Resources

ASL information explains the common causes of wrongful convictions on deaf disabled people.

JLM is a practical legal resource written to provide incarcerated people with information about their rights while in prison.

In solidarity with thousands of imprisoned people in more than 15 states who are striking to bring attention to & end horrible prison conditions and prison labor exploitation, HEARD, LRID and over twenty organizations released a statement responding to decades of neglect of the needs of Deaf/Disabled imprisoned people. Our hope is to end nearly a decade of illegal and inhumane exploitation of imprisoned people by the Louisiana Department of Corrections.

Junius Wilson (1908-2001) spent seventy-six years at a state mental hospital in Goldsboro, North Carolina, including six in the criminal ward. He had never been declared insane by a medical professional or found guilty of any criminal charge. But he was deaf and Black in the Jim Crow South.

HEARD created the #DeafInPrison Campaign to raise awareness about abuse of & discrimination against deaf prisoners.The Campaign aims to start a national conversation about these concerns and to compel corrective and preventive action.

Calling home from prison is cumbersome and expensive. For deaf people behind bars, it’s even tougher, sometimes impossible.

Webinar in ASL about the prison system and imprisoned deaf community during the time of COVID-19.

One of our Public Education Team members shares his perspective on Deaf/Disabled folks being imprisoned during the pandemic.

For more than 10 years, HEARD and our communities have pushed for accessible telecom for incarcerated people and their loved ones through our #DeafPrisonPhoneJustice campaign. The FCC finally ordered that incarcerated people with communication disabilities must have access to ALL forms of telecommunications relay services.

A new rule from the Federal Communications Commission requiring full access for incarcerated people with communication disabilities will go into effect in January 2024. This rule is a product of 10+ years of advocacy from HEARD alongside deaf/disabled incarcerated people and community members.