All Episodes

Willette Benford is Board Chair of the Fully Free campaign of Heartland Alliance. In this episode she tells the story of how she was convicted

Cedrick Frison shares wisdom gained from the hard lessons of living life on the streets of the west side of Chicago, including the effects of

The Fully Free campaign of Heartland Alliance aims to end “permanent punishment” for people seeking to lead law-abiding lives after release from prison. Campaign manager

Marlon Chamberlain manages the Fully Free campaign of the Heartland Alliance in the Chicago area. In this episode he shares his personal story and insights

In this episode of Justice Voices, you will hear from guest Sam Dent, who served a mandatory minimum 20 years in prison in a case

This episode provides a big picture overview of why our criminal justice system needs improvement, especially regarding our overuse of prisons, by exploring the gold

The root cause of violentization is trauma from chronic exposure to violence, usually beginning in childhood or adolescence. Victims of violence become victimizers. Why? Because

What makes violent people violent? The short answer is violentization. Dangerous violent people almost invariably choose to become violent to survive physically and emotionally in

Unless we understand the psychological impact of chronic abuse on victims, we can fail them. Even worse, we can misjudge them, including misjudging them in court.

That’s why this part 2 of Donna Lomelino’s story is so important and instructive. 

This episode of Justice Voices will be emotionally intense.

Facing realities involved in criminal justice policy sometimes is, including facing the
reality of what a lifetime of abuse and exploitation can do to people.

Some prisons are physical, made of concrete and steel. Other prisons are psychological.

In this update to Episode 1, host David Risley, a former career federal prosecutor, has a conversation
with one of his former defendants, Lynard Joiner, founder and CEO of Shifting Into New Gear (SING).

“Going to prison saved my life.”

That is what guest, Lynard Joiner, said during this conversation with host, David Risley.
It is also the subtitle of an autobiographical book written by Lynard Joiner, titled, LJ’s Cocoon.