WITNESS BLOG

After sixteen years behind bars, often the greatest casualty is hope. After sixteen years of believing in your own innocence when no one else believes you, the expectation is despair. However, Jeffrey Deskovic never succumbed to this prediction. He never stopped fighting for himself, and now, he will never stop fighting for others.

Formerly incarcerated individuals are often unlikely to receive opportunities as they are disadvantaged by their time away, and not given the benefit of the doubt when they return. That’s why it takes people like Frantz Michel to make sure that those with natural talent, passion, intelligence, and ingenuity can pursue careers and have open paths to success.

Sharon Richardson walked down Jamaica Avenue in Queens with a pocketbook, a cell phone, a MetroCard, an umbrella, and a piece of paper with an address that no longer existed. Tears streamed down her face as she searched for a building that she would never find.

Running just one business takes an immense level of effort, commitment, and passion. Running two businesses takes an even greater level of innovation. And running three businesses is what happens when a person is not just committed, passionate, and innovative but also naturally driven and naturally talented.

For many formerly incarcerated individuals, it can feel like the entire system is stacked against success and freedom. When this is the case, it is easy to give up and much harder to keep fighting back. It takes a person unwilling to bend to the system in order to force the system to bend to the person.

Racism and socio-economic background are used in order to perpetuate mass incarceration and funnel people into prison. The world is waking up to this injustice, but far too few people are actually doing something about it. Jason Gibson is one exception.

It is easy to reduce formerly incarcerated individuals to their worst mistakes, however this paints an untrue portrait of a person. Marion is a creative soul, a loving mother and grandmother, and a woman of unparalleled altruism.

H.O.L.L.A, a New York based organization that helps young people challenge unfair norms in the prison system. The forces of racism and white supremacy manifest in mass incarceration. Without dismantling these driving forces behind injustice, black and brown people will continue to be disproportionately harmed.

Mental health is often the unsung trauma of incarceration. Any mental health problems before incarceration are exacerbated by prison and then further exacerbated by the hardships of reentry.

A broken system does not excuse mistakes, but it does ensure that the punishment does not fairly fit the crime, particularly for individuals of certain communities, classes, and races. Ivelisse Gilestra knows this better than anyone.

Separated from his wife and children for over three years while incarcerated, Eric Hughie knew that he had to change his life before going home. He wanted to work shorter hours in order to show an even greater commitment to his family. With this in mind, Eric Hughie spent his time in prison creating a second chance for himself.