Meet Corey..

“She was kind to everyone; she made us feel human.”

Corey, 51

Incarcerated: 21 years

Housed: Kern Valley State Prison, Delano, California

I’ve been on these plantations for most of my life. I was 8 when I first started coming to these plantations. I was in boys’ homes, camps, and prisons in 1991. I got out for 30 days in 2021. I came back for a robbery, and they gave me 75 years to life, Three Strikes. I never really liked the police or correctional officers because I have seen too much wrongdoing by them in the free world and on these plantations. I have seen officers beat prisoners while they were in handcuffs, being one of them. I witnessed them set us up to be assaulted by other prisoners and so much more. So, I would always try not to look at them and never speak to them. But after all these years, I was sent to Kern Valley State Prison, and a female officer was working there. It was hard for me not to look at her; she was so beautiful, even with no makeup. She was kind to everyone; she made us feel human. We were happy to see her. If you ever had a dog and went away for a while, you can see how happy the dog was to see you when you came back. We loved seeing her because it felt like she saw us.