A formerly incarcerated veteran, Al, talks about his experience in the Navy and how being a veteran has impacted his experience with the criminal justice 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.

The interviewee discusses their work as a social worker within a correctional facility in Maine. They discuss their experiences in the past working with youth as compared to adults, and how eye opening the profession is. The interviewee has been working within the correctional facility for over 20 years and has a lot of insight into the system.

The interviewee discusses their work as a social worker within a correctional facility in Maine. They discuss their experiences working with those who are currently incarcerated, the challenges both the interviewee and their patients face daily, and the interviewee’s role within the criminal justice system.

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 spoke to their experiences working as a social worker providing mental health services in the criminal justice system. She described different approaches to working with clients, whether more restrictive or ones that offer more autonomy. Additionally, she offers her experiences in confronting the hierarchies and “rules” that govern mental health in the criminal justice system and the ways mental health professionals become overshadowed by correctional officers, police officers, and judges. Overall, she expresses her affinity for restorative approaches in working with incarcerated individuals.

The interviewee shares her experience with complications that arose while providing mental health services within a residential substance abuse treatment program in a women’s prison.

The interviewee shares her experience with complications that arose while providing mental health services within a residential substance abuse treatment program in a women’s prison.

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Haley McKee discusses her transition from spending nineteen and a half months in incarceration and three years in home confinement to becoming a lobbyist and political organizer. She mentions how difficult it was to maintain her relationships with her former partner and son while incarcerated.

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