An audio essay about abolition and Ahmaud Arbery.  The full readable version can be found on medium.com here: https://bit.ly/Arbery

At 16, Huwe Burton was sentenced to 15 years-to-life for the murder of his mother. Thirty years later he is telling his story of exoneration.  Huwe's story was featured on an episode of the HBO series, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. Marlon recorded this episode as guest host of the Topeka K. Sam on Sirius XM.     To learn more about Huwe visit: Huwe Burton Began Running While Wrongfully Imprisoned, Now He’s Finally Running Free He Spent 19 Years in Prison for Murder. Now Prosecutors Say His Confession Was Coerced.                       SUBSCRIBE. LEAVE A COMMENT. SUBSCRIBE.

38 years in prison just for riding in a car with some friends. This is part 2 of the Denise Coleman story.   Oprah, we need you to get Ms. Coleman on #SuperSoulConversations! Thank you, Niecey for being so open with us, and for sharing your life as a lesson.   To learn more about Denise Coleman, her story, and her work visit:   The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.The People's Advocacy Institute Advocates Working to Help Incarcerated Women and GirlsThe Mississippi Prison Reform Coalition Share your thoughts on itunes, Soundcloud, or wherever you listen to DEcarcerated. You can also send us an email at decarcerated@beprecedential.com.

38 years in prison just for riding in a car with some friends.  That's part of the story of Denise Coleman. Born in Louisiana, and now living in Jackson, Mississippi, Ms. Coleman, is my friend.  She is also a leader with the People's Advocacy Institute, and the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. This two-part series will have you on an emotional rollercoaster. To learn more about Denise Coleman, her story, and her work visit:   The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.The People's Advocacy Institute Advocates Working to Help Incarcerated Women and Girls Share your thoughts on itunes, Soundcloud, or wherever you listen to DEcarcerated. You can also send us a Happy New Year email at decarcerated@beprecedential.com.

Originally recorded in October 2018, Melissa Harris-Perry, journalist, scholar, and former host of the Melissa Harris-Perry Show on MSNBC, sits down with Marlon Peterson. This conversation was apart of the Square One Reimagine Justice Roundtable that took place in Durham, North Carolina.   We talk about her personal experiences the the criminal justice system and her grapplings with being a victim of violence.  Even Marlon tears a bit in this episode, so keep your Kleenex close. DEcarcerated links about this episode: Melissa Harris-PerrySquare One Justice   Episode music: Sombra by  Zé Trigueiros MXGHTY by Lazer Falcon Faith’s Witness by Deal the Villain Follow DEcarcerated on: Twitter: @decarceratedpod Instagram: decarceratedpodcast

Originally sentenced to a life sentence at 16-years old, Halim Flowers, released after serving 22 years is now breaking barriers.  Released in March of 2019, Halim is already a published author, an Echoing Green Fellow...a friend of Kim Kardashian,  and he already spoke at Kanye West's Sunday Service.  Oh, and he recently got married.  What have you done in the past 9 months? Marlon sat down with Halim backstage at the Smart on Crime Conference in NYC for a deeply personal interview. To learn more about Halim checkout: "TGU Prison Scholar Released After 22 Years". The HoyaTo purchase one of Halim's books visit hereUnchained Media CollectiveHalim Flowers on Twitter: @TheRealHalim Music credits: Thunderstorm by the Custodian of Records Ruff Draft by Deal the Villain Faith’s Witness by Deal the Villain   Much love to the Weavers Fellowship and the NoVo Foundation for sponsoring DEcarcerated. Production: Andrew Stelzer Managing Producer: LeShae Henderson Follow DEcarcerated: T: @decarceratedpod IG: @decarceratedpod Email: decarcerated@beprecedential.com

To kick off our final season, the DEcarcerated Podcast was LIVE at the 2019 Smart on Crime Conference held at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in NYC. Some of America's leading criminal legal system experts participated in this conference, and we got a few of them to speak with us backstage.  Here's a few: Amanda Alexander, Executive Director & Founder of the Detroit Justice CenterTopeka K. Sam, Hope House | The Topeka K. Sam Show on Sirius XMCarol Bogert, President of the The Marshall ProjectHalim Flowers, Echoing Green & Halcyon Arts Lab FellowJameila Meme Styles, MEASURE AustinWesley Caines, Bronx DefendersLawrence Bartley, The Marshall Project, Director, News Inside More details about the 2019 Smart on Crime Conference can be found here. Thankful for the support of Michelle Diaz, Andrew Stelzer, and LeShae Henderson of Team DEcarcerated. This episode was made possible courtesy of The Center for American Progress,  John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. Huge shoutout to Julia Cusick of the Center for American Progress for making this happen! Episode music credits: Five Years Ago by the Custodian of Records Roy by JBlanked The Trunk by Deal the Villain Fallen Stars by Ketsa Always Something by JBlanked Off by Deal the Villain Lucky Stars by the Custodian of Records Much much love to The Weavers Fellowship and the Novo Foundation for sponsoring Season Five of DEcarcerated. Twitter: @Decarceratedpod   | Instagram:  DecarceratedPodcast Email us at: decarcerated@beprecedential.com

