Life of a Lifer

It is about time that we have another episode of Story time, Taylor Conley talks a little about what's going on an the trials an tribulations faced while in prison and working on all these projects. Designed Conviction Entertainment re releases So Cold through there new distribution with universal music groups empire distribution. Life of a Lifer is giving away so cold for free this weekend, so be sure to not miss out, and Taylor announced about something big in the works with designed conviction entertainment.

A new venture with an old friend, remember our friend OG, one of the founders of Manifest something beautiful? 

With a similar concept and mission as Designed Conviction, Manifest Something Beautiful is an independent company whose mission statement is to display their beautiful expressions; through Music, Visuals, Spoken word, and through their clothing line PRVNU [PARVENU]. 

Taylor Conley has kept in touch with them since the first meeting back in 2019. We are now working together as Designed Conviction Entertainment is set to release their EP Titled: Certificate of Perseverance in July.

Thank you for listening. Visit us at www.lifeofalifer.com and subscribe. 

Cecilia brings this great interview with Antwann Johnson, a wrongly convicted man who is currently serving a life without parole sentence in the state of Missouri.  He has served more than 20 years and still maintains his innocence. 

Despite this fact, he is doing positive things with his time. He and Cecilia discuss his work during the Covid 19 pandemic (which you can read a detailed account of here https://sfbayview.com/2021/05/against-the-odds-for-a-worthy-cause/), wrongly convictions, and other important topics.

Thank you for listening, and please do not forget to join our mailing list at www.lifeofalifer.com. 

In this episode of Life of a Lifer, Cecilia interviews David Bomber, a contributor to our magazine.

For most of the part, he wants to bring attention to his case, below his testimony:  

"In a nutshell, I am the first person to be convicted in Virginia's history of both aggravated malicious wounding and second-degree murder [of the same victim] that involved the same act - a stabbing that occurred while defending myself in my home from an assailant. In which case I am currently asking the Governor of Virginia to pardon part of my sentence, the aggravated malicious wounding conviction and resulting sentence of 25 years. 

In addition to that, I also have various pieces of my artwork posted on my website, most of which are renditions. It is also noteworthy to mention that I am currently a college student that is taking courses in General Studies through Southside Virginia Community College."

To visit his website 

www.davidmbomber.wordpress.com

To support his petition for executive clemency:

http://chng.it/MwpbTVqZ

To connect with him on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010160976893

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Thank you for listening, please visit www.lifeofalifer.com and subscribe. 

Today Cecilia interviews Karen Brown, a woman who was sentenced to life without parole for 25 years at the age of 21. After 35 years incarcerated and applied for parole 3 times, she was denied future hearings, making her sentence an official LWOP. 

Below some relevant information.   

The recent decision about Karen Brown is a textbook example of what is wrong with our KY parole system. Seeing the parole board for the third time, Karen was given a “SERVE OUT” on a life sentence which means she will NEVER be released from prison and can NEVER again be considered for parole.  Karen was 21 when she was arrested and she has been incarcerated for 35 years.  

Karen has labored long over her education, working her way through correspondence courses to a graduate degree in Christian counseling. She purposely found meaningful prison jobs over the years that made a difference – typing books in Braille for the blind, working in the chapel program, using her art and music to inspire others. She's built an excellent institutional record and her Christian commitment is deep.  She has packet thick with her accomplishments and stacks of letters attesting to her rehabilitation that supported her release. She had offers for meaningful employment, and many reentry groups and individuals ready to help her.   

Governor Beshear, Karen's sentence should be commuted and she should be released. 35 years is long enough!  

To support her release visit: https://www.change.org/p/governor-beshear-commute-karen-brown-s-sentence-35-years-is-long-enough 

Thank you, please subscribe and visit www.lifeoalifer.com to learn more about this podcast.

Today Cecilia interviews Jose Armendariz, a man incarcerated at the age of 16. Below is the profile he shared with us. 

My name is Jose Armendariz. I am a 30-year-old Mexican and Salvadoran-American man. I have been incarcerated since the age of 16. At 16, I was tried as an adult and sentenced to 80 years to life. While incarcerated, I have come to embrace what the late Congressman John Lewis called “good trouble.” As I have grown older, I have come to realize that simply expressing my beliefs in social justice does not create change. This motivated me to become a student, writer, and organizer. Whether it cost me my liberty or my life, I will always stand up against injustice.

