The interviewee describes his experiences visiting incarcerated folks with the non-profit Prisoner Visitation & Support.

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. She often visited her father in prison and believes it is important for people experiencing incarceration to have outside connections. She also shares how difficult it is for family members to visit their loved ones in prison right now, compared to her familial visits in the 1980s. The conversations that occur when she visits include politics, concerns about life after release, and personal troubles within the prison. While it is challenging to keep certain thoughts to oneself, she states that the role of a prison visitor is to listen and be supportive rather than transforming people’s principles. Unfortunately, since the pandemic, prison visitors have had little to no communication with people they once regularly visited.

Miguel describes the process he went through to become a prison visitor and how he develops relationships with the individuals he visits. As the only Spanish-speaking person in his group of visitors, he was able to have meaningful conversations with other men in the prison who spoke the language. He also indicates that education is important to these men, but they fell prey to a cycle that marginalized and criminalized them because of limited opportunities.

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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