Raymond M. Williams Jr.

“I face living my entire existence in a country that’s lecturing the world about democracy, while having never participated in it.” Read excerpts from my testimony on HB 2030 in this piece from @WAStateStandard

In Washington state, prisoners are organizing with community for the right to vote from prison. Hear our words in this video from the public hearing on HB 2030 (beginning 49:18). tvw.org/video/house-st…

I was charged as an adult for stealing guns at 16 years old. This crime is currently being used to keep me in prison until I die. Hear my testimony to Washington legislature on SB 6063 in this video (1:47:25) as I plea for the lives of myself and others. tvw.org/video/senate-h…

Are you following the writers in my incarcerated writers group? If not, you should! Get the latest stories from behind the walls. Last year they published over 100 articles. @AntoineEDavis @KevinLightRoth @AaronOlson1986 @raywilliams80 @DKJackson20 @jonmkirkpatrick

Marvel Cooke Fellow @raywilliams80 explores how the closure of a prison in Washington State has divided a community of abolitionist organizers. Read the full story: shadowproof.com/2023/11/27/in-…

Sexual abuse is often a taboo topic for men, especially Black men. Writing this article made me reflect & recognize the harm I've endured. Abuse affects entire communities, not just individuals. We cannot tolerate a society that protects abusers and silences survivors.

"Per a member of a transnational trafficking organization, there’s no financial incentive to put fentanyl in cocaine. Which doesn't stop it from happening by accident." Fentanyl Isn’t Being Cut Into the Cocaine Supply. Here’s Why. By @jonmkirkpatrick: filtermag.org/fentanyl-cocai…

I’m an incarcerated journalist. Today Securus, a predatory prison communication co, silenced journalists. With no warning they deleted all drafts of writing. Years of work. Manuscripts. Articles. Everything gone. We’re no longer able to save drafts. Now near impossible to write.

State Raised: Raymond Williams Part 4 The link to this gripping four-part Podcast series is in my Bio above - Please give it the time it deserves and listen. The State is your parent when you are State Raised – except when you screw-up and then suddenly, there is no-one in your corner to help. As a 17-year-old kid, Ray EXPECTED that he would end up in prison and so didn’t fight it when it happened. As a child, he standing in front of the court thinking, “I don’t care – BRING IT ON”. A childish reaction to the very real threat of being sent to prison for life – yes, because he was a child with no-one teaching him right from wrong. STATE RAISED – well done Mom & Pop State. Who visits STATE RAISED kids at visiting time in prison? No family and no friends, that’s who. It is a huge part of these kids turning to anyone who remotely resemble “family” and end up joining prison gangs and giving in to the prison institutionalization. Who is there to assist when a STATE RAISED individual decides to become a good citizen and turn his/her back on their current reality? The only person they can turn to is themselves and the few organisations out there who are trying to make a difference. The Concerned Lifers Organisation within the prison system, established and run by incarcerated individuals – that is, when the DOC don’t close them down. Reality dictates the quality of prison recordings and this one is not great at all but the content is worth putting up with a bad sound quality – prison reality. A bit of a background. In 2020, there were about 73.6 million children in the United States According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, on any given day, over 48,000 youth in the United States are confined in facilities away from home as a result of juvenile justice or criminal justice involvement. 4.0% of all children in the USA do not live with a parent in 2019. In America, nearly 11 million children are poor. That’s 1 in 7 kids, who make up almost one-third of all people living in poverty in this country. This number should be unimaginable in one of the world’s wealthiest countries, and yet child poverty has remained stubbornly high for decades Across the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is made up of 37 countries including Denmark, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the United States is consistently ranked as one of the worst in child poverty rates. In 2021, an estimated 391,098 children were in foster care in the United States. Many factors contribute to the number of children in foster care. These circumstances for removal are neglect (63%), Parent drug abuse (36%), Caretaker inability to cope (14%), Physical abuse (12%), and others. Since more than one reason exists for removing the child, the totals for reasons do not add up to 100 in the AFCARS report. The most recent report from 2021 shows that an estimated 606,031 children passed through the US foster care system over the course of one year. This number, from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), represents both the children who were already in the system at the beginning of the federal fiscal year (October 1, 2020) and the children who entered into the system over the next 12 months. On the last day of the fiscal year, September 30, 2021, approximately 391,098 kids were in foster care. In Washington state there were 487 children in foster care per 100,000 residents under age 21 as of September 30, 2021. There are 1,770,279 children under the age of 19 in Washington state. The total population of Washington state in 2010 was 6,724,540 1. Therefore, the percentage of children under the age of 19 in Washington state is, approximately 26.2% of the population in Washington state. The United States incarcerates more of its youth than any other country in the world through the juvenile courts and the adult criminal justice system, which reflects the larger trends in incarceration practices in the United States. In 2010, approximately 70,800 juveniles were incarcerated in youth detention facilities alone.[1] As of 2006, approximately 500,000 youth were brought to detention centers in a given year.[2] This data does not reflect juveniles tried as adults. As of 2013, around 40% were incarcerated in privatized, for-profit facilities. Some inmates of the juvenile system are or were "status offenders", children who committed acts that are not crimes for adults, but can get juveniles in trouble with the law. Status offenses include consensual sexual acts, truancy from school, smoking cigarettes, curfew violations, drinking alcohol, running away from one's residence, chronic disobedience of parents, guardians, and/or other authority figures, waywardness, and ungovernability. Find Ray on: seattletimes.com/opinion/restor… progressive.org/topics/raymond… On X (Twitter) @RAYWILLIAMS80 On Securus Raymond Williams #767974 Washington CC (Cedar D-11) PO Box 900 Shelton, WA 98584 United States Treehouse treehouseforkids.org 2100 24th Ave S Ste 200, Seattle, WA 98144 +1 206-767-7000 Facebook info@treehouseforkids.org

