I sat down and spoke with Rene Rodriguez, a boy raised by heroin-addicted parents, a teen who embraced street culture, leading him to the ultimate embrace of life without parole. Now, a man determined to make amends for his past actions and committed to giving back in meaningful ways. We discuss the profound impact that education can have on transforming lives, the importance of story and his newsletter - Views on LIFE. This publication is dedicated to sharing the stories of individuals serving life sentences, shedding light on their experiences that are often overlooked, so that society may start to see the humanity in those we never consider, except to consider them the very worst of humanity. All words and media are from the current and previous issues of Views on Life (www.viewsonlife.org ). Photographs thanks to Rene's family. Calvin Collage screenshots were taken from https://calvin.edu/prison-initiative/... Check out the show notes at https://www.prisontalkwithjamieandemma.com

In this episode of Prison Talk with Jamie Meade and Emma Charleston we will be talking about how the Second Look Sentencing movement started in Michigan. Many people in Michigan are unaware the Second Look Sentencing movement started with the National Lifers of America, Inc. (NLA) and The Adolescent Redemption Project (TARP). Not only did it start with the NLA and TARP, but the movement also started from the research of a couple prisoners. On September 1, 2021, the NLA and TARP (a prisoner) drafted the first proposed Second Look Sentencing Bill that spread around the state prison system and eventually led to an NLA/TARP Second Look Sentencing Rally at the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, in October 2021, where Alexandra Bailey of The Sentencing Project was one of the NLA/TARP's guest speakers. Two of the largest criminal justice reform advocacy organizations in Michigan stated they would not support such a bill because it would cost 10 million dollars and take 10 years to pass. Now, two years later, the Second Look Sentencing Legislation is about to be introduced by Senator Stephanie Chang on April 19, 2023.

In this Episode of Prison Talk With Jamie Meade and Emma Charleston, Jamie and Emma will discuss the illogical and irrational idea behind a 19-year-old, who is held at a higher standard of culpability, for aiding and abetting an 18-year-old, who is held less culpable because of the "new brain development science", in Michigan. What separates the two different levels of brain development and standards of culpability is 4 months and 25 days. The important question is "How can a 19-year-old be held responsible for aiding and abetting a crime that the perpetrator (an 18-year-old) did not plan and is not as responsible for?"