Joshua Holi went to prison in the United States for attempted murder after shooting his sister's ex-boyfriend. We discuss how Joshua began a life of drug dealing after getting a $700 fine, spending 13 months on the run after shooting his sister's ex-boyfriend and his time in prison. Through Joshua's warm and positive energy, this conversation challenges preconceived notions about people who have committed crime. Connect with Joshua on instagram: @know_vember Evolving Prisons links LinkedIn Insta...
Aug 15, 2023•51 min•Ep. 43
Jesse Crosson went to prison just after his 18th birthday. He was sentenced to 32 years in prison for committing a robbery and a separate, non-fatal shooting. Jesse shares how he turned his life around in prison, how he was unexpectedly released after serving 19 years, and the difficulty of reintegrating back into society after spending more than half of his life in prison. Jesse's website Evolving Prisons links LinkedIn Instagram Website...
Aug 01, 2023•42 min•Ep. 42
Louise Ashton spent five years in prisons in England for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. She shares her story of how she met and married a man involved in drug dealing, before she was arrested. She discusses her time in prison, maintaining contact with her incarcerated husband, and the prevalence of inappropriate relationships between prison officers and prisoners. Louise highlights the importance of education for prisoners and the impact of the Proceeds of Crime Act now she is out of prison...
Jul 18, 2023•49 min•Ep. 42
Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences were implemented in England and Wales in 2005 to detain offenders who posed a very serious risk to the public, but many non-violent offenders have also been given this sentence. Despite the abolition of the IPP sentence in 2012, there are still nearly 3,000 people in prison on IPP sentences today without a release date. We explore the psychological impact of these sentences on prisoners and their families, the ability to recall IPP prisoners bac...
Jul 04, 2023•40 min•Ep. 41
Paul Bridges is a volunteer at Amnesty International UK and is Chair of the Anti-Death Penalty Project. The purpose of the project is to raise awareness about the death penalty with Amnesty members, the public and politicians. In this episode, Paul shares arguments for and against the death penalty with us, but debunks the 'for' arguments with facts and stats. For example, did you know it actually costs more to have someone on death row than to imprison them for life? We discuss cases in the UK ...
Jun 20, 2023•38 min•Ep. 39
Ian Gunn was a Governor in four prisons in Scotland over a 22 year period. He worked with male prisoners, female prisoners and in a prison which held only sex offenders. He shares some of the lessons he learned during his service, from how to respond when sex offenders tell him they're innocent, to being taken to court by a prisoner for staff opening his confidential mail. Ian shares some of the stark differences between working with male and female prisoners, tells us about a hostage taking sit...
Jun 06, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 38
Elizabeth Franklin-Best has been a Criminal Defence Lawyer in the United States of America for over 20 years. Elizabeth recounts one of her most challenging death penalty cases where it appears the prosecutor was excluding jurors based on race. She shares why she finds death penalty cases particularly difficult and why she feels that executing people does not add any value to society. We discuss the importance of considering somebody’s background when sentencing them and whether lengthy prison s...
May 23, 2023•51 min•Ep. 37
Former prison officers, Ella and Harriet, speak about the difficulty of working in a prison system that often causes harm to prisoners. They share their stories of joining the service with hopes of making a difference, only to discover a reality that was far different than what they expected. They discuss the challenges of working in a system where rehabilitative work is often prevented, and where prison officers are exposed to dangerous substances like New Psychoactive Substances (NPS). Ella an...
May 09, 2023•57 min•Ep. 36
Dean Williams is the former Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Corrections and Commissioner of Corrections in Alaska. Dean talks about the preventable deaths in custody that happened in Alaska before he took over which cemented his decision to take over the role, and the reforms he made towards a more humane prison system. He also shares why Colorado had a 50% recidivism rate despite having a corrections budget of $1 billion. Dean tells us about a work programme that he created for...
Apr 28, 2023•52 min•Ep. 35
Andy West talks about the power of teaching Philosophy in prison. Drawing on his personal experiences, Andy shares how teaching Philosophy to prisoners can help with their personal growth and emotional wellbeing. He discusses how he became aware of prisons from a very young age, as his father, brother and uncle all served time in prison. We also explore the importance of creating an environment conducive to growth and change, and the struggles of prison officers in navigating the differing world...
Apr 06, 2023•39 min•Ep. 34
Did you know that research suggests around 80,000 innocent people are in prison in the United States? Claudia and Sydnie are both Senior Staff Attorney Fellows at the California Innocence Project (CIP). They share stories with us about people CIP have helped to free from prison and how they were wrongfully convicted, they tell us the main reasons why people are wrongfully convicted in the United States and they share what it feels like when they aren't able to free people who say they're innocen...
Mar 14, 2023•52 min•Ep. 33
Martin Lockett is a substance abuse counsellor, author, public speaker, and advocate for reducing driving under the influence fatalities. He spent 17.5 years in prison for a driving under the influence fatality that claimed two lives and severely injured another. In an impassioned vow to his victims’ families and friends at his sentencing, Martin decided to devote the rest of his life to honouring his victims’ legacies by helping others who struggle with substance abuse. In this episode we discu...
Feb 28, 2023•51 min•Ep. 32
Laura Bevan is the Prisoner and Family Service Manager at Prisoners Abroad. Prisoners Abroad is a human rights and welfare charity providing humanitarian aid, advice and emotional support to people affected by overseas imprisonment. They assist British citizens during their incarceration, when they return to the UK and need access to resettlement services, and they support their family and friends throughout the trauma. In this episode, we discuss the incredible work Prisoners Abroad does and La...
Feb 14, 2023•33 min•Ep. 31
Mike Oulton has spent 15 years in prison in Mexico and Canada. He was a career criminal but his positive outlook on life and growth has enabled him to break free from a life of crime. Mike talks about first being arrested at the age of 10. He tells us about his 10 year prison sentence in Mexico for drug smuggling, and his imprisonment in Canada thereafter. He shares some prison rules that we can all implement in our own lives and gives us tips for how we can live a happier life. Mike's links Web...
Jan 31, 2023•53 min•Ep. 30
Megan Michals is a social worker in Florida, USA. She shares her experience of working in a prison there to improve the wellbeing of incarcerated people and how she felt the work she was doing wasn't supported by the staff within the prison. Megan also tells us about recidivism in Florida and the 'three strikes and you're out' law which can see people spend their entire life in prison, even if they haven't committed a crime in many decades. She also shares how lack of quality nutrition and medic...
Jan 17, 2023•39 min•Ep. 29
Anthony Stephen Malone has a very varied career history. Among many things, he is a former paratrooper, special advisor and CIA agent. In this episode he speaks about the time he spent 3 years working undercover in a prison in Afghanistan and the 4 year prison sentence he served in prisons in England. Anthony tells us about some of the problems facing prisons in England today, he compares English prisons to some prisons he’s visited overseas and he talks about the importance of improving conditi...
Dec 20, 2022•49 min•Ep. 28
David Haze served two prison sentences in England for burglary which stemmed from using drugs and gambling. His second time in prison transformed his life as he discovered growth-orientated activities, including the power of sport. In prison, he ran a marathon and decided he would paddle the longest lakes in the UK when he was released. He is now a 7x SUP World Record holder. In this episode he speaks about the human need he was trying to meet while taking drugs and gambling, what happened in pr...
Dec 06, 2022•48 min•Ep. 27
Sally Taylor is the Chief Executive of Koestler Arts, a prison arts charity. They aim to help prisoners, and other detained individuals, lead more positive lives by motivating them to participate in the arts. They currently have their annual exhibition on in Southbank London until 18 December 2022 which showcases work created by people in prison or other places of detention. The exhibition is presented by hosts who have lived experience of being in prison. Sally tells us about the exhibition, so...
Nov 23, 2022•36 min•Ep. 26
Tommy had a methamphetamine addiction and served time in prison in Auckland, New Zealand. He went on to study for a degree in Criminology and work for an organisation which aims to transform the criminal justice system in New Zealand. In this episode he speaks about his addiction and using drugs to make him feel better internally. He explains how he felt his personality was stripped away from him in prison and the lack of access to rehabilitation opportunities. Tommy also shares that two police ...
Nov 08, 2022•40 min•Ep. 25
Anthony Pierre went from earning $40,000 a month as a real estate investor in the USA, to serving a 6 year prison sentence for drug charges and only earning $20 a month in prison. Anthony speaks about the importance of mindset in turning your life around. He explains that, because many people around him used drugs, he didn’t see them as being particularly bad, not the way somebody who has never been exposed to drugs might. It wasn’t until he was in prison that he realised how much the people aro...
