The Prison Show

Bill Habern and Richard Gladden

The Prison Show

With Memorial Day approaching, this Friday we will remember Veterans that have died while incarcerated and Veterans that were friends or family members of those incarcerated. We will go to the phones for shout-outs starting at 10.

Dr. Ana Yáñez-Correa with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition will be calling in to discuss the Sunset Commission report and we may hear from Representative Borris Miles to discuss "Official Oppression" following the not-guilty vedict this week in the Blomberg trial... This and more on The Prison Show!

The report from the Sunset Commission on TDCJ was issued on Monday, so we'll kick that around a bit, and hear from Ed Davis about Camp Good News, and visit with a student interested in prison reform!  Join Us!

It's a First Friday, so as usual we will go to phone calls early... But be sure to tune in as we welcome a possible new staff member!  You don't want to miss it!

Its the fourth Friday and that means we address our Veterans Issues!  Lynda Greene will join us with this months installment of issues affecting incarcerated Veterans - Join Us!

Sometimes life just tends to interfere! Other than comments by Linda Graybill, Legal Director of the ACLU Texas during the Sunbelt Prisons Symposium, I have no idea what we're having on the show tonight!  So join us, You can be as surprised as we are!

Tonight we will visit with Maurice C. a dedicated volunteer in the AA programs in TDCJ about his book, God is at the Meeting!  We will also hear the words of Mr. Ernest McMillan as he spoke at the Sunbelt Prison Symposium... Join us!

Tonight we will go to phone calls aearly as usual, but first we will hear from Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson as she discuses her experiences with the prison system!

It's the fourth Friday so we will visit with Lynda Greene on Veterans issues and begin our series from the Sunbelt Prisons Symposium: Living in the Carceral State: Problems, Possibilities and Potential Solutions.  This week we will hear from Dr. Rick Halperin, Director of the Human Rights Program at SMU.

From the symposium Sunbelt Prisons and the Carceral State: New Frontiersof State Power, Resistance, and Racial Oppression at Southern Methodist University on Saturday, March 24th, 2012, the Prison Show is proud to present: Living in the Carceral State: Problems, Possibilities, and Potential Solutions A plenary roundtable including Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson; civil rights veteran and formerly incarcerated activist Ernest McMillan; formerly incarcerated activist and founder of The Prison Show Ray Hill; long-time civil rights and criminal defense attorney Bill Habern; Director of the Human Rights Program at SMU Rick Halperin; and Legal Director of the ACLU of Texas Lisa Graybill. The event was organized by Dr. Robert Chase, public historian with the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston and Dr. Norwood Andrews, currently visiting professor of history at the Universitry of Dallas.

Tonight we are joined by Dr. Jeffrey Ian Ross, an Associate Professor in the School of Criminal Justice, College of Public Affairs, and a Research Fellow of the Center for International and Comparative Law at the University of Baltimore.  He has researched, written, and lectured on corrections, policing, political crime, violence, cybercrime, extreme/abnormal criminal behavior, and crime and justice in Indian Country for over two decades. Ross' work has appeared in many academic journals and books, as well as popular media. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of sixteen books. Ross is a frequent and respected subject matter expert for local, regional, national and international news media. He has made live appearances on CNN, CNBC, and Fox News Network. 

Friday night on the show, we will visit with Dr. Robert Chase about the upcoming Symposium, Sunbelt Prisons and the Carceral State: New Frontiers of State Power, Resistance and Racial Oppression.  Dr. Chase specializes in public history, oral history, civil rights and social justice movements, and African-American history. Dr. Chase has held postdoctoral fellowships with Southern Methodist University, Case Western Reserve University, and Rutgers University.  His forthcoming manuscript, Civil Rights on the Cell Block: The Prisoners' Rights Movement and the Construction of the Carceral State, 1945–1990, explores the roots of twentieth century prison growth, inmate society and the coercive relationship between keeper and kept, and the legal struggle between inmates and the state over race, prisoners' rights, and questions of citizenship.

