This is the category for the Tell My Story system.
Working in Telfair’s tier unit during a sweltering July, I witnessed an act of deliberate cruelty I’ll never forget. The Unit Manager intentionally turned on the heat in cells already baking from metal-plated windows, telling staff these men were ‘supposed to be punished.’ That same officer now runs Georgia’s largest prison.
After snapping mentally and committing murder, this military veteran received life without parole. Seventeen years later, he shares how he earned a college degree, found faith, and chooses redemption daily despite gang violence, officer shortages, and a system that offers no hope of release.
Incarcerated at 17, now 50, this narrator has survived 32 years navigating constant violence, isolation, and institutional neglect. Through contraband cell phones that became lifelines to family and education, he maintained his humanity while learning to survive in what he describes as a war zone.
At 19, I received 17 years for armed robbery—the take was $140, split two ways. Seventy dollars cost me my twenties and thirties. Between 1992 and 2009, I survived four Georgia prisons, learning hard lessons about violence, exploitation, and what it takes to hold onto hope when the system tells you you’ll die inside.
After two years in solitary confinement at county jail, I arrived at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison expecting the worst. What I found was beyond imagination—violence, medical neglect, and conditions that would be illegal for shelter animals.
For 33 years, he’s faced the Georgia parole board with the same result: denied. Armed with Supreme Court precedent and a prosecutor’s signed admission that no evidence of force was presented at his trial, he continues fighting a system that won’t engage with the law he presents. “Insufficient time served,” they say every year, reading from what sounds like a script.
Sentenced to life with parole eligibility in 7 years, I’ve now served over 40 years in Georgia prisons. Despite an exemplary record and completing every requirement, I’ve been denied parole 15-16 times. This is my story of systemic barriers, legal advocacy, and refusing to stay silent.
A military veteran describes his 2009 conviction based on false accusations by a teenager, inadequate public defense, and the loss of his children. Sixteen years later, he reflects on surviving violence in Georgia prisons while maintaining hope that the truth will emerge.
I expected order and stability when I entered Pulaski State Prison in Georgia. Instead, I found a facility with no supervision, rampant violence, and systemic neglect. For two years, I witnessed inmates calling their families to get help because officers wouldn’t respond to emergencies.
After 27 years in Georgia prisons, a man sentenced at 15 faced his parole interview in freezing conditions while grieving his sister’s death. Despite years of mentorship work and staying disciplinary-free, the board denied him based solely on ‘nature of crime’ — a decision made when he was a child.