In March 2018, the Los Angeles Sentinel covered the story of 72-year-old Geneva Cooley, who was serving life without parole at Julia Tutwiler Prison in Wetumpka, Alabama for trafficking heroin hydromorphone and failure to affix tax stamps.
Imagine having one of your children killed in an accident by a police officer, as a result you begin self-medicating and experience what it is like to be incarcerated. When you are ready to stand on your feet, there aren’t any resources or services in your community. What are you going to do? A New Way of Life Re-entry Project (ANOWL) founder Susan Burton, didn’t have to imagine, she lived it. “Following the death of my son, I medicated my grief and pain with alcohol and it progressed to illegal drugs and I was incarcerated for it,” said Burton. “Every