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.

Transcript

The interview included a discussion around the impacts of incarceration on Elizabeth’s family. She recounts how officers entered her home without a warrant. Elizabeth shares how local police racially profiled and followed her children for several years.

The interviewee discussed how the carceral system and income impact their vision of health. Folks in their community need health care, but a lack of money prevents them from receiving care. Health to the participant comprises a variety of components. Although health care providers do not discriminate against formerly incarcerated individuals due to their association with the legal system, formerly incarcerated individuals experience economic discrimination. The interview also touched on prejudices that take place. People who have been incarcerated experience stigma associated with their incarceration. This stigma also impacts communities intergenerationally. The impacts of the carceral system impact generations of families in the communities. They concluded by discussing the impact of policing in the community and made parallels between incarceration and slavery. Mass incarceration includes policing. These aggressive policing conditions normalize the community to police discrimination and impact relationships between different people in the community. This policing changes how people interact with their geography. They navigated their community and life in order to avoid policing.