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.
Audio: Elders by George Mullins
George Mullins is serving a life without parole sentence in Michigan. He is a reflective elder in the prison environment, a father, a community member, and all around kind and generous soul....
From the Land of the Free to the Land of the Detainee by Antonie L. Scott
Peace, my bunky, is an older guy who is really sick with cancer and has a life sentence. I just told him I will need the light tonight because I need to do some writing. I explained this project to him and asked if he wanted to share anything. To my surprise, he...
A Dream For Freedom by Mr. Kim Moss
BEFORE PRISON I was a young man growing up in inner-city Detroit, and like any other young man, I had dreams and ambitions of being successful in life. Making my Mom and Dad proud to call me their son. Life was good for me. I grew up in a loving home, raised by my...
Proud of the Man I’ve Become by Brandon Marsh
Eighteen years ago, I was sentenced to 32 years in prison for a crime committed at the age of 15. It has been a long, difficult road at times, but I haven't allowed the circumstances of my life to defeat me. I may not have gotten everything right, but I can say...
You Live and You Learn by Joei Alexander Jordan
Greetings, My name is Joei Alexander Jordan, but many people know me by my stage name, "Joei Average." I was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on May 16, 1993. My mother struggled with drug abuse until I was 11, and my biological father was incarcerated for the majority...
Redemption: A Quest For A Second Chance by Jason Hicks
I was roughly one of 70,000 fortunate children adopted throughout the United States in 1969 (A notable booming year according to Historical International adoption data). Adding to my good fortune was landing with a set of parents who were both exceptional and...
Transformation and Reconciliation by Leo Paul Carmona
I am about to turn 39, and I just marked my 17th year of incarceration. Entering the system at only a month shy of my 22nd birthday, I had no idea what I was in for. There was no way that I could have been prepared for the horrors, anguish and traumas of...
The Heart of Forgiveness is Hard by Daniel Teribery
I often wonder what my life would have been like if I had made just one small decision to alter my path away from the destruction and pain that I was going to cause. These words played over and over like a worn-out tape in my mind. For so many years it felt...
Understanding Incarceration by Romallis Colvin
Greetings! By the time this letter reaches you, I truly pray that you and your family are in the best of health, mentally as well as physically. I am writing to you on this day because I just read in a Michigan paper an article that touched on a subject that has...
Lost and Found by Raymond L. Carr Jr.
My name Is Raymond L. Carr Jr., and I am an author of several books. It is my hope that we may start a working relationship. Let me start by sharing a little about myself. At one point in my life, I was a totally different person. I had been traumatized many times...
Painting A Picture of Regret by Darrell Sharpe
First and foremost, I would like to apologize for the picture I am about to share with you because of what it has done to me, and what it will likely do to you. I searched through my stack of pictures carefully to find one that would vividly illustrate to you the...
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...