This week on The Prison Show we are joined by Mr. Randy Kearse, Entreprenuer, Aurhor, Motivational Speaker, and Ex-Con, as he discusses his book, Changin' Your Game Plan: How to use incarceration as a stepping stone for success.

Join us for our First Friday Celebration as we go to phone calls at 9:30 and facilitate more connections as we Keep Prison Families Together on KPFT!

Lynda Greene from the DeGeorge Center will be joining us along with some folks from Goodwill and Mr. David Sands of the VA to discuss issues faced by incarcerated Veterans.

Join us as we revisit the movie INCENDIARY with Director Joe Bailey Jr., and Dave Atwood of the Texas Coalition Against The Death Penalty!  Joe initially joined us on Feb. 3rd, but due to a short show, and lightning damage, we just didn't do it justice!  This is a powerful documentary that you don't want to miss!

It is Friday Night Out with The Prison Show!  Not sure what we're going to discuss tonight, but you can bet we will have a grand ol' time!  Join us!

It's the first Friday and as usual, we will go to phone calls at 9:30! But first we'll discuss a thought provoking documentary: INCENDIARY, the willingham case, with Director and Producer Joe Bailey Jr..  Tune in!

Eroy Brown is up for parole. Brown's case highlights a long-standing issue with Texas' parole system: a reluctance to parole longtime offenders with high-profile cases, even those who soon will be freed anyway, and those with serious and costly health problems.  Author Michael Berryhill, who wrote The Trials of Eroy Brown and Attorney Bill Habern will be in to discuss the case, the book and the issue. Tune in!

Earlier this week NPR released a story nationally about The Prison Show.  The response has been tremendous! On this weeks show we'll talk with NPR reporter Carrie Feibel about her experience in putting the piece together, and the impact it's had!  Also, Lynda Greene will be providing us with her segment on incarcerated Veteran's!  Tune in!

Carrie Feibel of NPR affiliate KUHF did this oustanding report on The Prison Show, which aired nationally on January 16, 2012.

Pen-Pals and more!  Adam Lovell of Write A Prisoner .com will be joining us to discuss prison pen-pals, jobs, housing and more... You won't want to miss it!  Check out their site: www.writeaprisoner.com

Being a "First Friday" we'll go to phone calls at 9:30 as usual, but first, due to recent events in my personal life and a great article in the New York Times about Texas Prison Funerals, we'll discuss what happens when an inmate passes away.  It may not be a fun topic, but it is information that we all need to be aware of.

Join us as we discuss the rollercoaster ride of 2011

Join us tonight for a staff bull session as we have an open show of discussion and Holiday wishes.  Lynda Green will be in to wish the Veterans well, and someone from the KPFT staff will stop by to share something special!

Join us as the Ladies take over the show and discuss life with an incarcerated partner!

Just days after they were on the show last month, Michael Jewel and Joan Covici attended a meeting with the Ombudsman's Office.  They'll be back this week to recap the discussion there and tell us what they learned!  

We will go to phone calls early after a Double-Proxy Wedding!

  We are pleased to welcome long-time activist Joan Covici and her husband Michael Jewell into the studio to discuss their new project Con-Care Services!  Join Us!

It seems there's an increase in scams trying to dupe inmates out of money they don't have.  Attorney Brian McGiverin of the Texas Civil Rights Project along with Attorney Bill Habern will join us to discuss the latest.  We'll also discuss some cons the cons play. On a happier note we'll celebrate a wedding! Tune in!

He's been listed amongst the top 12 defense attorneys in Houston, selected as a Texas Monthly “Superlawyer”, received the “Attorney of the Year” award from the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, designated as a “Top Lawyer in Houston” and “Top Lawyer for the People” - he's also done some time as a radio personality and the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and songwriter in a rock and roll band of attorney's! Join us as we visit with Attorney David Mitcham on The Prison Show!

It's a Frist Friday so we will go to phone calls at 9:30, but first we will celebrate the wedding of Isaac and Stephanie!

