About Face

The biggest gift from Extreme Makeover came after the show was finished. That's when the show's staff quietly surprised Krone with a contract to work for the American Program Bureau.

Krone's primary job over the past year has been speaking around the country about criminal justice reform. Last year, he was even invited to make several speaking engagements in Europe.

courtesy of Extreme Makeover

Ray Krone before his "Extreme Makeover."

courtesy of Extreme Makeover

Extreme Makeover staff checking out Krone's hairline.

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More About

• Ray Rawson
• Ray Krone
• Kim Ancona
• Criminal Sentencing and Punishment
• Capital Punishment

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But it was a job that wasn't earning him money. He was usually speaking for next to nothing -- say, the cost of the trip to the engagement.

This is about to change.

The Bureau's catalogue is a who's who of celebrities. And the contract meant that Krone could be making a few thousand dollars a month, instead of a few dollars.

"I think this is it," his mother says. "I think he's finding his calling."

On a recent afternoon, Krone was driving up to a small Pennsylvania college to give a talk on capital punishment.

"This just feels right," he says. "I think this is what I was meant to do. It's like it's all coming together.

"It's rare that people get the chance to turn something so awful into something good. That's ultimately how I have to look at the past. Without it, none of this would be happening. It was an education."

Then he laughs at his own gushy optimism.

"Okay, it was a really shitty education at a really tough school. But it was a unique education. We'll just say it was very unique."