Life: Learning Instructions for Everyone...in Prison & Out

Phillip Vance Smith, II, is the editor of The Nash News, the longest-running prison periodical in North Carolina, and the co-editor of Compassion, a newsletter by and for incarcerated individuals. He spearheaded the placement of both publications on JSTOR, a digital library accessible to the public. His writing has been published in Logic(s), The North Carolina Law Review, Prison Journalism Project, The Humanist, Walk In Those Shoes, and elsewhere. He has appeared on the podcasts Criminal and Prison POD. He is the co-author of The Prison Resources Repurposing Act, a legislative proposal that aims to decrease prison violence and reduce recidivism by giving prisoners with life without parole sentences a second chance through stringent educational, behavioral, and vocational programming. Phillip is currently finishing his Associate of Arts degree and works as a visitation photographer at Nash Correctional Institution, where he is currently located. He has been serving life without parole in North Carolina since 2002. He can be reached at phillipvancesmith2@gmail.com. Read more of his writing at katbodrie.com/pvs2.