Lane Garrison is speaking out for the first time since he was sentenced to 40 months in state prison in his vehicular manslaughter trial last October.

In a letter to Access Hollywood, the former Prison Break star, 27, writes:

“Greetings and Happy New Year to you and everyone at Access Hollywood from Donovan State Prison [in California]. Never did I think I would be saying the words ‘happy & prison’ in the same sentence and not be on a set. It’s pure irony coming from the show and now living the real deal. It’s surreal and mind-blowing to say the least.

“Just this past Monday they let a group of inmates watch the season premiere of Prison Break. It felt like an out of body experience as I stood around a crowd of tattooed felons watching Michael Scofield [Wentworth Miller's character on Prison Break] try to escape … all of us longing to be free as well!

“This has been the hardest year of my life. I hope people, young and old, are learning from my mistakes and what can happen when you drink and drive. I have much to say about the pain I’ve felt and seen inside of prison. It has been eye-opening and a harrowing experience.”

In 2006, Garrison was involved in a car accident that killed a 17-year-old male passenger and injured a 15-year-old female.

He pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence and two other alcohol-related charges.

WENN