Ana Yáñez-Correa, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition will join us to discuss the upcoming Sunset Review of TDCJ and solicit comments from those directly impacted... our audience! Then Lynda Greene will be in the studio to bring us up to date and share information important to incarcerated Veterans! Don't forget... Fund-drive is still underway... your support is appreciated!

We'll take a little time this week to discuss the staff, the show and KPFT as we handle a little fund raising business.

We'll kick off the show with the wedding of Leticia and Bobby and then we will welcome the Witness to Innocence Texas Freedom Ride Tour!  Among the exonerees visiting with us will be Clarence Brandley, Greg Wilhoit, Gary Drinkard, Albert Burrell, Ron Keine, Shujaa Graham, Jeremy Sheets and Dan Bright...each convicted for crimes they did not commit!  Tune in, hear their words as they campaign to raise awareness of the flaws within our system of justice!

It's a first Friday, so we'll only have 30 minutes of talk before going to the phone calls, but what a 30 minutes it'll be!! Author Michael Berryhill will be joining us to discuss his new book to be released next week, The Trials Of Eroy Brown! In April 1981, two white Texas prison officials died at the hands of a black inmate at the Ellis prison farm near Huntsville. Warden Wallace Pack and farm manager Billy Moore were the highest-ranking Texas prison officials ever to die in the line of duty. The warden was drowned face down in a ditch. The farm manager was shot once in the head with the warden's gun. The man who admitted to killing them, a burglar and robber named Eroy Brown, surrendered meekly, claiming self-defense. In any other era of Texas prison history, Brown's fate would have seemed certain: execution. But in 1980, federal judge William Wayne Justice had issued a sweeping civil rights ruling in which he found that prison officials had systematically and often brutally violated the rights of Texas inmates. In the light of that landmark prison civil rights case, Ruiz v. Estelle, Brown had a chance of being believed. The Trials of Eroy Brown, the first book devoted to Brown's astonishing defense, is based on trial documents, exhibits, and journalistic accounts of Brown's three trials, which ended in his acquittal. Michael Berryhill presents Brown's story in his own words, set against the backdrop of the chilling plantation mentality of Texas prisons. Brown's attorneys—Craig Washington, Bill Habern, and Tim Sloan—undertook heroic strategies to defend him, even when the state refused to pay their fees. The Trials of Eroy Brown tells a landmark story of prison civil rights and the collapse of Jim Crow justice in Texas. Don't miss it!!

Lynda Greene will join us as we discuss the issues facing incarcerated Veterans, and who knows... we just may have a surprise or two in store!

We'll be joined this week by Attorney Bill Habern and learn about a decision handed down Tuesday when U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel of Austin approved an injunction blocking state parole officials from enforcing sex-offender restrictions on a parolee who has never been convicted of a sex crime. Also joining us is Brian Price, former inmate chef that prepared the final meals and author of Meals To Die For, as we discuss the decision to end a final meal for condemned prisoners. Romance reamins in the air this week and we'll celebrate the wedding of Tony & Dawn on the air officiated by Judge Dale Gorczynski. Of course, we'll have the usual mailbag, news items, and let's surely not forget, the tenacious Ms. Marta Glass.

September seems to be a busy month for weddings!  This Friday we will have the usual mailbag, and, of course, Ms. Marta, and then we will have not one, but TWO proxy marriages on the air! This week will feature Terry and Joel and Geraldine and Charles.  We will be joined by Judge Dale Gorczynski presiding over the ceremonies! On the down side, there is an execution scheduled this week, so we will, of course, be reporting the news on that and any other news of interest. Tune In!

Steven Woods was executed by the State of Texas on September 13th 2011.  This is his final interview with Ray Hill, recorded on September 7th.  The interview first aired on KPFT's Execution Watch, produced by Elizabeth Stein as Steven was being executed. Posted with permission of Ray Hill. 

Ray Hill is back to join David in the studio along with Marta Glass and Gloria Rubac for an ol' fashioned discussion around the domino table!

General discussion and then we start taking calls from the wonderful voices of people who care about people in prison at 9:30!!!