“One of the most important literary treasures of our time.” -Sister Helen Prejean
All of us are more than our worst crime, but less than our highest ideal. Inside: Voices from Death Row takes us on a journey into the hearts and minds of four men on Death Row brave enough to share the truth of the American criminal injustice system. At times hopeful, at times heart-breaking, this poignant exploration of what it means to be human sets out to prove that while we are shaped by our past, we are not defined by it. Grace and redemption can be found in the most unlikely places.
Inside:Voices from Death Row is a collection of personal narratives by four men incarcerated on North Carolina’s Death Row–Michael J. Braxton, Lyle C. May, Terry Robinson, and George Wilkerson–with essays by editor Tessie Castillo, a foreword by Sister Helen Prejean, and an afterword by journalist Phoebe Zerwick.
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Royalties from this book go to the NC Victim Assistance Network.
Release Date: September 2022
Michael J. Braxton, also known as Alim, is a rapper and spiritual leader on North Carolina’s Death Row. Known as Rrome Alone in the music world, he has the distinction of being the only rapper in the world to release music from Death Row. His debut album, Mercy on my Soul, is available through NU Revolution Entertainment. You can find him on Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram @rromealone.
Tessie Castillo is an author, journalist and public speaker who specializes in stories on criminal justice, drug policy, prison reform and racial equity. She co-wrote Inside: Voices from Death Row with four men serving death sentences in North Carolina, whom she met while volunteering at North Carolina’s Central Prison in 2014. Castillo was moved by the wisdom, humility, and accountability of the men in prison. In May 2014, she wrote an editorial to the Raleigh News & Observer advocating for the humanity of people on Death Row. In response, the prison administration canceled her class and revoked her status as a volunteer. Castillo began writing to her former students. The letters and essays they exchanged formed the base for this book.
Lyle C. May is a prison journalist, abolitionist, Ohio University alum, and member of the Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society. While he pursues every legal avenue to overturn his wrongful conviction and death sentence, Lyle advocates for greater access to higher education in prison. His fight is that of millions, and while the opposition is strong, his desire for equal justice is stronger. Lyle’s book, Witness: An Insider’s Narrative of the Carceral State will be published in 2023 by Haymarket Books. To read more of Lyle’s writing, visit scalawagmagazine.org.
Terry Robinson, also known as Chanton, is a writer who has been incarcerated on North Carolina’s Death Row since 2000. He believes in the power of words and uses his writing to tear down the walls in his everyday life that are meant to restrict and deter the expression of his humanity. Chanton is a believer in faith, health, and wellness. He is family oriented and native to Wilson, North Carolina. He enjoys reading, writing, sports, and chess and is an avid role-playing member of Dungeons and Dragons. His work is featured on the blog Walk in Those Shoes, where he is also an active member of the nonprofit organization by the same name. He is working on his first solo book project, Born to the Devil, an urban fantasy novel, and his memoir, Tales from the Hood: A Road Map to Death Row. He is currently fighting a wrongful conviction and ceaselessly maintains his innocence.
George T. Wilkerson is an award-winning poet, writer, and artist on North Carolina’s Death Row. His poetry has appeared in Poetry, Bayou Magazine, Prime Number Magazine, and elsewhere. His essays and stories have appeared in Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row, The Marshall Project, the PEN anthology The Named and the Nameless, the anthology Right Here, Right Now, and elsewhere. He has won three PEN awards, has edited the anthology You’ll Be Smarter than Us, and is editor of Compassion, a newsletter by and for Death Row prisoners in America. His poetry collection Interface, published by BleakHouse Publishing, won the 2022 Victor Hassine Memorial Scholarship and was a finalist in the 2018 Cathy Smith Bowers Chapbook Contest and the 2019 Press 53 Poetry Book Contest. His collaborative, hybrid collection Bone Orchard, also from BleakHouse Publishing, examines the differences between doing time with a release date and having a death sentence. To read George’s writing, visit katbodrie.com/georgewilkerson.
Sister Helen Prejean is known around the world for her tireless work against the death penalty. She has been instrumental in sparking national dialogue on capital punishment and in shaping the Catholic Church’s vigorous opposition to all executions. Her book, Dead Man Walking, ignited a national debate on capital punishment and it inspired an Academy Award winning movie, a play and an opera. Sister Helen also embarked on a speaking tour that continues to this day.
Sister Helen works with people of all faiths (including agnostics and atheists), but her voice has had a special resonance with her fellow Catholics. Not long after meeting with Sister Helen in August of 2018, Pope Francis announced new language of the Catholic Catechism which declares that the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person, with no exceptions.
Sister Helen’s second book, The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions, was published in 2004; her third book, River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey, was published by Random House in 2019.
Phoebe Zerwick is an award-winning investigative journalist, narrative writer, and college professor. Her writing has appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine; National Geographic; The Nation; the Winston-Salem Journal; and Glamour, among other publications. Her work has been recognized by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, Columbia University, and the North Carolina Press Association and featured in the HBO documentary The Trials of Darryl Hunt. She is the director of the journalism program at Wake Forest University.
