He was placed under the State's care as soon as he was born, but at 12 he was living on the streets and soon wound up in prison because of a string of petty thefts.
Now aged 23, Daniel Lanzon has spent the past 18 months trying to reintegrate into society. He feels he has a lot to offer and dreams of becoming a politician and being allowed to contest a general election, even though he knows he will have to fight for that right in court.
"I robbed to survive. I stole clothes because I had nowhere to wash my own and I stole money so that I could eat. I never took part in any hold-ups or any violent acts," he said.
However, he then added: "When I was a kid I poked someone's eye with a pencil because he was teasing me about not having parents. Another time I beat up a woman to pay her back."
Mr Lanzon, whose mother was a prostitute, spent his childhood "imprisoned" in different institutions. He was a problem child, very hyperactive and moody. Eventually he felt he could not go on living in institutions so he escaped and began living on the streets.
"I used to bury my clothes in a bag in the soil so they would not get mouldy. I used to wash in the showers of waterpolo clubs while the players were training. I would also try on their clothes and steal the ones that fitted me. I became very creative with experience," he said.
When he got to juvenile prison, things started to change.
"The thing that shocked me most was the strip search. I understand it needs to be done because you can hide anything anywhere. But that is when you realise you have no dignity left," he said.
He does not agree with people who say that prison is an easy way of life simply because they have access to televisions or video games.
"Being locked up, without anyone, all alone, with no contact to the outside world, that's already too much," he said.
Mr Lanzon does not consider himself to be a victim, because his experience has taught him many invaluable lessons about life. He also knows that the real victims are the people who suffered at his hands.
"I am a bad person who did bad things, but I am a product of my circumstances and I believe that if society were to change its way of dealing with people like me, the world would be a better place," Mr Lanzon said.
He expresses remorse for what he has done and all the people he has hurt in the past.
"But it's easy to say sorry. I want to do more than that. I want to be able to do something to make up for what I've done. I want to make a contribution to society," he added.
His biggest difficulty so far has been to find stable full-time employment. Thanks to the support of friends, including prison officials, he has found a place to live, but employers find it difficult to trust him because of his past.
He still has a number of pending court cases and knows there is the possibility of returning behind bars.
"I'm afraid of going back. Prison is an ugly place," he said, even though he is quick to add that he always found support from prison officials.
He said prisoners liked to gang up against other prisoners and he often fell victim to bullying and beatings. But in prison he never hung around the big-shots so he did not see the internal drug trade or anything of the sort.
"I never touched drugs, so I never got involved in that kind of stuff. Since I used to work close to the prison management, the prisoners were afraid to talk to me about certain things," Mr Lanzon said.
He added that prison was not run as a correctional facility, but expressed hope that people at the top had the integrity required to improve things. In his ideal world, prison would be an area where offenders are given the chance to reform through care-workers and psychologists. He believes most people can change if given a chance, so the best thing to do is provide a home in which they can learn the error of their ways and become productive members of society.
Mr Lanzon would like to see a home for problem kids and feels he has a lot to give in this area. "I want to be able to give children the life I was not given," he said.
He agrees with the introduction of parole because it would help prisoners integrate into society, but points out that this cannot be done unless inmates are then helped to find work and earn a living.
He points out that one in two prisoners returns to prison after being released, and blames this on the fact that they are not given the tools or resources to move on and better their lives.
However, he makes an exception when it comes to drug dealers.
"I don't think drug dealers can change because the amount of money they know they can make blinds them." Unsurprisingly, Mr Lanzon's hero is Manwel Dimech, a person who was exiled and almost hanged over a century ago because of a string of petty thefts and murder but who grew up to be a social reformer after a number of years in prison.
"I want to set up a political party to give a voice to the voiceless such as prisoners and abandoned children.
"Even if I don't get elected, I want to be able to bring about these issues and to ensure that justice is equal for all."
And what if he gets the opportunity to contest an election with one of the main political parties?
"I know that will never happen," he said, in a resigned tone.