I earned a paralegal certificate while behind bars. I received material in the mail, studied, and completed self-guided coursework. After earning my certificate, I helped an undocumented incarcerated person who was facing deportation apply for asylum. In 2020, I became an inside organizer with Transforming Justice Orange County (TJOC) and started working at the ACLU SoCal. My work has included reporting conditions of confinement issues, advocating on my behalf and that of others in custody, opposing jail expansion and backwards criminal justice propositions, and voter education and registration behind bars.

As an inside organizer, I have provided recommendations about the direction of campaigns and shared information with other incarcerated people. My written and audio work has been used to provide public comment at Board of Supervisor and Board of State and Community Corrections meetings to advance demands that center on the wellbeing and needs of people behind bars. My op-eds have been published by the Voice of OC, JURIST, and Chispa, and my experiences have been written about in La Opinion, Cal Matters, and LAist.

I also regularly participate in community webinars and panels and share my experiences with students, organizers, and advocates. My lived experience, commitment to racial and social justice, and interpersonal skills have allowed me to make valuable contributions to policy campaigns in OC and beyond. In 2020, I participated in TJOC’s Reimagine Justice in OC workshop series. I was a guest speaker in two workshops. In the same year, I also supported ACLU SoCal’s voter education and registration program called Unlock the Vote. I educated other incarcerated people about voting rights and helped eligible people fill out registration applications. This year, I was a speaker for the California Correctional Crisis: Mass Incarceration, Healthcare, and the COVID-19 Outbreak Symposium organized by UC Hastings Law School.

Throughout these experiences, I have developed leadership and discipline which has allowed me to support other incarcerated people in resolving conflict and raising grievances. Upon my release, I would like to pursue a degree in journalism or creative writing to expose the inhumanity of jails and prisons and uplift the experiences of incarcerated people to inform policy, legislative and organizing work.

This episode takes us to Baltimore, where we met up with Chris Wilson, the man who worked his way out of a life sentence by showing he was rehabilitated. After reading his book "The Master Plan" Life of a Lifer, Taylor Conley felt compelled to reach out to him. Wife of A Lifer Cecilia Conley traveled across the country to capture the interview and make this come to life. In an exciting exchange, Chris also turns it on Taylor and asks him some questions. Chris's Story is remarkable. After growing up in a Washington D.C. project, he is a prime example of what is possible.

Taylor talks about how he is making the most of the time, finding ways to cope while everything is taken away. Hear about the thoughts and what he has been doing. He describes a couple of pieces of art work and the inspiration behind them, one being a painting which was inspired from a Diego Rivera painting who was a famous Mexican mural painter in the early nineteen hundreds... and the other a graphite pencil drawing that was inspired by a blizzard art piece.

Torie Chisholm is a mentor and teacher for the nonprofit organization Second Chance Quest created by inmates and their families in 2015. He has been also a GED tutor.

Torie has been Incarcerated since he was 15 years old at the Virginia Department of Corrections, 17 years later,  he's now 32. He has a strong network of advocates who argue he got a harsh sentence:  his crime didn't include murder or rape, still the state of Virginia gave him 47 years in prison. 

In his wife words: "I ask could you please help him to fight his case so that he could get out of prison he has 2 kids that had to grow up without their father their whole life I feel as though the state of Virginia was too harsh on him by locking him up at 15 and trial him as an adult." 

He has started a petition and is receiving letters to the governor of Virginia from highly respected individuals, please joining the petition so his loved ones can file for clemency or as well so the governor of Virginia can look at his case! Visit https://www.facebook.com/2ndCQ to support this cause!

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In this episode of Life of a Lifer, Taylor does some introspection about the past few months. From not seeing his family, modified lockdowns, testing positive on Covid 19, to going back to his unit while we all wait for the end of this pandemic. He also discusses how he enjoyed "The master plan" by Chris Wilson, who, after serving 16 years for murder (life sentence), was set free by  a judge.

Please remember to subscribe and visit us at www.lifeofalifer.com.