District attorneys and prosecutors will often paint defendants in as negative a light as they can to help secure a conviction. Often, it is the only version of the story that the public sees or believes. But prisoners, both guilty and innocent, can have vastly larger stories that go untold.

We are interested in humanizing prison inmates by allowing them to tell their side of the story, no matter what that story is.

What kinds of things could you write about?

Think about things like:

The disproportionality of your sentence to your crime

Mitigating circumstances that were ignored in your case

Childhood trauma and abuse that were never punished, meanwhile you’re punished for similar behavior

Being falsely accused of a crime while your abuser walks free

Hypocrisy in the conditions of confinement, justice system, or police force that you have experienced in the course of your confinement

Strange arguments made in court by prosecutors that had no relationship to your actions

General prison stories: funny, sad, or noteworthy things you have observed

Prison culture factoids — did you ever get a prison nickname? Have you ever tried hooch? Did you ever get a prison tattoo?

Explaining prison “politics” to people on the streets. Why do prison gangs form, and how do they affect people when they get out?

Ideas about how the prison system could change, or what might make prison better

Or anything else you can think of that you’d like to share

Please send written or typed responses to:

lovementoo PO Box 776 Los Alamos, NM 87544

Or if you wish to email us, contact:

lovementoo@gmail.com

You can also use this form: