Episodios
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It is about time that we have another episode of Story time, Taylor Conley talks a little about what's going on an the trials an tribulations faced while in prison and working on all these projects. Designed Conviction Entertainment re releases So Cold through there new distribution with universal music groups empire distribution. Life of a Lifer is giving away so cold for free this weekend, so be sure to not miss out, and Taylor announced about something big in the works with designed conviction entertainment.
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A new venture with an old friend, remember our friend OG, one of the founders of Manifest something beautiful?
With a similar concept and mission as Designed Conviction, Manifest Something Beautiful is an independent company whose mission statement is to display their beautiful expressions; through Music, Visuals, Spoken word, and through their clothing line PRVNU [PARVENU].
Taylor Conley has kept in touch with them since the first meeting back in 2019. We are now working together as Designed Conviction Entertainment is set to release their EP Titled: Certificate of Perseverance in July.
Thank you for listening. Visit us at www.lifeofalifer.com and subscribe.
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Cecilia brings this great interview with Antwann Johnson, a wrongly convicted man who is currently serving a life without parole sentence in the state of Missouri. He has served more than 20 years and still maintains his innocence.
Despite this fact, he is doing positive things with his time. He and Cecilia discuss his work during the Covid 19 pandemic (which you can read a detailed account of here https://sfbayview.com/2021/05/against-the-odds-for-a-worthy-cause/), wrongly convictions, and other important topics.
Thank you for listening, and please do not forget to join our mailing list at www.lifeofalifer.com.
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In this episode of Life of a Lifer, Cecilia interviews David Bomber, a contributor to our magazine.
For most of the part, he wants to bring attention to his case, below his testimony:
"In a nutshell, I am the first person to be convicted in Virginia's history of both aggravated malicious wounding and second-degree murder [of the same victim] that involved the same act - a stabbing that occurred while defending myself in my home from an assailant. In which case I am currently asking the Governor of Virginia to pardon part of my sentence, the aggravated malicious wounding conviction and resulting sentence of 25 years.
In addition to that, I also have various pieces of my artwork posted on my website, most of which are renditions. It is also noteworthy to mention that I am currently a college student that is taking courses in General Studies through Southside Virginia Community College."
To visit his website
www.davidmbomber.wordpress.com
To support his petition for executive clemency:
http://chng.it/MwpbTVqZ
To connect with him on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010160976893
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Thank you for listening, please visit www.lifeofalifer.com and subscribe.
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Today Cecilia interviews Karen Brown, a woman who was sentenced to life without parole for 25 years at the age of 21. After 35 years incarcerated and applied for parole 3 times, she was denied future hearings, making her sentence an official LWOP.
Below some relevant information.
The recent decision about Karen Brown is a textbook example of what is wrong with our KY parole system. Seeing the parole board for the third time, Karen was given a âSERVE OUTâ on a life sentence which means she will NEVER be released from prison and can NEVER again be considered for parole. Karen was 21 when she was arrested and she has been incarcerated for 35 years.
Karen has labored long over her education, working her way through correspondence courses to a graduate degree in Christian counseling. She purposely found meaningful prison jobs over the years that made a difference â typing books in Braille for the blind, working in the chapel program, using her art and music to inspire others. She's built an excellent institutional record and her Christian commitment is deep. She has packet thick with her accomplishments and stacks of letters attesting to her rehabilitation that supported her release. She had offers for meaningful employment, and many reentry groups and individuals ready to help her.
Governor Beshear, Karen's sentence should be commuted and she should be released. 35 years is long enough!
To support her release visit: https://www.change.org/p/governor-beshear-commute-karen-brown-s-sentence-35-years-is-long-enough
Thank you, please subscribe and visit www.lifeoalifer.com to learn more about this podcast.
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Today Cecilia interviews Jose Armendariz, a man incarcerated at the age of 16. Below is the profile he shared with us.
My name is Jose Armendariz. I am a 30-year-old Mexican and Salvadoran-American man. I have been incarcerated since the age of 16. At 16, I was tried as an adult and sentenced to 80 years to life. While incarcerated, I have come to embrace what the late Congressman John Lewis called âgood trouble.â As I have grown older, I have come to realize that simply expressing my beliefs in social justice does not create change. This motivated me to become a student, writer, and organizer. Whether it cost me my liberty or my life, I will always stand up against injustice.
I earned a paralegal certificate while behind bars. I received material in the mail, studied, and completed self-guided coursework. After earning my certificate, I helped an undocumented incarcerated person who was facing deportation apply for asylum. In 2020, I became an inside organizer with Transforming Justice Orange County (TJOC) and started working at the ACLU SoCal. My work has included reporting conditions of confinement issues, advocating on my behalf and that of others in custody, opposing jail expansion and backwards criminal justice propositions, and voter education and registration behind bars.
