People end up in prison for all kinds of reasons, many of which have nothing to do with actual guilt or deserving punishment. Racism, poverty, mental illness, addiction, bad representation, coercive plea deals, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time can all land someone behind bars. Innocence is rarely enough.
Letâs break it down:
â Â One in 5 people in U.S. prisons has not been convictedâtheyâre jailed pretrial, often because they canât afford bail.
â Â Coercive plea deals mean many people take guilty pleas just to avoid longer sentences, not because theyâre guilty.
â Â Studies estimate 4â6% of people in prison are innocentâwhich amounts to over 75,000 people in the U.S. alone.
â Â Juveniles and people with mental illness or intellectual disabilities are routinely punished instead of supported.
Additional Context
Even if someone committed a crime, the system doesnât account for trauma, survival, or systemic failure. Not every wrong act requires a cage. And some of the people who most need care are the ones being punished the harshest..
Take five minutes today to look up your representatives – local, state, and federal. These are the people who vote on funding for prisons, education, housing, public defense, and reentry. In some states, they even vote on parole eligibility.
Welcome to Bee Sides short reflections on justice, hope, and the human spirit
This series is a corner of our blog where I gather books, stories, and unexpected moments that linger long after the first glance.
Most will tie back to incarceration, justice, and the quiet fight for dignity. But sometimes? Itâll simply be whatever refuses to let go â the echoes that stay with me. Because thatâs what Bee Sides are for.
Let me know what youâre reading, watching, or wondering about. Maybe itâll make the next issue.
This oneâs about what we know, what we think we know, and what we learn when we step outside our bubble.
Thereâs nothing like leaving home to realize how deeply we’re shaped by it.
What happened.
Recently, both my son and my mother â each on their own paths â left their comfort zones and visited a different part of the world.
My son traveled to Laos and Japan. He told me he felt safer walking down a dark alley in either place than in most U.S. cities.
Asian culture holds a quiet respect for personal space and flow. In Tokyo, the bars are open all night, each one with its own quirky groove and pulse. Yet, amid the nightlife bustle, an underlying calm remains.
When entering an establishment, it’s polite to say âsumimasenâ (ăăżăžăă), a gentle âexcuse meâ or âIâm sorry,â acknowledging that youâre entering someone elseâs rhythm. A way of saying: I see you. I donât want to disrupt what youâve created here. Iâll enter gently. If a person has had too much to drink and ends up on the sidewalk, thereâs no judgment. A passerby quietly leaves a bottle of water and moves on.
Travel doesnât have to be international to shake loose our assumptions. Sometimes a new zip code is enough.
While my son was overseas, my mother was on her own sort of pilgrimage. A Texas native, she headed to Mesquite to visit family sheâd never met. Her experience was completely different, but just as revealing. There, politeness means avoiding direct disagreement â especially around politics or religion. But itâs also perfectly normal to be asked how much money you make, whether you own a home, or if youâre set for retirement.
Not to pry â to care. So you donât feel alone.
What stuck.
Among the suitcases and souvenirs they brought home, it was their stories that stayed with me most.
What it brought back.
Sculptures by the Sea
I remembered an article I read years ago. Although the source is long-forgotten, the images remain vivid: bronze sculptures of travelers, missing entire parts of themselves. A man with no chest. A woman without parts of her legs. All going somewhere. Carrying luggage. Artist Bruno Catalano’s work doesn’t only show what’s missing. He makes you feel what’s been left behind, in order to begin again.
Catalano was born in Morocco to a Sicilian family, and grew up in France. This is someone who knows what it is to experience different cultures.
“In 2004, a flaw in one of his characters â a depiction of Cyrano â prompted him to dig and hollow out the chest. A new path of work ensued.”
Thatâs what travel does. It rearranges you. Those hollowed out spaces fill in with new appreciations.
Customs we didnât grow up with. Respect that sounds like apology. Concern that looks like bluntness. Safety where we least expected it.
