In the first installment of Notes from a Jailhouse Lawyer, Terry Antalek from Ellsworth Correctional Facility explains the injustice of placing a fixed time limit for filing a federal habeas corpus petition. “Many newly convicted individuals are not even aware that habeas corpus remedies exist,” he writes. “Many attorneys never inform their convicted clients of these remedies. Often it's too late when the prisoner learns of these remedies.”

I’m Devon Westerfield, a 29-year-old artist from Independence, Kansas. I am currently incarcerated at Lansing Correctional Facility in Lansing, Kansas. It’s been tough for me to endure these living arrangements, and this is only a peek into my experiences with this flawed system that claims to be in place to “correct” criminal behavior. In actuality, I’ve found that so many of us who are incarcerated have been the victims of true criminal behavior perpetrated by a system that claims to help us. I just want to create true change from within these cages and bring about real positive change for those of us in chains. But we can’t do it alone. We need help. 

I’m Devon Westerfield, a 29 year old artist from Independence, Kansas. I am currently incarcerated at Lansing Correctional Facility in Lansing, Kansas. For my entire life, I have either been a ward of the state, incarcerated in some sort of facility, or excessively punished and mistreated by the judicial system. Throughout it all, true rehabilitation has never been offered to me.

Jeff Zmuda and the Kansas Department of Corrections are grossly mistreating people incarcerated at Lansing Correctional Facility. Here’s what’s happening and what you can do about it, in the words of Trenton Bishop, who is currently at Lansing.