“Inmate.” “Convict.” “Offender.” These are the words that discard entire segments of our community as beyond redemption and, in the past year, have condemned over 200 people to die from COVID-19 behind bars.
Inside our prison system, no one group is more overlooked than those serving life sentences for serious or violent crimes. As criminal justice reforms - including expedited releases during COVID - have increasingly focused on providing relief to those serving short sentences for nonviolent, often drug-related crimes, the proportion of people trapped behind bars for decades with no end in sight has continued to grow. Today, 35,000 people in California - more than a third of the entire prison population - are serving a sentence of life with or without the possibility of parole.
35,000. Who are the people behind this number?
The vast majority of people in prison today have experienced trauma or violence prior to or during their incarceration. And while just 16% of the general American population report having four or more ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences, which often serve as predictors of future health and wellness), nearly 80% of people behind bars report having experienced four or more of these kinds of traumatic childhood experiences. Even more concerning is that people with four or more ACEs are 7x more likely to go to prison in the first place.
For most people behind bars, the first time our society offered any response to the harm they experienced was when we incarcerated them.
For 15 years, UnCommon Law has championed the radical notion that these folks -- those sentenced to life behind bars -- have the greatest capacity for personal transformation and community impact. We know that behind these numbers are personal stories -- stories of pain, loss, and hurt, but also stories of love, transformation and hope. Hundreds of UnCommon Law clients have returned home in recent years, and they are working, volunteering, pursuing education and building powerful community relationships to strengthen the places they came from.
We're fighting for these stories, and for freedom of the people telling them.
Will you join us?
Hear more of these stories...
...And raise your own voice.
Join UnCommon Law and California ChangeLawyers for our campaign series on race, trauma, and mass incarceration. Hear from thought leaders, experts, and former clients.
Volunteer with us! Sign up for our mailing list, and join a virtual postcard “power hour” to send messages of love and solidarity to our folks inside with UnCommon Law and Flikshop.
Special thanks to: James “JC” Cavitt, Charlie Spence, Vaughn Miles, Laverne DeJohnette “Dej” Taylor, Si Dang, our many clients, and their families.