Now you’re moving through the world with eyes that see more than just what’s in front of you. Knowing in your bones there are entire worlds out there, right now, living differently – more gently, more communally, sometimes more justly.
Take a moment to watch this short video of Catalanoâs sculptures. Youâll see what I mean. The absence is the message.
Your Turn:
Where have you traveled that shifted your perspective or challenged your assumptions? Whether it was across the globe or just across town, I’d love to hear about it. Scroll down and share your story in the comments below. Letâs go down the rabbit hole together â about travel, culture, memory, and what we leave behind.
âPerhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.â â Maya Angelou
Claim: Undocumented immigrants are getting Social Security numbers and voting!
đ Fact check: Nope. False. Absolutely not.
Letâs break it down:
Undocumented immigrants do not qualify for Social Security Numbers (SSNs). The only exceptions are extremely limited â such as those granted work authorization under specific programs like DACA. And even then, itâs not âundocumentedâ anymore.
You canât vote in federal elections without proof of citizenship. Voter rolls are managed at the state level and require documentation. Claims of widespread âillegal votingâ are not supported by any credible evidence.
Hereâs the real kicker: Millions of undocumented workers pay into Social Security using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) â but can never claim the benefits.
In 2019 alone, undocumented immigrants contributed $13 billion to the Social Security Trust Fund â without receiving a dime back.
đĄ TRUTH:
Undocumented people are contributing to a system that excludes them. They’re not voting, they’re not freeloading â theyâre working, paying taxes, and still being scapegoated.
Additional Context
It’s important to note that claims about undocumented immigrants voting in U.S. elections are largely unfounded.Investigations and studies have consistently shown that instances of noncitizen voting are exceedingly rare.For example, a comprehensive audit in Georgia uncovered only a handful of noncitizens who attempted to register, and none successfully voted.
đŹ The Good: What’s one positive thing youâve seen or experienced in prison?
My desire to be a better human being drove me to ask questions and form a unique bond with a couple of staff members who saw something different about me â something of worth… Mr. and Mrs. Jewell treated me with dignity and love in a place where only degrading, negative things existed. I am thankful for those angels to grace my path along the death sentence I existed in.
đŹ The Bad: Whatâs one negative thing youâve seen or experienced in prison?
The worst thing about prison is the dehumanizing of people. Correctional staff are trained that all inmates are liars, manipulators, the worst people ever â and never to be trusted. Thereâs no integrity among the majority of staff. The staff member is always right, even when harm is done.
đŹ The Change: If you could change one thing about prison, what would it be?
I would change sentence structure and give everyone the opportunity to go before the Parole Board after serving half their time â and after 20 years for life sentences. With support, proof of rehabilitation, and a plan, people should have a chance. I’ve been incarcerated for 29 years and have had 23 years of clear conduct. Some who committed worse crimes or had more infractions have been released while I remain here.
âŠForward This Email â Someone needs to see this
âď¸Take the Quiz â How much do you know about U.S. prisons?
đ Donate Stamps â Help us send more love inside
â¤ď¸ Give â Support dignity, connection, and second chances.
This post is part of our Policy vs. People series, where we break down harmful policies that affect incarcerated people and their familiesâand spotlight the real-life impact behind the rules.
The Policy: Making phone calls, messaging, and visiting (both in-person and video) expensive, restricted, or outright inaccessible. The Impact: Families are torn apart. Legal help is harder to get. Mental health declines.
It is said that prison is for rehabilitation. But what kind of rehabilitation happens in isolation?
People in jails and prisons are often charged exorbitant prices just to speak with loved ones. Some prisons donât offer messaging systems at all. Many that do, now rely on third-party scanning services that digitize incoming mail, often blurry, skewed, or incomplete images that strip letters of their intimacy and meaning.
