Posts in Access to Outside World
Incarcerated People Can Do More than Beat Harvard in a Debate

““Ninety-five percent of people who are incarcerated will eventually get out,” Ken Burns, the executive producer of the documentary, told Rolling Stone. “And the question is, do we want them as contributing members of society, or do we want them having used prison as a different kind of school to hone criminal skills? If you’re spending $100 billion a year to maintain our prison system and it has a 75 percent recidivism rate, something is broken.” This is the question that the four-part film examines with a critical eye. Directed by Lynn Novick and produced by Sarah Botstein, College Behind Bars profiles the Bard Prison Initiative, a Bard College program that extends its curriculum and has awarded nearly 550 full degrees thus far to matriculated students in six New York State prisons.“

Rolling Stone

November 26, 2019

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Civil Society Solutions, Access to Outside WorldPhillip ReevesRolling Stone, Bard Prison Initiative, Ken Burns, PBSComment
In 'Felon', Reginald Dwayne Betts Reflects On Life After Prison

“At sixteen years of age, Reginald Dwayne Betts went to prison for carjacking. Decades later, Betts is a celebrated poet and graduate of Yale Law School. But, like many ex-offenders, the consequences of those teenage mistakes have followed him for years. This hour, we sit down with Betts to talk about his third collection of poetry, Felon.“

Connecticut Public Radio

November 5, 2019

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Civil Society Solutions, Access to Outside WorldPhillip ReevesConnecticut Public Radio, Dwayne Betts, FelonComment
In America, art is helping prisoners adapt to life outside

“Art “makes you come to your own realisation,” observes Kirn Kim. “It’s not about someone telling you what to think. It opens up different parts of your brain.” As a juvenile, he was convicted for aiding and abetting a murder and served 20 years. He took part in the workshop two years after he got out, while “really struggling” in an Asian-American culture in which he felt shamed. Deciding what to draw helped him see that he no longer had to hide, he says. The image on his new id shows him holding a microphone and addressing a prison yard—a version of the community organiser that, at 43, he has now become.“

The Economist

August 22, 2019

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Access to Outside WorldPhillip ReevesThe EconomistComment
The Hardships and Rewards of Making Music in Prison

“In the early years of his time at Hunt, Cook, a vocalist and percussionist, and about five other musicians formed one of the preeminent prison bands, which was never identified by a specific name, only by genre: reggae. Beginning in 2009, they performed annually at the prison’s Fourth of July celebration for nearly 2,000 inmates, some of whom might never hear a live music performance outside of a prison yard again. Cook’s specialty was Bob Marley covers. “Music is needed when you have 22 years hanging over your head,” Cook says. “It was a godsend for me. In the band room, we became like brothers.”“

Topic Magazine

June 30, 2019

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Access to Outside World, Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesTopic Magazine, LouisianaComment
Drawing from Memory: A Former Prisoner Creates Art from Pain and Loss

“In “Saints, Sinners & Lost Beginners,” from 2014, hundreds of open-mouthed figures crowd towards a wall with a slot machine. “It was sort of about the appeal system,” Nardone said. “Everyone was turning a blind eye, even God. The dice are snake eyes.” In “Silence...Repent,” from 2005, prisoners appear to live in repetitious anonymity, in rings that orbit the earth. In “Last One Done in a Cell,” from 2016, a hand reaches up towards a ladder, surrounded by cell bars, as pocket watches fall from the sky: “Every watch has a time that represents when I lost someone while I was in prison. I went in with a flesh and blood family, and I came out to tombstones.”“

The Marshall Project

April 22, 2019

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Access to Outside WorldPhillip ReevesThe Marshall ProjectComment
Humanizing Portraits of Mentally Ill Inmates at Cook County Jail

“In late 2015, photographer Lili Kobielski began visiting inmates in Cook County Jail and documenting the plight of prisoners living with mental illness. Her new book, I Refuse for the Devil to Take My Soul: Inside Cook County Jail, is a powerful examination of the intersections between poverty, mental illness, mass incarceration, and race.“

VICE

January 17, 2019

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Access to Outside World, Mental HealthPhillip ReevesVice, Cook County, IllinoisComment
Inmates battling addiction get an unlikely ally: a puppy

“NEADS World Class Service Dogs works with inmates at seven facilities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to train service dogs, while Leader Dogs For the Blind works with prisons in Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan in raising puppies that eventually become guide dogs for people who are blind. At one program at the Erie County Correctional Facility in New York, inmates raise pheasant chicks that are then released into the wild.“

CBS 13 New Hampshire

January 11, 2019

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Civil Society Solutions, Access to Outside World, Mental HealthPhillip ReevesCBS 13 New Hampshire, New Hampshire, NEADS World Class Service Dogs, Leader Dogs for the BlindComment
Common's Hope and Redemption Concert Series Inspires Inmates on Their Path to Rehabilitation

“In October, Common put on three live performances at facilities located in remote parts of California’s Central Valley. He met with groups of currently incarcerated men and women, some of them acknowledging crimes as serious as murder. Others said they were convicted of offenses related to their experiences with poverty, childhood neglect and addiction. Common said there’s deep desire among inmates to change public perceptions about prison, from a place where criminals become even more hardened to a place where reconciliation, rehabilitation and inner peace are realities.“

Mic

November 24, 2018

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Access to Outside WorldPhillip ReevesMic, CommonComment
Northwestern launches prison education program, will provide college credits to inmates

“Participants will take different classes taught by Northwestern professors each quarter: in the fall, a class on inequality, poverty and race with sociology Prof. Mary Pattillo and a class on policy aimed at reducing systematic violence with School of Law Prof. Sheila Bedi; in the winter, a class on literature and film about the U.S.-Mexico border with English Prof. John Alba Cutler; and in the spring, a class on decision-making and human cognition with psychology Prof. David Smith.“

The Daily Northwestern

October 5, 2018

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Access to Outside WorldPhillip ReevesThe Daily Northwestern, Northwestern UniversityComment
Captive Audience: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send an Email

"Inside prisons, e-messaging companies are quietly building a money-making machine virtually unhindered by competition—a monopoly that would be intolerable in the outside world. It’s based in a simple formula: Whatever it costs to send a message, prisoners and their loved ones will find a way to pay it. And, the more ways prisoners are cut off from communicating with their families, the better it is for business."

Wired

August 3, 2018

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Access to Outside WorldAnthony BradleyWired, JPay