The 98% - Life After Prison
This podcast is dedicated to the 98% of people incarcerated in North Carolina who will eventually be released from prison back into their communities, often with few, if any resources. Through the voices of people in transition and those who support them, we explore hurdles and life long barriers many justice-involved people confront whether getting a drivers license, finding housing, or trying to find a job. We examine issues like substance use disorder and mental health that plague this population and ask what we as a society can do to support the formerly incarcerated and reduce recidivism.
In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a producer and criminal justice advocate. April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After more than 31 years, she had her sentence commuted by Governor Cooper. She was released March 24, 2022.
ART WORK BY JOHN HARDIN
Episodes
29 episodes
Unlocking the Box
In our second episode examining the use of solitary confinement, we meet two people on a mission to end the use of prolonged solitary confinement in our nation's prisons. From personal experience, Craig Waleed understands the psychologic...
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43:22
Inside the Box
Meet Drew Doll and Daquan Peters, both survivors of solitary confinement, and both devoted to seeing the practice banned in US prisons. Hear their stories and learn why the Mandela Rules, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, declar...
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40:25
On a Mission with a Purpose: Post Incarceration Syndrome
April riffs about the social, emotional, and psychological difficulties caused by the ongoing trauma of prison. She also shares some of the stubborn habits that have followed her home from her 31 years inside.
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11:03
Brian Scott - Leading with Lived Experience
As a young man Brian Scott saw people in terms of what they could do for him. His behavior eventually led to a 20-year prison sentence. In the four years since his release, Brian's become a leader in North Carolina's reentry movemen...
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28:13
Falling Down
It's one thing to get out of prison. It's quite another to stay out. More than 40% of returning citizens in North Carolina end up back in prison within the first two years. In this episode, we explore the reasons so many peop...
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39:53
Reflections of a Prison Chaplain
Meet Josh LeRoy, father, husband, and former prison chaplain. Josh spent roughly ten years pastoring to men in minimum security. He says it's the most fun he's ever had in any job. Learn what it was like to arrive at a new p...
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31:44
Thirty-Three Years on Hearsay
At the age of 20, Randolph Wilson was sentenced to life in prison in a case built entirely on hearsay. Three co-defendants, who testified against him, later recanted their testimony saying they'd been coerced by the local sheriff. A...
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27:00
On a Mission with a Purpose: April interviews a man on death row.
Lyle May received a death sentence in 1999. Since that time, he's found God, gotten sober, and has devoted himself to a life of scholarship and reflection. This is Episode 3 of April's special series On a Mission with...
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20:14
Providing a Second Chance
Formerly incarcerated people face a number of barriers as they try to rebuild their lives after prison. One big one is employment. In this episode, we learn about one company that's made a commitment to providing a second chance and...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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33:48
It's Expensive to Break the Law
Over the past 20 years, North Carolina’s Legislature has increased court and criminal fees by 400 percent. A good percentage of that money is disbursed to the state’s General Fund, not allocated to the courts, which remain grossly underf...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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32:19
Working with Women on the Inside
With so much focus on the mass incarceration of men, we often overlook the fact the number of incarcerated women stands almost seven times higher today than it did in 1980. Bianca Harris has watched the rise since she began her car...
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29:54
A Father & Son Speak from the Heart
Edward Scott believes having difficult conversations with his loved ones is part of what it takes to be strong person and a good father. He invited us to listen in to the conversation he had with his grown son Terrell about what it was l...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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32:34
Bonus Episode 2_ On a Mission With a Purpose
On a Mission With a Purpose is a series of interviews conducted by April Barber Scales. Felishia McPherson describes how the lack of cultural understanding she experienced with mental health therapists in prison sent her on a miss...
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9:58
Incarcerating the Mentally Ill.
With a shortage of mental health services in this country, prisons and jails have become a dumping ground for people with mental illness including people with conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Too often these conditions ...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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39:23
Fifty-Two Years To Freedom
Incarcerated with more than two life sentences, Joe Perry thought he was condemned to die behind bars. But once he found a sliver of hope, he decided he would become a man worthy of his freedom. It took many more years but Joe is no...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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30:49
Bonus Episode1_ On A Mission With A Purpose
On a Mission With a Purpose is a series of interviews conducted by April Barber Scales. Cierra Cobb has started two new initiatives to advocate for justice involved people. One addresses mental health while the other prepares return...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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13:27
Filling the Gap in Healthcare
It's common knowledge that healthcare in prison is usually substandard at best. And, until recently, most people getting out of prison have had no access to insurance or healthcare. Since 2017, NC FIT - Formerly In Tran...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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38:03
Dog Power
In 2013, Deb Cunningham and Maria Ikenberry began Ear Eyes Nose and Paws, a therapy dog program that trains service dogs for people with mobility and medical issues. Today, incarcerated men do the bulk of the training, ...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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35:08
Family Connections
When Rachel Mascarenas's partner was arrested and sent to federal prison, her children were just 3 and 5 years old. In this podcast, we learn why it's said that when someone goes to prison their family goes with them and the societa...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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33:39
Reflections of a Former Warden
Mike Thumm reflects on his twenty years as a Superintendent/ Warden of Orange Correctional Center in Hillsborough North Carolina. He shares the challenges and rewards of running a minimum security prison and recalls a time before ...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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28:36
Addiction Meets The Law
The war on drugs has successfully filled our prisons and jails. But as the opioid epidemic shows, criminalizing drug use has failed to address the enormous problem of addiction in this country. Tune into this episode to hear person...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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36:18
Welcome to Your Local Reentry Council - Part Two
North Carolina's Reentry Councils were established to reduce the barriers to reentry by providing case managers and a network of needed services to help people transition from prison. Currently, there are reentry councils in 20 of N...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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14:16
Welcome to Your Local Reentry Council - Part One
North Carolina's Local Reentry Councils were established in 2018 to reduce the barriers to reentry by providing case managers and a network of needed services to help people transition from prison. Currently, there are ...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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24:50