The self-proclaimed HBIC (google the urban dictionary), Alicia Garza, principal of the Black Futures Lab that created the Black Census, and co-creator of Black Lives Matter is in rare form in this conversation with Marlon. This episode is not for the thin-skinned. No further description needed. More info about this episode: Sen. Kamala Harris speech excerpt from 2019 Essence FestivalBlack Futures Lab: https://blackfutureslab.org/ Black Census Results, pt. 1: https://blackcensus.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Digital-More-Black-Than-Blue.pdfBlack Census Results, pt. 2: https://blackcensus.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/When-The-Rainbow-Is-Not-Enough.pdf Square One Project, Justice Lab at Columbia University: https://www.squareonejustice.org/   Twitter: @decarceratedpod / @_marlonpeterson@aliciagarza   Instagram: @decarceratedpodcast @chasinggarza   Production Credits: Andrew Stelzer Song Credits:  Brooklyn Bridge, by Will Be Faith's Witness, by Deal the Villain Fallen Stars, by Ketsa   Special thanks to the whole Square One Justice team, and the Impact Hub in Oakland, California.

Before the age of 17 Chris Wilson's mother was raped by a police officer. His father was murdered.  His cousin was killed in front of him. At 17-years old, Chris was sentenced to life in prison for taking a person's life.  When he was 19 he decided to create a master plan for his life, and that master plan lead to his early release from prison, a book, serial entrepreneurship, and becoming an internationally sought after artist. This is our final full episode for Season IV of DEcarcerated, and it is one for the record books.   Production Credits: Andrew Stelzer Music Credits:  Sombra by Zé Trigueiros Get it Straight by the Rawman Faith's Witness by Dal The Villain   More info about this episode: Today Show clip: https://www.today.com/video/man-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-opens-up-about-his-2nd-chance-1437461571722Chris Wilson website: chriswilson.bizInterview with The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Order Chris' book, The Master Plan: My Journey from Life in Prison to a Life of Purpose   Twitter: @decarceratedpod@ChrisWilsonBalt   Instagram: @decarceratedpodcast@chriswilsonbaltimore

Wow, please have a Kleenex ready for this one.  Turquoise Martin and Naquasia Pollard are two women on fire, but, who have also survived the fire.  Both are a part of the College and Community Fellowship advocacy training program.  Naquasia served a 15 years sentence starting at the age of 19, and Turquoise was in and out of the foster care system since the age of five.  There is so much hope in these two ladies, and we hope you pay more than the usual attention to the girls and women in your circle.   Production credit: Andrew Stelzer   More info about this episode: Women Influencing Systems and History (WISH)Naquasia Pollard: Finely Distilled Storytelling Twitter: @decarceratedpod@naquasiapollard@ccf_ny Instagram: @decarceratedpodcast@quasia_secondchances@ccf_ny

Desmond Meade has been able to lead the charge to restoring the voting rights of 1.4 million Floridians--all formerly incarcerated. This is the largest expansion of voting rights in America in a half century.  In this ep Desmond speaks about the time his journey through drug addiction, homelessness, and an attempt at ending his own life to now wanting nothing more than to empower the next generation of leaders. He also speaks about his vision for a world without prisons, and his thoughts about running for office.   Production credit: Andrew Stelzer More info about Desmond: Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People, by Stacey Abrams: http://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567673/desmond-meade/Florida Rights Restoration Coalition: https://floridarrc.com/desmond-meade/Florida Republicans move to limit felon voting rights despite constitutional amendment: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/florida-republicans-move-limit-felon-voting-rights-despite-constitutional-amendment-n985156 Twitter:  @decarceratedpod@FLRightsRestore Instagram: @decarceratedpodcast@flirightsrestore

