Inspiration:

Zoo-Manity is a drawing of a male prisoner that represents the sheer number of males incarcerated and ending up as examples they don't want their kids to model.

What role does art play in your life?

I am saddened, impassioned and motivated by the injustices and damage that I see in the justice system. I hope my art is thought-provoking and promotes dialog for IMPROVEMENT.

Justice statement:

No one grows up aspiring to be a prisoner. The threshold for justice and forgiveness seems unattainable. I've been incarcerated 36 years on a 25-to-life sentence. Most prisoners are parents. I've witnessed women come to prison, not knowing they are pregnant, then losing custody of their kids. Some moms can't get released during the mandated time, to have their kids returned to them. Most prisoners' crimes had nothing to do with their parenting; some crimes are connected to attempts at financial support for their kids. When put in prison, most people lose their job, housing and family ties, so when they leave, they are worse off than when they arrived. This becomes a societal problem as parolees become a taxpayer drain.

Prison is full of broken people that have paid beyond any definition of justice. Family members die, health fails, and their kids call someone else "Mom." I'm a trans male and understand "blood is not always thicker than water." I don't have any biological children, but mentor plenty. Families are devastated by the collateral damage of arrest, while correction officers are turned into probation/parole officers. The prison system needs to shrink, becoming a place of last resort. Drug treatment, mental health professionals and life coaches need to be employed.

If "justice" is the equivalent of punishment, then it is served. Otherwise, prison is a human garbage dump.