Professor Brad shares his experience as an advocate, activist, attorney, and researcher within the criminal legal system. He describes the intersections of mass incarceration and public health, explaining the hyperincarceration of Black and Brown communities as an epidemic that can be solved only in conjunction with solving the issues and barriers to equitable healthcare in the United States. Brad also explains his current research on solitary confinement reform, as well as promising outcomes for creating cultures of wellness within prisons in an attempt to alleviate, at least in the short term, the negative community health outcomes exacerbated and caused by the carceral system.

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.

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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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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Larry recalls his volunteer visitor work at the Lompoc Federal Correctional Institute. He talks about his family’s history with the prison system, how he got introduced to the field of volunteer work, the stories he has gathered about the dynamics on the inside of a medium or minimum security institution, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of the work he does.

The interviewee spoke on their experiences as a mental health provider in a reentry program that coordinates with a women’s prison. The participant reflects on how their clients’ sought a space to speak on mental health. The participant observed that incarcerated people felt unable to express their struggles with mental health within the prison system because of a “prison culture.” The participant did not witness specific mistreatment against incarcerated people within their field. The participant also emphasized their belief in a rehabilitative approach when working with incarcerated people. From the participant’s perspective, many incarcerated people have undergone trauma that needs to be addressed through a public health perspective. In working with the reentry program, the participant was surprised at how incarcerated women took the initiative in completing their tasks within the reentry program, and based on these experiences, the participant supports giving more autonomy to incarcerated people.

David Wynne shares his story of visiting people incarcerated in the same correctional institution he was held in thirty years ago. An important distinction he mentions is that he was placed in minimum security while the men he visits are in medium security. He revealed that while the sadness people experience in prison never changes. Over time, he observed how different people were treated and categorized between facilities. He also describes how he reconstructed his life through faith, family, and community support after his release. In his spare time, he is a coordinator for Books Through Bars, an organization that sends free books to prisons.

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