This is one of the BEST episodes we have ever been apart of, thanks to Syrita Steib-Martin. Syrita, a Lousiana native and founder/executive director of Operation Restoration, is a leading voice in all things criminal justice. After spending her entire 20's in federal prison, Syrita has become a national advocacy leader.   In this ep of DEcarcerated, Syrita speaks about her experiences with physical violence as child, to addressing the importance of advocating for change in the criminal justice system even if that requires meeting with Donald Trump and Jared Kushner. Production credit: Andrew Stelzer   More info about Syrita and her work: https://or-nola.org/ Essence Magazine: "She, The People: Syrita Steib-Martin, Operation Restoration And Changing The System Of Mass Incarceration One Woman At A Time" ABA Journal: "Former inmate-turned-activist drawn into policymaking" Twitter: @OperationRestoration@decarceratedpod Instagram: OperationRestorationtheORDecarcerated Podcast

Join host, Marlon Peterson, in this studio-audience episode of Decarcerated, in conversation with Danielle Sered, author of Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair. Recorded at the The Dweck Center of the Brooklyn Public Library on April 10, 2019, Marlon and Danielle speak about addressing violence in this era of criminal justice reform.   Stay to end to hear the audience Q &A. Thanks to Aseante Reneé and Meredith Walters for making this live recording happen. Production credits: Andrew Stelzer   More info about Danielle Sered and restorative justice and transformative justice: https://www.commonjustice.org/https://transformharm.org/"Reckoning With Violence, by Michelle Alexander, New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/03/opinion/violence-criminal-justice.html

How Leigh Owens go from being an incarcerated person to being a mover and shaker in the political arena? Leigh Owens is the Legislative Director at the SEIU Pennsylvania State Council.  He is also the Director of Community Engagement at the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, under Larry Krasner. Before all of that, Leigh was incarcerated in New York City's infamous Rikers Island.In this ep Leigh talks about going from being a college student at Drexel University to getting caught with a gun and drugs. He also says "pot" instead of weed.   Check out Leigh's political and social analysis at the Huff Post: https://www.huffpost.com/author/leigh-owens Leave a comment about this episode. Leave a comment about this episode. Oh, leave a comment about this episode. #decarcerated #mediabyus4us #beprecedential #drexel   Decarcerated is brought to you through the generous support of the Novo Foundation and the Weavers Fellowship.

Darren Mack was sentenced to a term of 20-40 years in prison when he was 17-years old. Now at 43-years old Darren is one of the lead organizers of the effort to close New York City’s Rikers Island. In this episode he talks about having an older brother serve 32 years in prison, and having a brother as a co-defendant also serving 20-40 years in prison. You will find yourself hanging on to every word of Darren’s during this episode of DEcarcerated.   Oh, and Darren explains how he found NYC Mayor De Blasio on his knees...   Leave a review.  We want to hear your comments.   More information about  this episode of Decarcerated:   Learn more about Darren here:  http://bit.ly/2wbWSan   VIDEO: Mayor De Blasio Ambushed at Gym by 'Close Rikers' Protesters. DNA.com: http://bit.ly/2vQELHM     VIDEO: Darren Mack Was Sent to ‘the Bridge of Pain’ as a Teenager:  http://bit.ly/2vQt1F3   Tweet about this episode: #decarceratedpodcast | @decarceratedpod | @ _marlonpeterson | IG: @marcusmcall JOIN OUR PATREON PAGE FOR SEASON EXCLUSIVE CONTENT!  Go to:https://www.patreon.com/decarcerated for all the details.   Leave a review on Itunes, Soundcloud, IHeartRadio, Spotify, or wherever you subscribe. Please subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe.  Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe.  Subscribe. Subscribe.   You can also send us an email with show comments and suggestions at decarcerated@beprecedential.com.

You are  in for a treat! MARCUS McAllister drops a freestyle, speaks about his work as international peace trainer, his ties to Suge Knight and the “real’ Rick Ross, and drops statistics about violence reduction in some of areas of the world where violence is an epidemic--all in one episode. Heads up: this episode was recorded in May 2018.   Leave a review.  We want to hear your comments.   More information about  this episode of Decarcerated:   Learn more about Cure Violence: http://bit.ly/2OUoUQi     Marcus in conversation with Debbie Allen and Maria Shriver: http://bit.ly/2M7WJ2G       Marcus speaking at John Jay College of Criminal Justice: http://bit.ly/2OZ1RnE     Statistics about Cure Violence gun violence prevention efficacy: http://bit.ly/2MwztHv Tweet about this episode: #decarceratedpodcast | @decarceratedpod | @ _marlonpeterson | IG: @marcusmcall JOIN OUR PATREON PAGE FOR SEASON EXCLUSIVE CONTENT!  Go to:https://www.patreon.com/decarcerated for all the details.   Leave a review on Itunes, Soundcloud, IHeartRadio, Spotify, or wherever you subscribe. Please subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe.  Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe.  Subscribe. Subscribe.   You can also send us an email with show comments and suggestions at decarcerated@beprecedential.com.

