More and more art is challenging long-held assumptions about the criminal justice system WHEN THE INTERDISCIPLINARY artist Maria Gaspar was 12 years old, her teachers took her to jail. It was the early 1990s, in the era of Scared Straight programs aimed at curbing juvenile delinquency, and Gaspar and her classmates were deemed “at risk,” by virtue … read more
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How Leander Perez’s Vicious Racism Backfired and Saved Jury Trials
All Gary Duncan wanted to do was prevent a fight between some Black and white kids. But when the 19-year old African-American lightly touched the arm of a 14-year-old white boy named Herman Landry in what he felt was a paternal, conciliatory gesture, Landry’s response was, “My people can put you in jail for that.” … read more
RL’s Story
Prisoner name is “RL”. “I am a 52 year old man that has been drawing since childhood. My first real attempt at something significant was at the age of around seven years old, which was of my father who had recently passed away. I loved my daddy and wanted to do the best that I … read more
Six And A Half Years Of Writing And Hope
I have never done a blog. I hope it’s not too obvious. At some point I realized that I was waiting to begin blogging when I felt bulletproof. Since that day is never coming, I am starting anyway. When I was a defendant, writing was one of the few ways that I got through the … read more
Every Person’s Justice
There needs to be something remarkable about your first blog. It sets the tone and expectation of what is to come. I don’t have all the answers, but I can share my thoughts about being prosecuted for a crime I did not commit. From what I understood, I didn’t fit the stereotypical defendant. I am … read more
