Vanderbilt Prison Project 

October 2019 Newsletter 
 
 
 
Newsletter Contents:    
 
 

Month in Review  Page 

  2-5 
This year’s Awareness Week was our best yet! Check out this 
section for recaps and reflections on our biggest week of 
programming of the year, with events including A Women and 
Incarceration Panel, a screening of Bryan Stevenson’s T
​rue 
Justice​
, and the Stage to Engage fair.  
 

   
Free Cyrus Wilson Update  Page 
  6-7 
For those who haven’t heard, Cyrus Wilson is coming home. On 
October 23, he was approved for parole. Check out this section 
for a full update.  
 
 

Now in the News  Page 

  8-10 
A selection of recent local and national news headlines that 
relate to the US criminal justice system. 
  
Special Focus:​Rodney Reed and How We Can 
Help Advocate for Justice 
 

Terms and Terminology  Page 

  11-12
This section is new to our newsletter. We will be taking the 
time to define key aspects of the criminal justice system and 
present commonly used terms in a more digestible light.

  Page 
Community Spotlight: T
​ennesseans for  13 
Alternatives to the Death Penalty 
 
Hear about the work TDAP does and it’s current campaign urging 
Gov. Lee to halt executions until a study can be conducted on 
its use in our state. 

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Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 

   

Free Hearts Panel Recap and Reflection 

By Monika Wojnowski 
 

 
The main event of Awareness Week was the Women and Incarceration 
Panel presented by Free Hearts. Free Hearts is a Nashville 
organization run by formerly incarcerated women with the mission of 
educating, advocating, and supporting families impacted by 
incarceration. The panel featured three women-Aniya Wiley, Ashlee 
Sellars, and Jawharrah Bahar- all of whom had been incarcerated for 
many years and are involved with Free Hearts. The panel was moderated 
by the Executive Director of Free Hearts, Dawn Harrington.  
The purpose of the panel was to learn about the unique struggles 
that women who are incarcerated experience. Most of the discussion 
surrounded the difficulty of motherhood while being incarcerated. The 
panelists discussed how difficult it was for them to maintain 
relationships with their children while they were incarcerated. They 
were only able to see their children during weekly visits, and upon 
being released struggled to rebuild relationships with their children. 
Another aspect of motherhood addressed was pregnancy in prison. One of 
the panelists discussed how she was not able to obtain an abortion in 
prison, and thus gave birth while she was incarcerated. Medical care 
is always insufficient within jails and prisons, but jails and prisons 
are especially unequipped to support pregnant women. There is 
virtually no prenatal care. 
While these women are experts on how unjust our criminal justice 
system is, it is important to remember that they are much more than 
women who were previously incarcerated. Aniya Wiley is an entrepreneur 
with a clothing line as well as a writer. Ashlee Sellars is a 
restorative justice practitioner at the Raphah Institute. Jawharrah 
Bahar is the Director of Outreach at Free Hearts and recently 
established her own company that she provides aesthetic services to 
promote women’s entrepreneurship.  

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Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 

Bryan Stevenson Documentary Screening at the BCC 

Text by Ava Pacchiana, Event Photos by Caroline Lowenfeld 
 

 
To kick off Awareness Week, Vanderbilt Prison Project co-hosted a 
screening of T
​rue Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality​at 
5:30pm on October 7th in the BCC. The documentary follows Bryan 
Stevenson through his struggle to create greater fairness in the 
United States criminal justice system. He shows how racial injustice 
in the system emerged and continues to be perpetuated, and then he 
challenges viewers to address and reform the shortcomings of this 
system. Covering the nation's history of slavery, lynching, and 
segregation and our contemporary system of mass incarceration, 
Stevenson illuminates the ways racial injustice continues to be 
propagated today.  
 