Dayroom phones are limited and long lines mean people are lucky to get even one call that cuts off automatically after 15, 20, or 30 minutes depending on the state. These costs are in addition to what the recipient already pays for their regular phone plan.. For institutions that have video visits, theyâre often through glitchy video kiosks. Facilities with video visits often force people to use glitchy, delayed kiosks. And in-person visits? They demand time off work, hotel stays, gas, or airfare and car rental. and navigating strict and inconsistently enforced dress codes. Families are sometimes turned away â even after traveling for hours â based on the whim of an officer, or an unexpected lockdown. Some people havenât had physical contact with family in years.
This isnât about safety, it isn’t about rehabilitation. Itâs about profit and control. Companies like Securus and GTL rake in hundreds of millions from families who can barely afford to stay connected. Prisons benefit too â by eliminating the âburdenâ of visits and making money in the process.
Learn More
To dig deeper into the prison telecom industry, check out Week 8 of Worth Rises’ educational series, The Curriculum, titled “Telecom.” This module explores the $1.4 billion prison telecom industry and its devastating impact on incarcerated people and their families.
The irony: We talk about rehabilitation, but we restrict the very lifelines that make it possible.
đ Letâs change that. If youâve been impacted by this, tell us.
đŁď¸ Share Your Story â How has incarceration affected you or someone you love? âŠForward This Email â Someone needs to see this âď¸Take the Quiz â How much do you know about U.S. prisons? đ Donate Stamps â Help us send more love inside â¤ď¸ Give â Support dignity, connection, and second chances.
Due process is one of the most important rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. It means that the government must follow fair procedures before it can take away a personâs life, liberty, or property.
How due process protects the right to be heard, have fair procedures, and get a fair chance
Both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments protect these rights â making sure that no one can be punished, imprisoned, or fined without a chance to be heard, to present a defense, and to be treated fairly under the law.
BONUS: Due process isn’t just for citizens â it applies to everyone under U.S. jurisdiction, including immigrants, incarcerated people, and others who might not always have a strong voice in the system.
At its core, due process is about dignity, fairness, and making sure the rules apply equally â no matter who you are.
â Gideon v. Wainwright: is the landmark case about due process and the right to counsel. Why it matters
In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that people accused of a crime have the right to an attorney â even if they can’t afford one. The case started with Clarence Earl Gideon, a poor man in Florida who was forced to defend himself at trial. His story reshaped American law and strengthened the idea that due process isnât just for the wealthy â itâs a right for everyone.
Protecting rights isn’t just about technicalities â it’s about making sure the government earns every step it takes against a person.
As Travis Williams, one of the three public defenders profiled in HBOâs Gideonâs Angels put it: “You wanna take my liberty, you gotta do it right. And if you don’t â acquit.”
Williams frames his wins and mounts them on a wall. Losses are tattooed on his back. Eight clients’ names so far (in 2013).
This spirit â the demand for fairness â is exactly what due process is meant to guarantee. Watch the trailer for Gideonâs Angels below for a closer look at some of the people fighting for this promise today.
Welcome to Bee Sides short reflections on justice, hope, and the human spirit
This series is a corner of our blog where I gather books, stories, and unexpected moments that linger long after the first glance.
Most will tie back to incarceration, justice, and the quiet fight for dignity. But sometimes? Itâll simply be whatever refuses to let go â the echoes that stay with me. Because thatâs what Bee-Sides are for.
Let me know what youâre reading, watching, or wondering about. Maybe itâll make the next issue.
This oneâs about what we carry after unimaginable injustice.
In the span of 24 hours, I saw that unfold in very different ways.
A man I admired, who once wore prison blues, now belittles those still trapped in the system he escaped. I wonât share the specifics of the conversation, only that something in me cracked.
Then came Jeff.
Inside and serving life, he responded without pause when I made an urgent request. I needed help identifying men inside for a developing restorative justice program that Jeff himself isnât eligible for. The deadline was the following day and I had few candidates.
Credit: Lifegate.com #Kintsugi: The art of precious scars
Within hours, I had names, context, and backstory – everything I needed. If you know, you know: thatâs no small feat from behind concrete, metal, and barbed wire.