As an inside organizer, I have provided recommendations about the direction of campaigns and shared information with other incarcerated people. My written and audio work has been used to provide public comment at Board of Supervisor and Board of State and Community Corrections meetings to advance demands that center on the wellbeing and needs of people behind bars. My op-eds have been published by the Voice of OC, JURIST, and Chispa, and my experiences have been written about in La Opinion, Cal Matters, and LAist.
I also regularly participate in community webinars and panels and share my experiences with students, organizers, and advocates. My lived experience, commitment to racial and social justice, and interpersonal skills have allowed me to make valuable contributions to policy campaigns in OC and beyond. In 2020, I participated in TJOCâs Reimagine Justice in OC workshop series. I was a guest speaker in two workshops. In the same year, I also supported ACLU SoCalâs voter education and registration program called Unlock the Vote. I educated other incarcerated people about voting rights and helped eligible people fill out registration applications. This year, I was a speaker for the California Correctional Crisis: Mass Incarceration, Healthcare, and the COVID-19 Outbreak Symposium organized by UC Hastings Law School.
Throughout these experiences, I have developed leadership and discipline which has allowed me to support other incarcerated people in resolving conflict and raising grievances. Upon my release, I would like to pursue a degree in journalism or creative writing to expose the inhumanity of jails and prisons and uplift the experiences of incarcerated people to inform policy, legislative and organizing work.
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This episode takes us to Baltimore, where we met up with Chris Wilson, the man who worked his way out of a life sentence by showing he was rehabilitated. After reading his book "The Master Plan" Life of a Lifer, Taylor Conley felt compelled to reach out to him. Wife of A Lifer Cecilia Conley traveled across the country to capture the interview and make this come to life. In an exciting exchange, Chris also turns it on Taylor and asks him some questions. Chris's Story is remarkable. After growing up in a Washington D.C. project, he is a prime example of what is possible.
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Taylor talks about how he is making the most of the time, finding ways to cope while everything is taken away. Hear about the thoughts and what he has been doing. He describes a couple of pieces of art work and the inspiration behind them, one being a painting which was inspired from a Diego Rivera painting who was a famous Mexican mural painter in the early nineteen hundreds... and the other a graphite pencil drawing that was inspired by a blizzard art piece.
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Torie Chisholm is a mentor and teacher for the nonprofit organization Second Chance Quest created by inmates and their families in 2015. He has been also a GED tutor.
Torie has been Incarcerated since he was 15 years old at the Virginia Department of Corrections, 17 years later, he's now 32. He has a strong network of advocates who argue he got a harsh sentence: his crime didn't include murder or rape, still the state of Virginia gave him 47 years in prison.
In his wife words: "I ask could you please help him to fight his case so that he could get out of prison he has 2 kids that had to grow up without their father their whole life I feel as though the state of Virginia was too harsh on him by locking him up at 15 and trial him as an adult."
He has started a petition and is receiving letters to the governor of Virginia from highly respected individuals, please joining the petition so his loved ones can file for clemency or as well so the governor of Virginia can look at his case! Visit https://www.facebook.com/2ndCQ to support this cause!
Thanks for listening, visit us, leave a review, and subscribe to www.lifeofalifer.com
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In this episode of Life of a Lifer, Taylor does some introspection about the past few months. From not seeing his family, modified lockdowns, testing positive on Covid 19, to going back to his unit while we all wait for the end of this pandemic. He also discusses how he enjoyed "The master plan" by Chris Wilson, who, after serving 16 years for murder (life sentence), was set free by a judge.
Please remember to subscribe and visit us at www.lifeofalifer.com.
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Today Cecilia interviews Allen Richarson who submitted his application, he has been incarcerated since he was 18, below is the transcript of his letter.
My name is Allen. I am about to turn 35 in February. Iâve been incarcerated since I was 18. Prison has been both a gift and a curse. A gift because Iâve learned some priceless lessons about things such as the ripple effect, one seemingly small decision can have on oneâs life. This time has also been a curse because life is short, and Iâve spent almost two decades of my short life in here. I have no kids, I havenât had a chance to establish much, and tomorrow is not promised. I just beat Covid-19. The great thing is that Iâll be released in 2022, next year. Iâve waited a long time to be able to say, âO go home next yearâ and it feels good! Upon release I plan to continue my education and complete the two bachelorâs degrees Iâve started. Iâll continue school while Iâm here but to double major Iâll need two semesters after I get home. I plan to start a nonprofit organization to introduce youth to the many opportunities available to them outside of their neighborhoods and cities. I also plan to do quite a bit of traveling. In prison I have my upâs and downâs as one might expect. Iâve literally grown up in prison. Iâve been teased twice with the possibility of early release, to no avail obviously. A goof majority of my time has been spent building character and combating institutionalization! I think Iâve done a decent job at both. In closing, I want to say that I would love to be a part of something positive such as Designed Conviction. There are so much more accomplishments and how much of an asset I am. Iâve recently started my own media LLC. I am a music producer and I have a ton of documentary ideas. Thank you for your time.fer, Allen tells us about his life in prison.
