DeWayne John Roe

DeWayne John Roe was born in East Orange, New Jersey, and moved to New York City in 1994. He served several terms at Rikers, where he was brutalized mentally and physically. Roe notes he was "ready, willing, and able to survive by all means necessary" in such a chaotic, violent, and humiliating place. At Rikers, he held several jobs: helping to sweep and mop the dorms as part of the "house gang," cutting hair in the barber shop, and working in the law library. He discusses the importance of closing Rikers and reinvesting in communities, detailing the excessive financial costs of keeping the jail complex open. He ends the interview by sharing five key questions that guide his life: Who am I? What am I doing with my life? Where is my life heading? What is my purpose here on earth? Do I believe in a higher power greater than myself? (Summary written by: Annie Anderson)