Richard ‘Epic’ Wallace’s first claim to fame was                         that Chance the Rapper used to open up                        for hip hop crew, BBU (Bin Laden Blowin’ Up).                        Trust me, I know, because he got me into                        the V.I.P section of a Chance concert in South                        Africa. In this episode, we talk about his                days as going through the juvenile justice                        system in Chicago to his work as a union                   organizer in Chicago.   Leave a review.  We want to hear your comments.   More information about  this episode of Decarcerated:   Check out his organization E.A.T. (Equity And Transformation) at www.eatchicago.org.  They are on Facebook at ‘ChicagoEat.’     Political Party Rap:  https://bit.ly/2OaBxpk     Madison.com  https://bit.ly/2Mh5S4Z     MUSIC VIDEO:  BBU - Chi Don’t Dance: https://bit.ly/2AAQeA8       MUSIC VIDEO:  BBU - The Hood ft. GLC (produced by Classick).  https://bit.ly/2LQ3i9S   Tweet about this episode: #decarceratedpodcast | @decarceratedpod | @ _marlonpeterson JOIN OUR PATREON PAGE FOR SEASON EXCLUSIVE CONTENT!  Go to:https://www.patreon.com/decarcerated for all the details.   Leave a review on Itunes, Soundcloud, IHeartRadio, Spotify, or wherever you subscribe. Please subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe.  Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe.  Subscribe. Subscribe.   You can also send us an email with show comments and suggestions at decarcerated@beprecedential.com.

Mbongiseni ‘Bongi’ Mdakane was sentenced to  22 years in prison, and now he is a PhD candidate at the University of South Africa.   We talk about what it’s like being on parole in  South Africa, and barriers to employment. We also get to hear about his organization, Inside-out, Outside-in.   Can’t wait till you hear Bongi’s answer to the question: “What does a Soweto look like in world without prisons?”   Leave a review.  We want to hear your comments.   More information about  this episode of Decarcerated:   Real Talk with Anele   Former offender aims for a PhD, Pretoria East Record. http://bit.ly/PretoriaEast1   Everything happens for a reason, including prison, University of South Africa http://bit.ly/UNISABONGI Mbongiseni Mdakane. New Voices in Psychology, Sabinet Journal http://bit.ly/SabinetBongi Tweet about this episode: #decarceratedpodcast | @decarceratedpod | @ _marlonpeterson JOIN OUR PATREON PAGE FOR SEASON EXCLUSIVE CONTENT!  Go to:https://www.patreon.com/decarcerated for all the details.   Leave a review on Itunes, Soundcloud, IHeartRadio, Spotify, or wherever you subscribe. Please subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe.  Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe.  Subscribe. Subscribe.   You can also send us an email with show comments and suggestions at decarcerated@beprecedential.com.

Mbongiseni ‘Bongi’ Mdakane was sentenced to  22 years in prison, and now he is a PhD candidate at the University of South Africa.  We talk about growing up in Soweto, the conditions of South African prisons, the gang structures in prisons he lived in, and the stigma of a record.  This episode was so powerful that we split it into two, so here’s part 1.   All the love to Ruth Hopkins of the Wits Justice Project and Katlego Mahlake of the Wits Radio Academy at the Witswatersand University in Johannesburg.  They let us use their studios, and stayed past work hours to accommodate us. They deserve all the love.   Leave a review.  We want to hear your comments.   More information about  this episode of Decarcerated:   Former offender aims for a PhD, Pretoria East Record. http://bit.ly/PretoriaEast1   Everything happens for a reason, including prison, University of South Africa http://bit.ly/UNISABONGI Mbongiseni Mdakane. New Voices in Psychology, Sabinet Journal http://bit.ly/SabinetBongi Tweet about this episode: #decarceratedpodcast | @decarceratedpod | @ _marlonpeterson JOIN OUR PATREON PAGE FOR SEASON EXCLUSIVE CONTENT!  Go to:https://www.patreon.com/decarcerated for all the details.   Leave a review on Itunes, Soundcloud, IHeartRadio, Spotify, or wherever you subscribe. Please subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe.  Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe.  Subscribe. Subscribe.     You can also send us an email with show comments and suggestions at decarcerated@beprecedential.com.