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  • Home
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    • Faith Again
      • Pre 2018 Faith Again Gatherings
    • Community
  • Intentions
  • Consider
  • Backstory
  • Contact

Get Up and Do Your Time. Being in Prison and Needed Changes.

Jamis Johnson 

THUR, NOV 11, 2021  |  7:30-9:00 pm MDT

Hear first hand what Jamis learned while doing time in prison and why prison reform is imperative.

GATHERING ONLINE ONLY VIA ZOOM

Thanks to Jana Spangler for continuing to host us via Zoom. Below is some helpful info for being part of a Zoom convo. Also below is the Zoom link. This is an open group. You are welcome to invite and share with others. If you are not on my email list then either join at the bottom of this site’s home page or text or call me at 801-695-5036.

THE CONVERSATION:

Jamis Johnson found prison a relentlessly intense experience full of extremes—tragedy and hope, violence and kindness, insanity and enlightenments. It’s sad, funny, surreal. Prison is a deeply rich human experience. It was also extraordinarily difficult. Jamis has a unique perspective on that experience: He was falsely accused of a white collar crime. He was a lawyer fighting his case from prison and helping inmates on their legal matters. He developed lasting friendships—some with men who will never get out. Some he helped win their freedom who recently got out. He has thoughts from his own experience on inmate education, access to legal research, solitary confinement, transition to the outside, prosecutorial abuse, sentence reform and civilian review boards of convictions. He will outline some of his experiences and proposals and will open up for discussion.

ABOUT JAMIS

Spending five years in the Utah State Prison for a white collar crime he didn’t commit taught Jamis a lot. Only recently did the Utah Supreme Court overturn his case. During his incarceration and since his release he has been involved in prison and sentence reform and inmate education. Jamis served on a group that included the Disability Law Center and the ACLU, that consulted with the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole and the Dept. of Corrections resulting in a handbook for prisoners relating to Board policies. He is also involved on some national efforts to obtain justice for people through his son’s organization PleasrDAO.

Jamis was born in Arizona and spent his middle school and high school years in Eugene, Oregon. In his teens he started losing his central vision which informs his life experience in unusual ways. He doesn’t drive and reads with visual aids. (Jamis can arguably ride a bike albeit very slowly and despite the opposition of his kids.) He served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Philippines and graduated from BYU. Jamis received his law degree at Columbia University Law School followed by two years in New York City working in a large Wall Street firm. In 1982 he received a Fulbright Fellowship to the University of Bucharest, Academy of Economics while Romania was still a repressive communist regime. He moved to Utah temporarily for the last 40 years.

Jamis has 6 very interesting children, 7 grandkids, and one on the way. Jamis is a bluegrass musician in his spare time. His great passion is community music which he has promoted in various forms and organizations. For 25 years on Sunday evenings he gave free guitar and banjo lessons and hosted community music gatherings in his home. Currently he plays in a swing band.  You will hear him playing here occasionally and at Lower Lights, an organization that grew out of a meditation practice with his friend, Tom McConkie.

EXPLORE BEFORE WE MEET:

Some of my recommendations:
Why Prison Reform Matters in America
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, Brian Stevenson
Bryan Stevenson on how America can heal
Treatment, breaks on drug crimes urged in Utah prison reforms
utahprisoneradvocate.org


WATCH THE RECORDED ZOOM CONVERSATION

 

 

PLEASE READ THESE ZOOM TIPS: 

  • Please mute your microphone before entering and when you are not speaking so noises are not heard by everyone else.
  • Rather than have the whole group watch you try to get your camera or screen positioned, feel free to get that figured out prior to when we meet.
  • Resist the urge to multitask—be with us, people. Knitting is still allowed though. But…
  • If you are going to multitask, please turn off your video and make sure you are muted. No one wants to be distracted by you eating or using the loo.
  • If you are having difficulty with the technology, don’t hold up the meeting by distracting other participants for solutions. Try Googling your problem. I do that with most of life’s problems.
  • Speaking of distractions—just as when we used to meet in person in the good old days, let’s be cautious about using the chat for side conversations that may distract others. You can always ask for people’s contact info and continue your conversation—I’d love that to happen. Or, let me know, and I’ll do my darndest to give you a chance to share to the group.
  • Please share air time and follow the guidelines under “Intentions” on this website.

To enter the Zoom conversation:

  • Click on the Zoom link above.
  • The link Zoom should open, and you should be able to see and hear other participants. Or wait until the host opens the meeting. Please make sure that you muted and that your video is on if you choose to have it on. (Love to see and hear you live, but we’ll take curious lurkers also.)
  • If you can’t hear the host, me, or others, find your settings and make sure you have a working microphone and speaker selected. Also, make sure you have your volume up.
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Slider photos and all illustrations on this site: ©2018 Jay Griffith. No use permitted without express permission from creator.  Think Again Faith Again name and logo: ©2018 Jay Griffith.
Get Up and Do Your Time. Being in Prison and Needed Changes.