Joseph Jackson, born and raised on farmland in Tyler, Texas, is a former convicted criminal and longtime prison reform advocate. As executive director of the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, he has devoted his life’s work to improving conditions for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, their families, survivors of harm and others who have been wronged by the criminal legal system.
Mainebiz: Why did you go to jail?
Joseph Jackson: This is a question that lives at the heart of my work. My criminal history dates back nearly 40 years and is still a matter of public record. Legalized discrimination played a role in my incarceration, as it does for many others: One in five Mainers has been impacted by the criminal legal system. Having gone to jail and prison provided me with the lived experience that informs the advocacy work I do today.
MB: What were the circumstances of the crime, and do you feel you were justly convicted?
JJ: I was young, gullible and under-educated. I was also unemployed, living in poverty and addicted to cocaine. I was Black in Maine, and as such, the only person of color in the courtroom. Circumstances being what they were, I do not feel I was judged by a jury of my peers.
MB: What prompted you to pursue higher education while imprisoned?
JJ: Even though I was under-educated, I was literate. This placed me in a position to serve as a literacy volunteer for a number of my peers who were illiterate. The incarcerated men I taught as a literacy volunteer asked me to help them get their GED. At the time, all I had was a GED, and I recognized I didn’t necessarily have the skills to teach them in the way they had hoped. I took my dilemma to the Maine Humanities Council community coordinator, and she encouraged me to attend college. My innate curiosity and drive for knowledge motivated me to expand my learning. Once I caught the bug, I first earned my associate’s degree. I was then further motivated to earn my bachelor’s degree. Upon exiting prison, I earned my master’s degree.
MB: When you were in jail, what injustices against prisoners struck you most?
JJ: I experienced incarceration as perpetual torture. There was no aspect of incarceration that was not traumatic. The environment is highly toxic and punitive. Those with power often, with time, wield even greater power; those without it take the brunt of that power. It is a never-ending cycle.
MB: What is the mission of the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition?
JJ: Our mission is to support and advocate for Maine’s incarcerated citizens, their families and friends. Our purpose is to reduce Maine’s use of incarceration by advocating for a criminal legal system that is ethical, humane and restorative. Our vision is of a justice system that is restorative. It supports humanity in every person, and reflects and creates transformation and accountability.
MB: What are the biggest obstacles former inmates face when they get out of jail?
JJ: Discrimination in employment and housing are the biggest obstacles returning citizens face, due to their criminal histories.
MB: What changes — in policy, programs or otherwise — are you most proud of and why?
JJ: The thing I’m most proud of is that both of my trial judges, from over 30 years ago, have acknowledged and commended me for the work I am now doing. My proudest moments were being able to share a stage with them over the years, and that their favorable comments and perceptions about me were made in public. It was validating to be seen as human in their eyes, and to represent the redemption that humans can achieve.
MB: What’s the vision for Paco’s Place in Auburn?
JJ: The vision for Paco’s Place is to provide housing stability to people returning to our community from prison. Paco’s Place is loosely based on my own personal journey from incarceration. A family took me into their home and provided me with the stability and support I needed to move on from my traumatized self to my authentic self.
MB: How does writing poetry help you see — and describe — life through a different lens?
JJ: Art is healing. There is something powerful about being able to name a thing. If you can name it, you can overcome it.
