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.
God Forgives by James Legrone
I have been incarcerated for thirty plus years now. However, I sincerely hope, and pray that those who may develop an electrifying curiosity to read my story know that I seriously contemplated not summarizing these tragic events for fear the reader would totally...
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....
Restorative Justice Now! by Michael McGaughty
While I have had paroles in the past, I did little to honor the privilege of maintaining them. I came into the prison system at the age of nineteen. I am now seventy three. I have only managed to stay out of prison for just three years since June of 1967. To date,...
No One Investigates or Cares About Justice by Randy Ray
The story I'm telling is true! Since no one else will tell the truth, then I have to. It started in November 2000, when I was working for a roofing company, and I got hurt about two weeks into the job. I hired a law firm to sue for workers’ compensation and have my...
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...
Three Poems by Paul Carter
Thoughts From A Man Sentenced As A Boy To Die In Prison 26 Years Later Covid in prison is a death sentence religion makes no difference nor does repentance they simply don’t care The masks we wear are cloth and made by prison factory workers which have been proved...
A Day in the Life by Cynthia McDonnell
I’m deaf. Nearly 70. Most days are the same: Wake up, take care of hygiene, check JPay, get hot water for a cup of tea. Make my bed, if I haven’t already, wait for medicines. I am in a unique position: I am a mentor in the DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy)...
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...
Senseless Crime (Drinking and Driving) by Russell Dunham
I was born June 6, 1976, with both parents having drug and alcohol problems. I never really got a chance to know both of my parents, being that I got tossed around. My mother lost me to my father, and my father gave me to his parents to either raise or give me to...
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...
Before Prison by Derek Bishop
My mother raised me. As a young boy, life was music, noise, joy, anger, pain, and fighting. My passions were sports, video games, and winning spelling b’s. I was fun, nosy, and the eldest of 12 children. I watched movies with my mother and grandmother. This...
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...