in-Care-Ceration Episode 5: Prisons
Beyond Prisons
In this episode we talk about mental and physical healthcare in Washington’s prisons. We speak with Tony Tyson, Queen J, and Darnell Jones, all incarcerated voices in our state, who talk to us about accessing care in prison, and also what they or the people around them have done to get or create care. Content warning: this episode includes first-hand accounts of medical neglect and suicidality in prison. In-Care-Ceration was written and produced by Leah Montange and Meredith Ruff.
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In-Care-Ceration Episode 6: Care Reform, Care Otherwise
Beyond Prisons
In this episode we explore ways that people are working to build a more caring and care-full world, and to address the harms of our carceral systems whether they are prisons, jails, or hospitals. Some of the people we talk to are interested in engaging with Washington State to change systems, and others are more interested in finding ways to do care otherwise, outside of state systems. This episode features the words of Scout Smedley, SYP, Cindi Fisher, Joshua Wallace, Lauara Van Tosh, Chris Carney, Shaun Glaze, and LeTania Severe, as well as Patreece Spence. We’d like to dedicate this...
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In-Care-Ceration Episode 3: Civil Commitment
Beyond Prisons
In this episode, we take on the topic of civil commitment and experience. We address hospitalization, the emergency room, and the perspectives of people who work in the system and who receive treatment. We address ways that civil commitment resembles incarceration. We speak to SYP and Laura Van Tosh, and feature the words of Cindi Fisher – all people whose lives and advocacy have intersected with the civil commitment system. This episode contains descriptions of civil commitment and emergency rooms, including discussions of suicidality. Music by Scout Smedley and editing by Nest Audio...
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In-Care-Ceration Episode 4: Jails
Beyond Prisons
In this episode we talk about mental health in jails – what mental health care looks like in jails, how people with disabilities navigate and experience jail, and how activists and organizers have addressed the mental health crisis in urban jails in Washington. We speak with Jordan Landry, Tony Tyson, Leslie McCallum, KL Shannon and Patreece Spence. Content warning: this episode includes first-hand accounts of police violence, unhealthy jail conditions, and suicidal ideation. In-Care-Ceration was written and produced by Leah Montange and Meredith Ruff.
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In-Care-Ceration Episode 1: Entanglements
Beyond Prisons
In episode one, we introduce this series’ central questions: what do the mental health system and the criminal legal system have to do with one another? More to the point, how is improving care in Washington contributing to the expansion of jails, prisons and other spaces of confinement? We frame the whole series by outlining ways that care and incarceration are entangled with one another in Washington State. This episode features the voices of Chris Carney (Carney Gillespie) as well as Shaun Glaze (Black Brilliance Research) and LeTania Severe (Black Brilliance Research and Seattle...
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In-Care-Ceration Episode 2: Forensic Commitment
Beyond Prisons
In this episode, we take on forensic commitment, the psychiatric commitment of those who are facing criminal charges but are legally considered not competent to stand trial We unpack how the jail and state hospital systems are connected with each other through forensic commitment, and how there is a surplus of people in the jails who are awaiting space for beds to open up in the state hospital system. This has created pressure for an expansion of forensic commitment space in the state hospital system, something that abolitionists and reformers have addressed. We speak with Chris...
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Introduction to In-Care-Ceration: A Podcast
Beyond Prisons
In-care-ceration is a documentary podcast about how Washington’s so-called mental health system is entangled with the carceral system. How do people in need of mental health care end up losing their freedom, whether in a hospital, jail, or prison? How do these institutions care for people? Do they care for people at all? Are community calls for a more caring system having their intended impact? We especially tune in to how improving care is a guise for expanding confinement and coercion. The podcast episodes feature voices from...
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A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre feat. Garrett Felber
Beyond Prisons
For this episode I sat down with Garrett Felber to talk about their new book, A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre. The book is described by Dr. Orisanmi Burton, author of Tip of the Spear, as “A rigorous examination of Sostre's revolutionary life that offers vital lessons for those seeking to carry on the struggle.” I began our conversation by asking Garret about what motivated them to write the book in the first place. We then focus our discussion on what they learned about Sostre throughout the process. Garrett’s clear writing and insightful...
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Lessons from the Garden: Circle Keeping and Restorative Justice feat. Jennifer Viets
Beyond Prisons
In this episode I sat down with the amazing Jennifer Viets for a conversation about her work as a restorative justice practitioner in Chicago. We begin by talking about Jennifer’s experience with being a grandmother including pushing back against societal expectations, how her work shifted from being individually focused to more community oriented, and we explore some of the lessons she’s learned from being a circle keeper about being in right-relationship with others. Jennifer Viets(she/her/hers) has worked as a Restorative Justice Practitioner for the past 15 years....
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For a Livable Future: Building Movements to Stop War & Save the Planet
Beyond Prisons
Welcome to episode three of “Over the Wall: The Abolitionist Hour with Critical Resistance.” For listeners new to Beyond Prisons or our collaboration with Critical Resistance, this is a new, regular series that premiered in September of 2023. Hosted by members of Critical Resistance’s The Abolitionist Editorial Collective, “Over the Wall” discusses articles and key interventions made by Critical Resistance’s cross-wall, bilingual newspaper, The Abolitionist. This special episode focuses on both issues of the newspaper that Critical Resistance (CR) published in 2024:...
info_outlineGarrett Felber joins Kim for a conversation about the campaign to Free the Mississippi Five. The #MS5 are five women in Mississippi sentenced to life with the possibility of parole in the 1980s and 1990s. They have been incarcerated over 175 years and denied parole 47 times.
Lisa Crevitt, Anita Krecic, Loretta Pierre, Linda Ross, and Evelyn Smith, collectively known as the Mississippi Five, are now between 59 and 82 years old. Despite their achievements, personal growth, the loss of loved ones outside, and even recantations of key witnesses, they continue to be denied parole irrespective of their actions. It is time to #FreetheFive!
Garrett Felber (he/they) is an educator, organizer, and writer. They organize with Study and Struggle and the committee to Free the Mississippi Five, are the author of the forthcoming biography, A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre (AK Press, 2025), and recently founded the Free Society People's Library, a radical mobile library in Portland, Oregon.
Episode Resources & Notes
Why the “Mississippi Five” Deserve Parole After 40 Years in Prison
Prisons Grow in Mississippi as State Officials Cut Parole
Resources for Criminalized Survivors
Relevant Episodes
Taylar Nuevelle on Knitting in Prison
Mothering Under Surveillance feat. Maya Schenwar
You can learn more about Lisa, Anita, Loretta, Linda, and Evelyn on the Study and Struggle website: https://www.studyandstruggle.com/ms5
There are easy ways to support the Mississippi Five!
1) Sign the petition. Add your name to the call to demand the immediate release of the Mississippi Five through clemency. The Committee to Free the Mississippi Five is pursuing all avenues to bring them home, including gubernatorial clemency. Your signature can bring them one step closer to home.
2) Contribute to the solidarity fund to help fight for the Mississippi Five's release and support broader efforts to build grassroots power in Mississippi. The Committee is raising funds to cover commissary, potential legal fees, and transition support when the Five come home. Your donation makes their work possible.
3) Writing letters to incarcerated people is one of the best ways to let them know you care. Write the Five using the addresses linked to in the show notes.
4) Spread the word: Share their story and this toolkit on social media. The more people know, the stronger the movement to free them becomes.
Credits
Hosted by Kim Wilson
Edited by Brian Nam-Sonenstein
Website & volunteers managed by Victoria Nam-Sonenstein
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