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Taylor interviews Marcus Timmons's "Big Herc"
As of 2016, 2.3 million people were incarcerated in the United States. These numbers are continuing to grow each year as our prison system has a revolving door of individuals that arenât being properly rehabilitated, given the proper job skills or education to get by in life. The demands of the reentry process can be difficult to follow all its requirements. People give up and go back to their old ways, and back to prison. How do we change this? By advocating for the incarcerated, by educating our communities and showing compassion and encouragement for those who need help finding the right path. Former inmate, known as Marcus âBig Hercâ Timmons and his partner Anthony M. are doing that and more. They are keeping it real, showing what people have to deal with after they are released and branded a felon. Big Herc and Anthony created a series called Fresh Out: Life after the Penitentiary. This YouTube series boasts over a half-million subscribers viewing his content, seeing that a couple formerly incarcerated men can bring a positive presence and message in our society, as well as plenty of education.
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Today we have Cecilia Conley @wifeofalifer interviewing Jolyn Armstrong, founder of La FOTA Project - Families Of The Accused.
Jolynâs son went from being a respected soldier in the military to an accused felon overnight. Their business, their relationships, and nearly every other aspect of their lives suffered through the experience of supporting her son through his trial and ultimate conviction and prison sentence.
It wasnât until going through this experience themselves that they discovered the intense trauma that is inflicted on the families of people who have been incarcerated or have been accused of a crime, how little is known about it, and how much need there is for support for these families. Thatâs why they took their training and skills in coaching and launched The FOTA Project (Families Of The Accused).
FOTAâs mission is to provide emotional counseling, support, and guidance for the families of people who have been incarcerated or accused of a crime. Jolyn works one-on-one with family members of the accused, helping them work through the grieving process and deal with the trauma, fear, and shame involved with having a family member accused of a crime.
Jolyn's techniques are very helpful and she has offered a special promotion to our listeners, please go to https:/thefotaproject.org/lifeofalifer to learn more.
Please follow us, like us, and visit us on www.lifeofalifer.com
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Take a walk through the first days of Taylor Conley's incarceration as he was locked up on serious charges and faced the rest of his life in prison in. this exclusive insight you will only hear here, directly from the source. the struggles he faced, and how the situation impacted him. Taylor the host of the "Life of a Lifer" podcast speaks about his journey through trials and tribulations unimaginable to most, yet today he is a man serving life in prison though wrongfully convicted owns his past mistakes, and has a positive outlook on life. as he is the founder of Designed Conviction, a social enterprise.
To support this podcast, go to www.lifeofalifer.com
Thank you and until next time.
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Hello, this is Wife of a Lifer and today I have James Nelson "Prison Peacemaker" on the "Life of a Lifer". he comes and talks about all the positive programs he has been involved in, which sadly have been put on hold due to the pandemic.
Visit us at www.lifeofalifer.com
James describes himself as:
My name is James Drannon Nelson II. I'm currently incarcerated in Ohio at Ross Correctional Institution, serving a sentence for vehicular assault, failure to comply, but also waiting to be sentenced to life for aggravated murder. I have been incarcerated since 2016. I'm 41 years old and I have been in and out of the system since I was a kid 11 or 12 years old. A lot of childhood trauma. Broken Fatherless home, a mother addicted to drugs. I knew very young that my life was different from most kids I went to school with, and I started out acting out and rebelling against any kind of authority figure. I came in contact with mostly just running away and using drugs and trying to be accepted by the wrong crowd. I did a few years in juvie, then graduated to the adult system. I made my way into a Level three prison at 18 or 19 years old. Everything revolved around my addiction and my wanting to be accepted By the time I was 34 I had spent almost half my life incarcerated and I was being released from prison yet again, my fourth number for drug charges of some kind. And I felt deep down in my very core, I was done with that life. My irresponsibility left me in serious debt and a criminal history that almost certainly no employer would hire on and trust. I was really not ready for what society had in store for me. Because of my past behaviors and actions, I had made things too difficult from my maturity At that time to handle. I fell again victim to my own emotions and ended up involved in the worst possible crime ever facing the death sentence. It happened in an instant, and it has changed me forever. I was arrested and started this time in the state of New Mexico. I was there for 2.5 years before being extradited back here. I have spent my time doing all I can to reach out to the younger inmates and hope that I can reach them with my testimony and share what my life experience has been. I'm in a program block here called Going Home for Good and my position and role is a residential advisor and mentor. I am an inmate facilitator and facilitate several different programs, such as Conflict Resolution, TOPUCU which is an acronym for the Only Person U Cheat is U. The psychology of incarceration, forklift simulation training. And I started a spiritual awakening program for those who wanted to get in touch with their higher power. I was also a dog handler for a program called Elite Detection K9 on and did the basic dog training for puppies that go on and become dogs That search for explosives and guns. Covid has stopped everything As of now. There's nothing I could ever do to make up for the pain I caused but I refuse to add to it and cause anymore. I know that for the rest of my life, my purpose will be spent being a positive example to others instead of misleading them into negative ways to handle things, trying to be a peacemaker in an environment where violence is normal is not normal and a lot of times it gets you a target on your back, especially coming from someone that was involved in the prison gang, like for years and took it upon myself to cover up my gang tattoos and speak out against it. It leaves you dealing with serious problems. But I believe in order for others to take you seriously you have to lead by example and be serious....
