Evolving Prisons

May 26 2024

Evolving Prisons Podcast artwork

The place to dive into crime and criminal justice, with a particular focus on prison. Featuring stories from people who've been to prison, those who work there, victims of crime and experts to discuss ways in which our prisons and criminal justice system are supporting growth and transformation, or not. Hosted by Kaigan Carrie, doctoral researcher, researching prison officer culture and wellbeing. Subscribe to monthly bonus episodes of Evolving Prisons: https://evolvingprisons.captivate.fm/support

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40 years on death row and still in prison: William Noguera

May 26 2024 32 mins

William Noguera spent 40 years on death row at San Quentin Prison for a murder he committed at age 18. Last year he was taken off death row but he is still in prison. He chats to us from his prison cell, telling us how a day on death row looked, how it felt to be given an execution date, how he feels about potentially being released one day into a society he hasn't been in for 41 y

Bonus: Rob Parkes on being married to the black widow

May 17 2024 21 mins

This is a 20-minute teaser of my full conversation with Rob Parkes, released as this month's bonus episode. Subscribe here for $3.85 (£3) to listen to the full conversation and all monthly bonus episodes.Rob Parkes was married to Victoria Breeden. Victoria is now serving a 9 year prison sentence for conspiracy to murder Rob. Rob speaks about being the victim of coercive control, h

Gang life, knife crime and 8 years in prison

May 06 2024 65 mins

Carl Scott joined a gang at 13 years old and subsequently spent 8 and a half years in prison. He was a victim of a knife attack which almost killed him. Carl chats about how a life of crime leaves you always looking over your shoulder, how prison might seem like a holiday camp but that loss of control is the real punishment, and how he lost his best friend to knife crime, who sadly

Bonus: Gen Glaister on working with traffickers and sex offenders as a prison officer

Apr 26 2024 22 mins

This is a 20-minute teaser of my full conversation with Gen Glaister, released as this month's bonus episode. Subscribe here for $3.85 to listen to the full discussion and all monthly bonus episodes.Gen was a prison officer in England and had been eager to become one since age 15. She talks about the difficulty of comprehending how some people can be so gentle and kind but also be

Prison gangs in California

Apr 16 2024 42 mins

Why do prisons in California and Texas have so many gangs? Why didn't they exist prior to the 1950s? What happens to somebody who leaves the prison gang? How much influence do prison gangs have over people on the streets? I sat down with Professor David Skarbek who has published extensively on this topic. His book, The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern the Ame

Is inequality in our society responsible for crime?

Apr 02 2024 59 mins

Marc Conway has served 10 prison sentences, stuck in the revolving door of crime until his final prison sentence in HMP Grendon, a therapeutic prison in England, made him think about why he'd been behaving the way he had. Marc discusses growing up with a distrust of police and how he feels that the government needs to do more to improve equality in our society.Subscribe to monthly

Bonus: Death, mental health and violence in prison

Mar 25 2024 20 mins

This is a 20-minute teaser of my full conversation with Iain Smith, released as this month's bonus episode. Subscribe here for $3.85 to listen to the full discussion and all monthly bonus episodes.Iain was a prison officer in Australia for 15 years until 2020. He tells us about a number of experiences he had, from working with a prisoner who was involved in 55 self-harm or behaviou

Imprisoned for being a corrupt prison officer

Mar 12 2024 74 mins

Lee Davies was a prison officer in England and was imprisoned in May 2010 for taking contraband, namely mobile phones and cannabis, into prison for prisoners. Lee tells us how he started taking contraband in, how he got caught, ways to limit corrupt staff taking contraband into prisons and the impact that corrupt staff have on the prison service. A monthly bonus episode of Evolving

Bonus: Strangeways prison riot

Feb 26 2024 21 mins

This is a 20-minute teaser of my full conversation with Brendan O'Friel, released as this month's bonus episode. Subscribe here for $3.85 to listen to the full discussion and all monthly bonus episodes.The Strangeways Prison riot is the longest recorded riot in British penal history, lasting 25 days in April 1990. Brendan O'Friel was the governor of the prison at that time. He tell

The heavy burden of being a prison officer

Feb 19 2024 52 mins

Bruce Perham is a social worker and therapist in Melbourne, Australia. He has provided counselling and debriefing to prison officers after traumatic incidents for many years. We hear ways in which the job takes its toll on prison officers, including hearing about an officer who was beaten, leaving him with a brain and spinal injury and unable to work, and another officer recounts t