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.

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.

Sherrill Roland discusses how being incarcerated in a federal jail inspired him to start The Jumpsuit Project, a work of performance art born out of his thesis proposal at the University of North Carolina.

© Sherrill Roland

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Dr. Baz spoke about her travels to prisons around the world and what she has learned about incarceration globally; she spoke about the organization she founded, Incarceration Nations Network and her work for the Prison-to-College-Pipeline at John Jay College in New York.

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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Yukari Kane describes her time working for the journalism guild at San Quentin State Prison. She also describes the organization that she co-founded, the Prison journalism Project. She goes into depth about the experiences of incarcerated writers in and outside prisons.

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

Ricardo Cortés discusses how his art practice as an illustrator and author has shaped his view of criminal justice reform. He shares insights into his experience with residency at Rikers Island, in Queens, NY, and his subsequent encounters with centers of incarceration.

¬© Ricardo Cortés

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.