Who gets to claim “self-defense?”
Kyle Rittenhouse is free. I served thirteen and a half years for taking the life of my abuser. Which is self-defense?
Incarceration Stories
A Grandfather’s Rare Freedom: The Hidden World of Incarcerated Elders
When initially sentenced as a child to between 40 to 80 years in prison, Kevin Butler struggled to grasp what a virtual life sentence meant. It seemed like the beginning of forever, a time too long to understand. An exceedingly rare commutation brought him freedom after 32 years of that sentence.
My Time Will Come: A Dialogue on Transformation and Death by Incarceration
Ian Manuel grew up in Central Park Village in Tampa, Florida. In 1991, when he was 14 years old, Ian was sentenced to life without parole for a non-homicide crime in which he shot and wounded a woman. Ian served 26 years in Florida prison, including 18 years in solitary confinement. The Equal Justice Initiative …
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In Prison, Fatherhood was Only a Dream
This year is my first father’s day. But for the decades I spent incarcerated in an Alabama prison, I dreamt of him every day. I’ll spend the day at church, parading around the baby the congregation had been waiting for—one that I’ve been waiting for much longer. I’ll probably reminisce on the birth of my …