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Taylor interviews Bubba Sparxxx. Bubba Sparxxx is a rapper from Georgia who was first influenced by the sounds of 2 Live Crew. His song featuring the Ying Yang Twins, Ms. New Booty reached number 7 on the Billboard top 100.
Bubba was recently featured on Taylorâs new EP and is very supportive of Taylorâs movement to show the world that the incarcerated deserve a second chance.
Taylor and Bubba discuss the early roots of Bubbaâs career and what he is doing now. Keep an eye out for Bubbaâs new album coming out, The King of Crap. And donât forget to check out the Free Taylor EP by Seth Anthony. https://open.spotify.com/album/0BwhkxCeKkdvYWJLAzrlz6?si=BBeK7RhBT0K1ZD4_VQ1jcw
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In this episode of Life of a Lifer, Lucy tells us about her amazing life and podcast.
Life on the Outside is a podcast that shares stories about returning to society after decades of incarceration. For many, the process of reentry is complex and they navigate a society that is in many ways very different from the one they left decades earlier.
You can check out her podcast here
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-on-the-outside/id1331255622
You can support her podcast here
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=46136647&fan_landing=true
Thanks for Listening, please visit www.lifeofalifer.com and subscribe! Until next time
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Today we have Jose Lugo, who is thirty-three years old. He would join a L.A. street gang when he was sixteen and would be convicted and sentenced to five years in prison at the age of eighteen. When he paroled from prison, he vowed to himself that he would never go back and dreamed of one day telling the stories of his peers.
Jose Lugo currently travels the U.S. listening to and sharing peoples stories as the founder and lead creative of We Are All One Story (https://weareallonestory.net )
Jose, why are you doing this?
âI believe that the only things that matter in this world are people and the impact we leave on their hearts. When I re-found the value in my own story, I knew that I would have to help others do the same. This is the dream of my dreams; there is no other way for me."
Visit www.lifeofalifer.com and follow us on social media to support this podcast!. Thank you
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"Hey human" podcast host, Susan Ruth joins Taylor Conley on Life of a Lifer.
Life of a Liferâs host Taylor Conley talks with artist, singer, songwriter, and podcast host of Hey human podcast, Susan Ruth, after growing up in Seattle, Washington, Susan sets out to pursue her music career, moving to Nashville and got into songwriting for other artists as well.
Some of her most well-known cuts include Reba McEntire and Lone Star. She now lives in Los Angeles, California, and is doing her podcast while making new music and getting into the screenwriting game, a true artist and authentic person valuing human life on all walks. Be sure to check out her new video.
I can't fuck you. If you don't vote. ..
https://youtu.be/GL6GqoLUGhA
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Taylor speaks with Brian Dolinar, Ph.D. an independent, experienced journalist who specializes in mass incarceration, prison, jails, and police brutality. Similar to Taylor, his goal is to give a voice to those currently and formerly incarcerated as well as their families.
This is a very informative and enlightening discussion that touches base on topics that many are simply unaware of. Many people are uninformed of what is going on pertaining to our laws concerning the incarcerated, especially if they are not connected to anyone in the justice system. We feel that if more people are aware, there will be an outpouring of support that can help influence change.
You can learn more about Brian on his website http://briandolinar.com/. We thank him for being on Life of a Lifer, and to all of your for listening and helping us build a community of support for Taylor and those like him who are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, who deserve a second chance at life. Check out this interview and donât forget to go to www.lifeofalifer.com
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