Philadelphia sentences more people to prison for life without parole than any other county and 45 states. The majority come from neighborhoods heavily occupied by police forces. Frequent and early encounters with police serve to groom these communities for prisonization. Phillips Black Inc hosts a conversation with Marco Maldonado and Giovanni Reid, who fought for decades to overturn their wrongful convictions and life sentences and overcome the effects of the Philadelphia police-states within which they were born and raised.
Phillips Black is a nonprofit law practice representing prisoners facing sentences of death and death by incarceration across the country.
Marco Maldonado is a legal apprentice with Phillips Black. Arrested at 19, Marco Maldonado spent 28 years wrongfully incarcerated, earning his Master's Degree in the Humanities from California State University Dominguez Hills (with the thesis “A History of the Organizations at Graterford Prison”) and certification as a legal reference aide from the State of Pennsylvania.
Arrested at the age of 16 for a crime that he did not commit, Giovanni Reid spent 26 years in prison, earning his GED, pursuing college courses offered by Villanova and Temple Universities, and completing a correspondence course with Blackstone University for paralegal studies. Released in 2017, he has maintained employment at the Philadelphia Airport, supervising the plumbing system at Sarcone’s Bakery, and providing freelance paralegal work and consultation for attorneys.
Join Marco and Giovanni as they discuss their experiences with the Philadelphia to prison pipeline during this one hour conversation at Bok Bar.
*All ticket proceeds will go to Marco and Giovanni.*