A particularly moving moment in the film is when Stevenson visits the 
newly opened National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, 
Alabama. The monument is dedicated to the more than 4,400 African 
Americans that were victims of lynching and is an effort to “​
to engage 
in a truth and reconciliation process around this country's legacy of 
Native American genocide, slavery, lynching, and racial segregation” 
(Equal Justice Initiative, 2019). The documentary was extremely moving 
for the audience as demonstrated in the following discussion lead by 
Jenny Pigge and Jordan Baines. Audience members reflected on the film, 
with some individuals sharing personal experiences and others 
discussing their key take-aways. This screening was a huge success for 
both the Vanderbilt Prison Project and the BCC. If you were unable to 
attend the screening and are interested in watching T
​rue Justice​, it 
is available for streaming on HBO. 
 
 
 
 
 

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Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 

Stage to Engage Fair Recap 

 
The Stage to Engage Fair was a success! We had a number of 
organizations come, and it was great to talk to their representatives 
and hear more about tangible ways we as students can get involved. See 
below for a list of organizations that attended and ways you can get 
involved. 
 
Free Hearts 
 
● Sign this D​ecriminalize Poverty Survey 
○ This survey is a part of Free Heart’s #ItIsNotACrime to be 
poor initiative. Your responses will help Free Hearts in 
their efforts to envision community-based solutions to 
#DecriminalizePoverty in our state. Those who complete the 
survey will be put in a drawing for a $500 gift card. 
● Sign this C​lemency Petition 
○ This petition encourages governors to use their powers of 
clemency to release women and girls who are: 
■ Criminalized survivors of violence 
■ Enduring sentences of more than 10 years 
■ Elderly 
■ Living with long-term or life-threatening illnesses 
● If you would like to get more involved in helping analyze survey 
results, creating a report for the Governor, and/or working on 
legislation for this campaign, please contact 
jawharrahbahar@gmail.com 
● Follow them on F​acebook​
. 
● Contact: i​nfo@kidsofincarceratedmoms.com 
 
Nashville Community Bail Fund 
● Sign the petition​to support the Bail Fund’s survival after the 
recent criminal court decision. 
● Sign up​to watch court with NCBF.  
● Check out their w
​ebsite 
● Follow them on​F
​acebook​and twitter @NashBailFund 
● Contact: i
​nfo@nashvillebailfund.org
 
Court Watching with the Vanderbilt Law School: 
● If you have additional questions or didn’t get to sign up, email 
evan.etheridge@vanderbilt.edu 
● If you signed up, be on the lookout for information from the law 
school. 
 

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Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 
College Guild: 
● College Guild is a program that provides non-traditional 
correspondence courses to incarcerated individuals across the 
country. Students can get involved by signing up to be a 
volunteer reader. 
● Visit their​​
website​for more info. 
● Contact: j
​asmin.a.norford@vanderbilt.edu  
 
We are grateful to the​​
ACLU​
,​
Southerners on New Ground​(contact info: 
angela.laverda@gmail.com​
),and​​
Unheard Voices Outreach​for their 
participation as well. They should be reaching out to you soon if you 
signed up. 
 
The Raphah Institute​w
​as unable to attend but is looking for 
intern-like participation in the areas of grant research, social 
media, 
fundraising, and the development of Restorative Justice Youth Advisory 
Council.  
Contact: i
​nfo@raphah.org 
 
Better Decisions​was also unable to attend, but has involvement 
opportunities for a social media project, capturing the stories of 
formerly-incarcerated program graduates, outreach to program 
graduates, data analytics, and recidivism tracking.  
Contact: b
​etterdecisions@comcast.net 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 

Free Cyrus Wilson Update 

By Sydney Aronberg 

After 27 years of being wrongfully incarcerated, Cyrus Wilson will 

finally be released on parole. Cyrus has maintained his innocence 
since he was accused, and the fight for his release has been tedious, 
difficult and incredibly drawn-out. 

