Just released from prison after only two years of knowing that he qualified as a veteran, Patrick talks about his experience with gang affiliations, mental health, and motivations about getting out of prison.

A formerly incarcerated veteran, Al, talks about his experience in the Navy and how being a veteran has impacted his experience with the criminal justice system.

Jackie Sumell shares her experience being mentored by Herman Wallace of the Angola 3. This mentorship led her to create The Solitary Gardens, a work of performance art exploring the intersection of gardening and criminal justice reform. She shares insights into how art can be used for social activism.

Ronald is a formerly incarcerated person who defended himself in prison, succesfully advocated for his own release, and now works as a nationally recognized activist for prison reform. The interview goes over Simpson-Bey’s experience as an incarcerated person, and as a leader within his prison family. In this, we hear stories of dehumanization, found family, and the barriers to education within the prison system. Simpson-Bey also describes life after prison and his vision for the future of incarceration through the decarceration movement. Simpson-Bey calls for an end to the systemic injustice of mass incarceration as it exists today.

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Corvain expressed his disdain towards the harsh sentencing of cannabis-offenders and the lack of rehabilitation efforts towards those released from prison. He spoke about the shock of coming home, reuniting with family and the frustration at the social handicap he faced. Corvain channelled these emotions into his initiative, the 40rty Ton Project, a brand with the aim of restoring justice and rebuilding communities

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Kevin shares the story of his crime, incarceration, and reintigration process. When Boyd was 16, he gave his mother the keys to his abusive father’s residence. Although she had previously spoken about murdering Kevin’s father, her ex-husband, Kevin did not take her seriously. He wishes he had, because his mother murdered his father that night and framed him for the crime. After over 25 years of incarceration, Kevin was finally released when his case was re-tried with new laws and new evidence. He attributes his relative success reintegrating to his profession as a tradesman and his optimism. Boyd calls us to attend more to law and less to politics when it comes to performing and assessing legal proceedings. Otherwise, he says, “we play chess matches with people’s lives and we don’t think there’s consequences to that.”

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Ken is a volunteer for Prison Visitation Services (PVS). He shares his experiences visiting incarcerated individuals–mostly in military prisons. He describes some of the unique conditions in military prisons. He also emphasizes the strength and importance of his relationships with the individuals that he has visited over his time with PVS.

Liz, a volunteer with Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS), shares her experiences and thoughts on visiting and corresponding with incarcerated people at El Reno in Oklahoma.

The interviewee shares his experiences with the abuse and trauma that he faced as a juvenile serving a cumulative 13 year sentence in New York State prison. Now, he is a community organizer who helps in the re-entry process for others who have recently been released from prison.

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Jack shares his experiences working with Prison Visitation and Support. He describes the process he had to go through to be accepted as a visitor by the prison, as well as the differences between state and federal prisons. In addition to PVS, Jack also shares his experience with donating books to incarcerated people.