32Interviews
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Heather Jo Canuel(Chicago, IL)Restorative justice advocate and founder of Art from the Heart
Heather “Jo” Canuel reflects on her advocacy while incarcerated and organizing for policy efforts such as the Expecting Justice Bill and the Pretrial Fairness Act, as well as her founding of the organization Art from the Heart.
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Linda Small(New York, NY)Advocate for incarcerated women and founder of Reentry Sisters
Linda Small shares her journey from jailhouse attorney to founder of Reentry Sisters, a community-led support network for formerly incarcerated women. She advocates for collective leadership and comprehensive reentry support.
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Ronald Marshall(Atlanta, GA)
Ronald Marshall reflects on growing up in New Orleans, his legal and political education while incarcerated at Angola, and his organizing through the Angola Special Civics Project and VOTE to advance policy reform and legal advocacy.
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Marilyn Mulero(Chicago, IL)
Marilyn Mulero reflects on her experience of wrongful conviction and being on death row to her organizing work on the outside concerned with providing reentry support to formerly incarcerated women.
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Bill Ryan(La Grange, IL)
Bill Ryan discusses his path from veteran and social worker to leading Illinois's anti-death penalty movement, sharing his death row connections and advocacy work.
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Denise Spencer(Chicago, IL)Community organizer, gospel singer and wrongful conviction advocate
Denise Spencer discusses her son’s wrongful incarceration and her organizing through MAMAS, outlining her advocacy for policy reform and continued support for incarcerated people and their families.
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Charlotte Garnes(New York, NY)Mentor and educator
Charlotte Garnes reflects on growing up in South Georgia, her passion for education, and her advocacy work. She discusses founding ReNForce to empower justice-impacted people through reentry, workforce development, and community.
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Marketta Sims(Chicago, IL)
Marketta Sims reflects on her incarceration in Illinois, her development as an organizer while inside, and her continued advocacy for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women through reentry, expungement, and community-based support.
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Sharon White-Harrigan(New York, NY)
Sharon White-Harrigan reflects on her journey from incarceration to a commitment to education and community care. She shares how her advocacy for Black women and collective healing was shaped from her leadership roles while incarcerated.
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Michelle Clopton(Chicago, IL)Police violence and wrongful conviction activist
Michelle Clopton reflects on her incarceration in Illinois, her organizing while inside programs and resources access, and her advocacy for collective action, healing, and support for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people.
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Leah Faria(New York, NY)Community organizer and activist
Leah Faria reflects on her incarceration, personal growth, and advocacy for women and gender-expansive people, as well as building solidarity across racial divides in prison and her continued effort to center women’s voices in advocacy.
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Eddy Zheng(Oakland, CA)
Eddy Zheng reflects on immigrating from Guangzhou to Oakland, his incarceration, and his community organizing that led to his founding the Asian Prisoner Support Committee and the New Breath Foundation.
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Keith Peterkin(New York, NY)Criminal justice reform organizer and education advocate
Keith Peterkin reflects on his incarceration, reentry work, and leadership in youth justice, emphasizing mentorship, shared responsibility, and grounding advocacy in lived experience.
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Erica Bentley(Chicago, IL)Legislative reform and healing justice advocate
Erica Bentley narrates her experiences teaching yoga in prisons and organizing with abolitionist groups in Chicago.
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Alice Kim(Chicago, IL)Advocate for death penalty abolition and justice reform
Alice Kim reflects on her work with the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and organizing efforts against capital punishment in Illinois. She also discusses her political development and organizing against life without parole sentencing.
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Maria Moon(Chicago, IL)Filmmaker, poet, and community organizer
Maria Moon reflects on her experiences in Illinois women’s prisons and her organizing work, including advocacy for the Cook County Just Housing Amendment and working in a transitional living program.
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Linda Evans(Santa Rosa, CA)Abolition and queer rights activist
Linda Evans recounts her evolution from antiwar student activism into decades of organizing, incarceration, and advocacy for incarcerated women and abolitionist movements.
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Waleisah Wilson-Menefee(Atlanta, GA)
Waleisah Wilson-Menefee discusses her journey from the foster care system incarceration to founding NewLife Second Chance Outreach and her advocacy for reentry support and criminal legal system reform.
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Anisah Sabur(New York, NY)
Anisah Sabur reflects on her experiences of incarceration and her leadership in advancing legislation that supports directly impacted women, emphasizing healthcare access and women’s leadership in advocacy and reentry efforts.
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Teresa Njoroge(New York, NY)Founder and CEO of Clean Start
Teresa Njoroge discusses her wrongful conviction and her founding of Clean Start Africa to advance reentry support, leadership development, and reforms led by system-impacted women.
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Chanel Rhymes(New York, NY)
Chanel Rhymes traces her journey from early experiences of criminalization to her development as an advocate, detailing the roles and organizing work that ultimately led to her leadership at the Northwest Community Bail Fund.
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Tiffany Vulcain(New York, NY)
Tiffany Vulcain reflects on her incarceration and her work as a mentor and educator supporting women returning from prison through trauma-informed healing, leadership, and community care.
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Regnarian Jenkins(Philadelphia, PA)
Regnarian Jenkins discusses his incarceration, reentry experiences in Philadelphia and New York City, and the development of his advocacy work focused on housing, employment, and support services for formerly incarcerated people.
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Darrell Cannon(Chicago, IL)Police torture activist and educational reform advocate
Darrell Cannon reflects on his incarceration, organizing against police torture, and leadership in abolitionist organizing and reparations advocacy.