As a precursor to Cyrus’s parole hearing, VPP organized the “Show Up 

For Cyrus” event. VPP’s mission was to mobilize the Vanderbilt and 
Nashville communities and show the parole board the immense support 
that surrounds Cyrus and his family. The event took place in 
Centennial Park, and over 80 people from Vanderbilt and the Nashville 
community were in attendance. Members of Cyrus’s family including his 
mother, wife, daughter, and sister spoke to the crowd. Cyrus mother 
tearfully stated, “When you have a child that goes to the prison, 
people don’t realize that you are in prison, you are incarcerated as 
well, because the whole time he had to be there, I had to go and see 
him, in chains and locked up. I’ve been in prison for 27 years with my 
son because I love him and I’m going to stay by him as long as I can.” 
It was extremely upsetting to see how the heavily flawed criminal 
justice system has so deeply affected each of Cyrus’s family members. 
Cyrus’s family has shown unconditional love for Cyrus, and the entire 
crowd was clearly touched by this. The gathering was an intimate and 
moving precursor to the parole hearing. At the end of the event, all 
attendees came together with their flashlights, a symbol of light and 
hope in a painfully unjust situation. 

On Wednesday, October 16, Cyrus’s parole hearing was held via video 
chat with parole board member, Gary Faulcon. Cyrus himself, his 
daughter, his attorney and the president of the American Baptist 
College eloquently explained why Cyrus should be released on parole. 
They cited his innocence and the opportunities that would be available 
to Cyrus after his release. His daughter mentioned the fact that she 
needs her father, and the excitement in her voice was palpable when 
she spoke about what she hoped to do with her father post-release. 
After hearing from speakers, Faulcon asked Cyrus if he considers 
parole as a “privilege or right”. I thought this question was 
extremely condescending, and it was an attempt by Faulcon to reinforce 
his own position of power. Additionally, the fact that the parole 
hearing was held via video conference further depersonalized and 

6
Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 
mechanized the process. Faulcon finally revealed that he would vote to 
release Cyrus on parole but with conditions including a halfway house, 
substance abuse treatment, and marriage and family counseling. 
Although the parole hearing was conducted in a deplorable way, 
Faulcon’s decision to recommend release on parole for Cyrus was the 
best possible outcome. His recommendation meant that Cyrus needed 3 
more votes from the parole board to be released. 

Exactly one week after Cyrus’s parole hearing, on the morning of 
Wednesday, October 23, the parole board announced their decision to 
release Cyrus on parole. This news was the best possible outcome for 
Cyrus and his family. I would expect that Cyrus and his family are 
overjoyed about this news and look forward to spending time as a 
family, without the chains of imprisonment. Still, however, Cyrus is a 
victim of the system, as he is expected to adhere to Faulcon’s 
recommendations and is still considered a felon by the state. Although 
justice has not been served for Cyrus Wilson, his release on parole is 
a start.  

On November 4, Cyrus’s release plan was approved, though we have not 

heard an official release date. He has secured a bed at a halfway 
house, and Cyrus and his family are eager for him to come home! 

In the News: Cyrus Wilson Granted Parole 

Cyrus Wilson, serving life sentence for murder in Nashville, granted parole 
Kaylin Jorge, Kathleen Serie - Fox 17 Nashville 
October 23, 2019 
 
Cyrus Wilson Granted Parole, Set to Be Released  
Wilson has been incarcerated for 27 years for a murder he has always insisted 
he did not commit.   
Steven Hale - Nashville Scene  
October 23, 2019 
 
Nashville native, serving life sentence, granted parole after 25 years in 
prison  
Natalie Neysa Alund - Nashville Tennessean 
October 23, 2019 
 
Students, community “Show Up For Cyrus”  
Six months after Cyrus Wilson’s first parole hearing, Vanderbilt students once 
again joined Wilson’s family and community to support his continued fight for 
freedom 
Sam Zern - Vanderbilt Hustler 
October 15, 2019 
 
Cyrus Wilson One Step Closer to Parole  
Jin Heo - Vanderbilt Political Review  
October 17, 2019 

7
Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 

Now in the News 

 
Local: 
 
❖ Nashville leaders begin grappling with high cost of operating 
police body cameras 
 
Adam Tamburin - Nashville Tennessean 
October 14, 2019  
 
❖ Davidson County Sheriff’s Office ends contract to house ICE 
detainees 
 
Natalie Neysa Alund - Nashville Tennessean 
October 29, 2019  
 
❖ Cyntoia Brown-Long on realizing she was a sex trafficking victim: 
“It took many, many years” 
 
