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When Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, many people heralded the concept of accountability.
As an incarcerated person who has strived to better myself, we need to learn the difference between accountability and simple punishment.
Christopher Blackwell is a writer who is incarcerated at the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe, Washington.
This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author. Accountability is a word that s often thrown around with little to no understanding of its true meaning and purpose. This has never been more true than with the recent conviction of Derek Chauvin and the dialogue around it.
Inside stories
Rahsaan “New York” Thomas met freelance journalist Emily Nonko at San Quentin State Prison in 2018. Thomas is 50, co-host of the Pulitzer-nominated Ear Hustle podcast, and currently incarcerated at the prison. He had decided to write years earlier, contributed numerous stories to
San Quentin News, and was interested in connecting incarcerated people with those outside. Nonko, a New York-based freelance journalist who typically focuses on cities and urban policy, developed a friendship with Thomas, and started covering San Quentin more often. “As a liberal person who felt prisons were wrong, I hadn’t realized I still had assumptions about who was in prisons, what folks are like, how prisons functioned,” she recalls. “Going in for the first time, a lot of my assumptions immediately fell away.”
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The prison where I m incarcerated shut down contact visits on March 9, 2020.
There s been no transparency from officials on when we ll get to see our loved ones again.
As bars and restaurants are filling up again, it s time to lift restrictions in prisons.
Christopher Blackwell is a writer who is incarcerated at the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe, Washington.
This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.
Last night, before I fell asleep in my cell, I kissed a photo of my wife twice and said, It s okay, my love, we ll make it through this.