Jeffâs response didnât undo the crack. But he unknowingly honored it, turning it into something I could carry.
In Japanese culture, thereâs a practice called kintsugi, repairing broken pottery with gold, not to hide the fracture, but to mark it as part of the objectâs history. A sign of survival.
Thatâs what Jeff gave me.
Note: Â Jeff, the lifer whose kindness sparked this post, is on our waiting list, hoping for someone to connect with. If you feel called to reach out, you can comment below, contact us, or submit an adopter form. (Check out our FAQ about adopting).
đ One connection can change everything.
That contrast brought Ray Hinton to mind, a man who lost three decades to injustice, and yet refuses to let it steal his joy. Asked if he was angry (~11:00 in, in the video below), he said:
Scott Pelley: Are you angry?
Ray Hinton: No.
Scott Pelley: How could you not be? Three decades of your life, most all of your life.
Ray Hinton: They took 30 years of my life, as you said. What joy I have I cannot … afford to give that to ’em. And so being angry is … would be giving them … letting them win.
Scott Pelley: You’d still be in prison.
Ray Hinton: Oh absolutely. I am a person that love to laugh. I love to see other people smile. And how can I smile when I’m full of hate. And so the 30 years that they got from me, I count today … I count every day as a joy.
There it is. The difference between survival and true freedom.
What gets carried through the gate?
If you want to hear Ray Hintonâs story in his own words, see the 60-minutes episode featuring Hinton and his longtime advocate, Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative.
You can dive deeper with these powerful books:
The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton Genre: Memoir / Wrongful Conviction Ray Hinton spent 30 years on Alabamaâs death row for a crime he didnât commit. His story isnât just about injustice, itâs about grace. I still think about his sense of humor, his unshakable belief in hope, and the deep friendships he formed inside. Itâs the kind of book that wrecks you and rebuilds you.
Buy on Barnes & Noble (Note: Barnes & Noble is the only vendor allowed to ship into Arizona prisons)
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson Genre: Memoir / Criminal Justice Reform Bryan Stevensonâs work through the Equal Justice Initiative has saved countless lives and exposed the brutal realities of mass incarceration, racial injustice, and wrongful conviction.Just Mercy isnât just a book about the broken system â itâs a call to empathy, action, and courage. Stevenson reminds us that âeach of us is more than the worst thing weâve ever done.â His compassion, perseverance, and relentless belief in human dignity stay with you long after the last page.
As we welcome the warmth and renewal of spring, nowâs a great time to check in with your adoptee (or any loved one inside). A letter, card, or even a quick note can make a world of difference.
Here are a few conversation starters and observances to inspire your May correspondence:
May is:
Mental Health Awareness Month
National Reentry Month
National Foster Care Month
National Letter Writing Month (technically April, but we say keep it going!)
Notable Dates in May:
May 1: May Day / International Workersâ Day
May 4: Star Wars Day (“May the 4th be with you”)
May 5: Cinco de Mayo
May 8: National Teacher Appreciation Day
May 12: Mother’s Day
May 15: International Day of Families
May 18: Armed Forces Day
May 25: National Missing Childrenâs Day
May 27: Memorial Day
Writing Tip: Not every message has to be long or profound. Even a simple “thinking of you” or funny quote goes a long way.
Make sure books are shipped directly from the bookseller (Amazon is usually accepted; Arizona only allows Barnes & Noble). Contact us if youâre unsure whatâs allowed.
Thank you for showing up with consistency and care. Your presence matters more than you know.
đ Claim: âPrisoners are just living off taxpayersâthey donât need support.â
đ Fact check: FALSE.
đŁÂ TRUTH: Many people in prison work full-time jobs â for pennies, or nothing, per hour. Most are also parents, caregivers, and future community members.
People in prison often rely on outside support for basics like soap, stamps, and food from commissary.
.đĄ Reminder: Dignity shouldn’t disappear at the prison gate. We all benefit when we support rehabilitation and connection.
