Stories

Prison is designed to disconnect people from the rest of society. As we listen to their stories, we begin to heal those connections.

Here you will encounter challenging and sometimes difficult language and ideas: Please take care as you explore. We share it all in the spirit of broadening our collective understanding and envisioning a different future.

Life in Prison

So Long by Edward T. Walton

I’ve been incarcerated for so long. I spent three years in the juvenile system and was sentenced to two natural life sentences, eight months after my release from juvenile. At 36 years of age, I’ve spent about 21 years of my life incarcerated. However, that’s not...

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Family, Memories

Only In America by Mark Anthony McCloud El

I grew up on the northwest side of Detroit, where, although I lived with my mom, dad, two sisters, and niece, I came from a pretty large family of 12. Six boys and six girls. I believe that my upbringing was typical. My parents preached education first and...

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By Women, Family

Before Prison by Shameka Layton

 The household I grew up in consisted of myself, and six siblings. Since we lived in a two bedroom house, all the children shared one room, with the boys in one bed and the girls in another. Religion was optional so I chose to attend Catholic Services with my...

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Creativity

Paintings by Theodora Moss

The Bible states “Your gift will place you in front of great Kings and Queens” Pov. 18:16         First, let me start with a brief history of myself. I've been incarcerated for 32 years and I’m an artist who can work with...

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Change / Growth, Solutions

Harsh Reality by Keith Rappuhn

My name is Keith Rappuhn, and I have spent the last 48 years in a Michigan prison on a sentence of Life Without Parole for beating and stabbing a friend to death after a night of drinking and an argument. That was in 1973, when I was 22 years old. Shortly after...

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By Women, Family, Memories

Reflecting Back by Sharon Hunter

I was taken from my mother at the age of two, with seven of her 13 children. My father was deceased. I was placed in an orphanage. I lived there from 1968 to 1984.  The orphanage was a home and school. It was Bible-based and very strict. The same opportunities in a...

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