Joseph Wilson

Joseph Wilson grew up in Brownsville, Brooklyn. He first arrived at Rikers as a 15 or 16 year old. He returned many times, including a stint from 2005 to 2007. Wilson discusses how incarcerated people are infantilized, stripped of all responsbility. "I don't think that a person is ever treated like an adult in prison or in jails," he says. He sees Rikers Island as a symptom of a larger problem related to unhealed transgenerational trauma. Wilson recorded this interview while incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, NY. Compared to Rikers, where he languished with no programs or extracurricular activities, state prisons have offered him more opportunities and structure. Wilson is attending college and works in Sing Sing's Children's Center, where he facilitates meaningful visits between incarcerated people and their children through actiities like painting, coloring, and scholastic work. (Summary written by: Annie Anderson)