Tyler Kendall - CBS News 
October 16, 2019  
 
❖ Ending Metro Contract With CoreCivic Would Cost Tens of Millions, 
New Report Finds 
 
Samantha Max - Nashville Public Radio 
October 1, 2019  
 
❖ Gov. Bill Lee launches team that will review criminal justice 
policy 
 
Adam Tamburin - Nashville Tennessean 
October 5, 2019  
 
National: 

❖ Oklahoma releases hundred of prisoners as part of the state's 

criminal justice reform 

William Mansell - ABC News 

November 4, 2019  
 
 

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Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 
❖ Rikers Would Close in Historic Plan to Remake N.Y. Jail System 
The City Council is expected to approve an $8 billion plan on Thursday to 
close the complex by 2026 and build four new jails that could become a 
national model. 
 
Matthew Haag - New York Times 
October 17, 2019  
 
❖ Four New Jails For $10 Billion: Now is the Time For NYC to Invest 
in Communities Not Cages 
 
(Discusses the difference between the Close Rikers and the No New Jails NYC 
campaign, which takes an abolitionist and community-based approach in New York 
City. The No New Jails community guide is detailed ​
here​
) 
 
Alex Vitale - Indypendent 
November 11, 2019 
 
 
❖ In Northern Virginia, an ‘unprecedented’ chance to shape criminal 
justice 
 
Justin Jouvenal - Washington Post 
October 30, 2019 
 
❖ What if Your Abusive Husband Is a Cop? 
Police departments have become more attentive to officers’ use of 
excessive force on the job, but that concern rarely extends to the home 
 
Rachel Aviv - New Yorker 
September 30, 2019 
 
❖ Democratic Candidates Rebuke Trump at Criminal Justice Forum 
One day after President Trump hailed his own record on criminal justice 
and belittled Barack Obama’s Democrats hit back at his record and history 
of racial demagogy. 
 
Astead W. Herndon - New York Times 
October 28, 2019 
 
 
 
   

9
Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 

Now In the News: Rodney Reed 

 
Rodney Reed is set to be executed in Texas on November 20th, despite 
an overwhelming amount of evidence pointing towards his innocence. 
Many advocacy groups and individual Americans have been urging 
numerous lawmakers to effect change whether through clemency, a stay 
of execution, or a new trial. Here are some news articles concerning 
his case, information from the Innocence Project, and ways you can get 
involved in the call to stop this injustice. 
 
❖ Texas Plans to Execute Rodney Reed, Despite New Evidence 
Celebrities including Kim Kardashian West have taken up the cause of the 
Texas death row inmate. 
 
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs - New York Times 
Nov. 7, 2019 
 
❖ 10 Facts You Need to Know About Rodney Reed, Who is Scheduled for 
Execution on November 20 
 
Innocence Staff - The Innocence Project 
Last updated as of now on Nov. 11, 2019 
 

Ways To Get Involved: 

We recommend visiting ​
www.freerodneyreed.com​
, which will walk 
you through how to call and advocate for Reed to your 
representatives. The steps below, as well as suggestions for 
what to say to each representative, are on the website, but we 
have included them here as well. 

● Call Texas Governor Greg Abbot (512) 463-1782 

● Call Bastrop County DA Bryan Goertz: (512) 581-7125 
● Call TX Board of Pardons and Paroles: (512) 406-5852 
● Email the Board regarding Rodney Reed TDCJ #999271 at 
bpp_clemency@tdcj.texas.gov 
● ​hange.org​petition 
Sign this c

 
 
 
 

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 Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 

Terms and Terminology 

Cassidy Latchford and Emma Stapleton 
 
Terms and Terminology is a new section where we will attempt to define 
key terms used while talking about our criminal justice system. Have 
something you want us to explain or define? Let us know.  
 
