Portia oral history interview, 2021 July 23 Portia is a formerly incarcerated woman and mother. She explains that despite the many privileges she had with socio-economic status and race, court proceedings, being incarcerated, and re-entry were still emotionally difficult. She touches on the hardships that come with motherhood in the Read more…
Shari oral history interview, 2021 July 19 A child of an incarcerated parent herself, Shari founded COIPP, an all-volunteer organization that works to support families that have been affected by the criminal legal system. Shari speaks about her experience working with incarcerated parents, children of incarcerated parents, and the caregivers Read more…
Zach oral history interview, 2021 July 19 Zach details his experience with law school and why he chose to study the law. He also talks about his relationship with his Incarcerated brother.
Rachel oral history interview, 2021 July 16 Rachel describes her brother’s journey in and out of the criminal justice system. She also describes the impact it had on her and her family. She also speaks about her interactions with the U.S. legal system as someone living abroad.
Valerie oral history interview, 2021 July 13 Valerie speaks about her experience as a visitor to prisons and a family member of incarcerated individuals. She speaks about the punitive nature of the prison system and how she hopes for reform.
Joe oral history interview, 2021 July 11 A formerly incarcerated individual describes how he served many years in federal prison because of a drug-related offense. He missed out on seeing his children grow up and now advocates for reform within the prison system. Transcript
Eric oral history interview, 2021 April 29 Eric discussed community health and individual health impacts of incarceration and policing in the neighborhood.
Tevin Fournette oral history interview, 2021 April 28 Tevin discussed the impacts of incarceration on the community and how detrimental the carceral system is to community health. Particularly, Tevin shared his insight into the ways in which the carceral system takes mothers and fathers out of the community. Children grow Read more…
Ayoola oral history interview, 2021 April 25 Ayoola works in a jail and does criminal justice advocacy. She spoke of working “on the front lines” of mass incarceration and “in the trenches.” Her interview addressed the lack of health care and the poor quality of existing health care within prisons. Read more…
Anonymous (03) oral history interview, 2021 April 24 In this interview, the interviewee discusses her contact with the criminal justice system as a young adult who had an incarcerated parent and worked at a public defender’s office, to now as a full-time lawyer and volunteer with Prisoner Visitation and Support. Read more…