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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Sofia shares their experience working as a Housing Advocate and Social Medicine Program Coordinator at the Lifespan Transitions Clinic and Social Medicine Programs in Rhode Island. They explain the Clinic’s role and impact in the Providence and Rhode Island community and center the stories and influence of a number of individuals and Community Healthcare Workers who have shaped the Clinics growth and development since its founding in 2018.

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

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

Lisa was sentenced to life in prison at age 17 and spent over 30 years in prison before getting out 4 months ago at age 51. She discusses her relationship with her parents, the relationships she formed in prison, and the way the system treated her as a child. She also discusses the transition out of prison.

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Mark is a volunteer and local coordinator for Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS) in Lexington, Kentucky. In this interview, Mark discusses his experiences with PVS, as well as how his volunteer work with the organization has affected his views of mass incarceration. From his conversations with incarcerated individuals in men’s prisons over his years with PVS, Mark’s outlook on the criminal justice system has been shifted toward a more sympathetic and more merciful treatment of incarcerated individuals.

A formerly incarcerated individual describes how he served many years in federal prison because of a drug-related offense. He missed out on seeing his children grow up and now advocates for reform within the prison system.

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