● Prosecutors 
○ These are the lawyers that argue on the side of the government. 
Their job is to advocate for the government’s interest in 
convicting the individual being charged with a crime. This could 
be by attempting to secure a plea deal instead of going to trial 
or by trying to convince the judge or jury of the defendant’s 
guilt in a trial setting. 
○ Depending on the government the prosecutor works for (state, 
local, federal) the prosecutor could have a number of different 
titles: 
■ Ex. District Attorney (DA), State’s Attorney, Attorney 
General, etc.  
■ They can either be elected to office or appointed depending 
on the jurisdiction 
 
● Defense Attorneys 
○ These are lawyers who represent individuals facing criminal 
charges. 
○ Defense attorneys can either be public defenders, court-appointed 
lawyers, private lawyers, or pro-bono 
■ Public defenders 
● work for the state or government to represent individuals 
who cannot afford a lawyer. 
■ Court-appointed lawyers 
● usually private practice lawyers who get appointed by the 
court jurisdiction they are under to serve individuals 
who cannot afford an attorney 
● get compensated by the government 
● Some jurisdictions have public defenders that handle all 
their indignant cases, some have only court-appointed, 
and some have a mixture of the two. 
■ Private practice attorneys 
● Can work in a small office alone or in a large law firm  
● Can specialize in a specific area of law  
● Hired by people who need defense 
■ Pro-bono attorneys 
● Pro-bono = “for the public good”  
● Giving law services for free  
● Helps to secure access to justice for low-income people 

11
 Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 
● Judges 
○ Preside over trials from a desk, called a bench, on an elevated 
platform 
■ Make sure order is maintained in the court 
■ Determine which evidence is illegal or improper 
■ Gives jury instructions about the law and its application in 
jury trials 
■ In bench trials, a judge decides the case instead of a jury 
■ In charge of sentencing 
● Jury 
○ A group of people summoned and sworn to decide on the facts in an 
issue at a trail 
■ Composed of people who are supposed to represent a 
cross-section of the community 
○ Their role: to listen to the evidence presented in trial, decide 
what facts the evidence has established, and to draw inferences 
based on this evidence in order to make their decision 
■ Decides if the victim is guilty or not guilty in criminal 
cases or liable or not liable in civil 
 
● Jail vs. Prison 
○ Jail 
■ Where individuals are detained if they are awaiting trial 
and are not released on bond or if they are convicted of a 
misdemeanor given a sentence of 11 months and 29 days or 
less. Jails are controlled by either the county or the city. 
○ Prison 
■ Where individuals are detained if they are serving a felony 
conviction. Prisons are controlled by either the state or 
federal government. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 

Community Spotlight:  
Tennesseans for Alternatives  
to the Death Penalty (TADP) 
 
TADP’s mission is to honor life by abolishing the death penalty 
through the education of citizens about the failures of the system and 
empowering Tennesseans to act for change. They are currently asking 
individuals to email or call Governor Lee asking that he stop all 
executions until a comprehensive and independent study of the system 
is conducted to identify and address all the current problems. They 
have included a sample letter on their website,​
here​
. 
 
TADP is also a member of a broader coalition of mental health advocacy 
groups, criminal justice reform organizations, and others called 
Tennessee Alliance for the Severe Mental Illness Exclusion​
, which is 
an effort to educate Tennesseans about why those with severe mental 
illnesses should be excluded from the death penalty. This effort led 
to legislation that is currently moving through the Tennessee General 
Assembly but will need lots of support to get through. This effort 
would not repeal the death penalty but would, at least, ensure that 
those with the most severe mental illnesses are not executed. 
 
We are thankful for the work that TADP is doing to encourage our 
citizens to think critically about the death penalty and its role in 
our government.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Vanderbilt Prison Project: September 2019 
 

Special Thanks from the Editor 

A big special thanks to all those who help put this newsletter 
together! The work you do is integral to our mission. 
 
Monika Wojnowski (Free Hearts Reflection; Copy Editing and Compiling) 
Cassidy Latchford (Terms and Terminology) 
Lyndsey Delouya (Now in the News) 
Kate Louthain (Now in the News) 
Ava Pacchiana (BCC Screening Reflection) 
Sydney Aronberg (Free Cyrus Wilson Recap and Reflection) 
Lia Hayduk (Community Spotlight Outreach) 
Evan Etheridge  
Jenny Pigge 
 
Best, 
Emma Stapleton 
Public Relations Chair 

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