My 2026 NOLA to Angola Fundraiser!

Hello:) This October, I will be doing the Nola to Angola bike ride for my second year; it is a 170 mile ride from New Orleans to Angola (Louisiana State Penitentiary). I'm doing the one day ride which is 35 miles. This ride is a fundraiser for the Cornerstone Builders Bus Project, a program that provides free bus service for New Orleanians to visit loved ones who are incarcerated in Angola and around the state of Louisiana.

When people get convicted and sentenced, they are sent to facilities all over the state. Due to lack of funds, many people are unable to make the journey to visit their loved ones. This project responds to this issue by providing free bus service. Anything and everything helps, your generosity is greatly appreciated <3 The goal is $500, but I am hoping for higher!

Some thoughts on Louisiana's criminal legal system and jury duty - please read if you have time, if not, many thanks for checking out this page and donating!

I wrote this while on jury duty; I spent 3 days sitting in a basement for hours, waiting to see if I would get called for a jury. While not particularly fun, jury duty is incredibly important. In a country where our rights are being eroded, and many people had few to start with, jury duty is a check on power that remains in place. It's a place where a single voice has the ability to stand up to the cataclysmic machine that bulldozes humanity for the sake of progress, money, power. A single juror can change someone's life, bring humanity into a system that forgets, or consciously decides that the lives of the people are disposable. A single juror can change minds - flip a jury from guilty to not guilty. If that doesn't work, a single juror can hang a jury, and give the person on trial another chance by way of retrial. 

Jury nullification exists, though many people don't know about it. As a jury, even if you believe, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the person on trial is guilty as charged, you can still return a not guilty verdict. You can do this if you believe the sentence the defendant would receive is unjust, or for any other reason you see fit. You have that right as a jury, though the judge may not explicitly explain jury nullification. A not guilty verdict cannot be overturned and you as a juror never have to explain your reasoning.

I believe prison is harmful, punitive, does not create a better nor safer society, and does not rehabilitate people. Whether or not you share this value, it is undisputed that this country wrongfully convicts and incarcerates a multitude of people. Many people who are not guilty of the crime they are charged with sit behind bars with their freedom - their lives - stolen. Many others are unjustly sentenced; over crimes of poverty; over minor drug charges that need treatment, rather than punishment; over weed charges that have yet to be overturned. A juror has the power to scrutinize a case at the beginning, and stop these wrongful convictions and unjust sentences before they occur.

So, whether or not you believe in prison, I urge you to participate intentionally in jury duty. Imagine it was you on trial; looking at 5 years, 15 years, life in prison. I urge you to give whatever energy, time, attention to jury duty, to the person on trial, that you would want to receive. It's a way to support another person in your community - to give empathy, to hear their story, and to give them a chance. 

I am writing this in the wake of a devastating trial loss for a client through my job. My client got 15 years. I firmly believe it was self defense. A juror emailed my team after trial saying he made a mistake with the guilty verdict, and that he was sorry. But it's too late, my client will sit in prison for 15 years. He's in his early 20s, still a kid. His daughter is 4 and his son is 7, they will be raised without a father at home. Every single person on his jury had the ability to stop this.

Back to Nola to Angola - I am very excited for this bike ride. Last year, I met many wonderful people passionate about improving our criminal legal system and our world in general. I heard inspiring talks from folks who have lived through decades of incarceration, and have come out on the other side, with incredible resilience, kindness, empathy, and empowerment. Some who were wrongfully convicted, all who were unjustly sentenced. Jury duty is a beginning step, where we as citizens can say we do not condone the system dehumanizing and casting aside our fellow community members. If you are up for jury duty and want to talk about it, I would love to; text, call or message me!! (tips for getting on a jury: stay quiet during jury selection, demonstrate that you can uphold the law. Jury selection is not a great place to share values, wait for deliberations, that's where you have power  to make things happen).

Thx for listening, much much love, and thank you for your donation and reading time<3

More info: https://antigravitymagazine.com/feature/so-you-want-to-be-on-a-jury/