Emile DeWeaver

Emile is an African-American activist whose life sentence in prison was commuted by California’s Governor Brown after 21 years for his accomplishments while in prison. While in prison, he was a culture writer for Easy Street Magazine; he co-founded Prison Renaissance, and despite the criminalization of organizing in California prisons, he covertly organized in prison to pass legislation that changed the way California treats juveniles in its criminal legal system. Emile is a widely published journalist, essayist, and literary writer; and his credits include-works related to social justice in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Brennan Center. He currently works as the Senior Strategist in Prison Policy Initiative’s Advocacy Department.