My cousin is in prison and feels that he can't turn his life around. Is it possible to have a decent life/career after having been to prison?

My cousin who just turned 22 is spending time in prison right now for a non-violent crime he committed. He's pretty bright, but was just in with the wrong crowd when he got caught for the crime.

I want to help him when he gets out, by starting fresh. I know it's hard to get a job with a criminal record, but because he's fairly young, is it possible for him to turn his life around without encountering too many roadblocks? If he goes to university, will that help him, or do people just focus on the criminal record? Our family and I really don't want him to fall back into his criminal behaviour.

Have you or someone you know ever been to prison, but managed to have a decent life/career after getting out?