Emile DeWeaver

Emile DeWeaver is an activist whose life sentence in prison was commuted by former California Gov. Jerry Brown after 21 years. While in prison, he co-founded Prison Renaissance, and despite the criminalization of organizing in California prisons, he covertly organized behind bars to pass legislation that changed the way California treats juveniles in its criminal legal system. His work has been published in Colorlines, Truthout and the San Francisco Chronicle, and he’s currently the senior strategist in Prison Policy Initiative’s advocacy department.