Prison Visits

Pathways to Understanding

Our prison visit program brings prosecutors, victim advocates, and journalists inside prisons to foster understanding with incarcerated individuals.

Why Prison Visits?

Prosecutors have immense influence on who ends up in our prisons and jails, but many have not seen inside these facilities or had conversations with people who are incarcerated. We seek to build bridges and help line prosecutors better understand the experiences of those who are incarcerated and the impact of the decisions they make everyday as prosecutors.

What happens on a visit?

Our one-day prison visit trainings take place in Northern and Southern California. Prosecutors participate in facilitated small group discussions with individuals who are incarcerated. Conversations often touch on the factors that led someone to commit a crime, their experience with prosecutors and the criminal legal system, the conditions within the prison, and their rehabilitation while incarcerated.

“This will help me see beyond what the four corners of the case say.”

“I was surprised to see how people took responsibility for the crimes they committed and seemed to genuinely rehabilitate themselves.”

“I thought they would not want to engage with us but it was quite the opposite, they wanted to speak to us and were quite vulnerable and honest about themselves.”

SEE OUR VISITS

WATCH SOME OF OUR PAST PRISON VISITS

If you’re interested in participating in a California prison visit or learning more about how to set up a visit in another state, email our Program Director Artie Gonzales