arrow Juan Serrano Courtesy Juan Serrano During his 22 years in prison, Juan Serrano kicked a heroin addiction and learned plumbing, electrical and masonry skills. He also became a devout Christian, working as an assistant to the prison chaplain, setting up religious services, and cooking for large groups of prison congregants. But the transformation in his life and reformation of his character couldn’t change Serrano’s sentence: 35 years to life for burglary and robbery. Serrano’s first parole date was still more than a decade away when the then-58-year-old got a break in June. “Clemency,” Serrano said in a phone interview. “It’s like hitting the lottery.” He spoke with Gothamist/WNYC from his Flatbush apartment, where he now lives with his wife. “Let me put it that way. To me it’s a miracle.”