Oct 25, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 24
Jolyn Armstrong was living a happy life with her husband and spending a lot of her time travelling, as she was able to work on her business from anywhere. Jolyn’s life dramatically changed when she got a phone call from her son to say he had been arrested and was facing life in prison. Jolyn speaks about navigating the criminal justice system, how she dealt with changing relationships when her son was incarcerated, the stigma attached to having a loved one in prison, and support groups available...
Oct 11, 2022•47 min•Ep. 23
Dr Craig Waleed is an educator and counsellor. He is currently working as a Campaign Manager to end the use of long term solitary confinement in North Carolina. He holds a master’s degree and a PhD, and he also spent 8 years in prison in New York for attempted murder in the second degree. In this episode Craig shares with us that he was subjected to abuse growing up. He speaks about prison and how dehumanising it can be, including his two 30 day stays in solitary confinement. We also speak about...
Sep 27, 2022•42 min•Ep. 22
To celebrate 20 amazing guests on the Evolving Prisons podcast I thought we'd do a different episode where I am interviewed about my recent research into prison officer training in Scotland and Norway. I am interviewed by Rob Hosking, former police officer and also my partner, who often gets roped into prison related things for me! I completed a Masters by Research degree and this research is what made up that degree. I spent two years part-time deep diving into prison officer literature, conduc...
Sep 13, 2022•43 min•Ep. 21
Jason Tremblay has worked as a prison officer in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, however he has been off work for several years having been diagnosed with PTSD. He shares his story of becoming a prison officer and some of the events he has experienced which he thinks has contributed to his PTSD. He also tells us about how difficult it can be to live with PTSD. Jason tells us about the River Valley Resilience Retreat (RVRR) he attends in Saskatchewan. RVRR is a place where public safety personn...
Aug 30, 2022•37 min•Ep. 20
Sara Lee has worked as a musician in prisons since 1984 and in 1995 she was asked to form the Irene Taylor Trust which delivers music projects in prisons and in the community. Sara speaks about the beginning of her career working in HMP Wormwood Scrubs playing music for people in prison and the positive effect this had on not only them, but the staff too. She tells us about how the arts were called upon during the Covid-19 pandemic to help alleviate the difficulties people in prison were facing ...
Aug 16, 2022•49 min•Ep. 19
Natasha founded Unlocked Graduates in 2016. It aims to encourage university graduates to work as a prison officer in England for two years, while gaining a masters degree. They are challenged to create new ideas around improving the way prisons work. Today, Natasha speaks about why she founded Unlocked Graduates and what the programme entails. Max is a prison officer and he discusses how he decided to join Unlocked Graduates after they attended his university and his Reticular Activating System ...
Aug 02, 2022•29 min•Ep. 18
Peter Sage is a motivational speaker, international serial entrepreneur and an expert on human behaviour. He is a 6 time Tedx speaker and has shared the stage with Sir Richard Branson and Elon Musk. He is also the recipient of the BrandLaureate Award and was named one of the greatest leaders and entrepreneurs by Inspiring Leadership Now. In 2017, Peter served a 6 month prison sentence for contempt of court. He was the only civil prisoner serving a sentence inside HMP Pentonville, statistically t...
Jul 19, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 17
Sinem Bozkurt was a prison officer in England for a year and a half before she was caught taking contraband into prison for an incarcerated person. She then went on to serve a prison sentence. Sinem speaks about her time as an officer, what was going on in her life that contributed to her taking in contraband and her time serving a sentence. We discuss whether the training equips officers to do the job expected of them, whether prison is a necessary punishment for some offences and how three peo...
Jul 05, 2022•52 min•Ep. 16
William Young is a Correctional Officer in Nebraska, USA and has been in this work since 2005. He also has a business called Just Corrections where he aims to bring awareness to the emotional and psychological dangers of correctional work. In this episode, William speaks about the impact being a Correctional Officer can have on your physical and mental health, and your life outside of work. We discuss his book, 'The Nothing That Never Happened', where William shares experiences that happen in pr...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 15
Paul English is an international consultant on penal reform and has been doing this work since 1997. He has worked for United Nations agencies and reform groups. Today he shares with us his experience of working in countries such as Uganda, Lebanon and Nigeria. Paul discusses the issues their prisons face such as lack of resources for rehabilitation efforts, lack of food for incarcerated people and sometimes difficulties in knowing where staff’s next paycheck is coming from. However, it’s clear ...
Jun 07, 2022•48 min•Ep. 14
