on March 31, he was in South Los Angeles in front of The Marathon Clothing Store when shots rang out and rapper Nipsey Hussle was killed.

Lathan was also hit, shot in the back.

“I can’t even put that into words, that's devastating,” said Lathan, who was lying on the ground next to Hussle as the rapper took his final breaths.

“I couldn’t put it into words, from my injury and then to see and hear what was going on, that was a lot.”

Days later Lathan was arrested at his halfway house and taken to jail for violating his parole for associating with an alleged gang member: Nipsey Hussle. 

He disputes that label.

“They said he was a Rollin’ 60s, but that’s not what he is now. He is a celebrity, I met him once, took a selfie.”

Now Lathan finds himself answering questions before half a dozen reporters and cameras, just a few days after the parole board dismissed the violation. 

“Although there was a technical violation of the terms and conditions of Mr. Lathan’s parole, after reviewing the circumstances in more detail, CDCR requested the petition to be dismissed,” said Jeffrey Callison, Assistant Secretary for Communications at California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.   

Lathan is grateful for those that fought to get him out.

“With all the help of the community, and all the people’s prayers and the GoFundMe page, there is a ray of hope in this,” he said.

There is still a lot of work to be done. Lathan's injury has temporarily put him in a wheelchair, and his lawyer says the halfway house he's been remanded to isn’t equipped with the tools he needs to recover. And he could still face charges from the L.A. District Attorney’s office.

But they also hope his case helps bring about some type of parole reform.

“I want to be a voice for justice,” said Lathan.

He says after having spent the last quarter century paying his debt to society, he wants to spend the next 25 years making a difference in his community.