Joseph Manning was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He attended Boston Technical High and the University of Massachusetts. He has worked at fast food chains, held jobs as a census taker, Boston City Park Ranger, MBTA bus driver in a high crime area, and served as a Military Policeman in the U.S. Army, of which he was honorably discharged. He was in the U.S. Postal Service for ten years as a custodian prior to incarceration.