Link to this recording is in my Bio above. State Raised: Raymond Williams Part 3 Reality dictates the quality of prison recordings and this one is not great at all but the content is worth putting up with a bad sound quality – prison reality. Ray is just one in far too many kids that were Sate Raised and now find themselves in prison. Growing up in foster care or in Group Homes, means that eight out of ten times, your future will include being locked up in prison. Children of the State – from start to the end – State Raised Prisoners. If this doesn’t shock you and get you running off to your elected state officials, then nothing will, and the preordained future of State Raised children will NOT CHANGE. THINK ABOUT THAT. What is the meaning of the term “State Raised”? As you listen to Aaron and Ray speak about the “State Raised” and “School to Prison Pipeline” phenomenon, keep a few facts in mind, bearing in mind the statistics change annually. These facts are taken of government websites. In 2020, there were about 73.6 million children in the United States According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, on any given day, over 48,000 youth in the United States are confined in facilities away from home as a result of juvenile justice or criminal justice involvement. 4.0% of all children in the USA do not live with a parent in 2019. In America, nearly 11 million children are poor. That’s 1 in 7 kids, who make up almost one-third of all people living in poverty in this country. This number should be unimaginable in one of the world’s wealthiest countries, and yet child poverty has remained stubbornly high for decades Across the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is made up of 37 countries including Denmark, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the United States is consistently ranked as one of the worst in child poverty rates. In 2021, an estimated 391,098 children were in foster care in the United States. Many factors contribute to the number of children in foster care. These circumstances for removal are neglect (63%), Parent drug abuse (36%), Caretaker inability to cope (14%), Physical abuse (12%), and others. Since more than one reason exists for removing the child, the totals for reasons do not add up to 100 in the AFCARS report. The most recent report from 2021 shows that an estimated 606,031 children passed through the US foster care system over the course of one year. This number, from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), represents both the children who were already in the system at the beginning of the federal fiscal year (October 1, 2020) and the children who entered into the system over the next 12 months. On the last day of the fiscal year, September 30, 2021, approximately 391,098 kids were in foster care. In Washington state there were 487 children in foster care per 100,000 residents under age 21 as of September 30, 2021. There are 1,770,279 children under the age of 19 in Washington state. The total population of Washington state in 2010 was 6,724,540 1. Therefore, the percentage of children under the age of 19 in Washington state is, approximately 26.2% of the population in Washington state. The United States incarcerates more of its youth than any other country in the world through the juvenile courts and the adult criminal justice system, which reflects the larger trends in incarceration practices in the United States. In 2010, approximately 70,800 juveniles were incarcerated in youth detention facilities alone.[1] As of 2006, approximately 500,000 youth were brought to detention centers in a given year.[2] This data does not reflect juveniles tried as adults. As of 2013, around 40% were incarcerated in privatized, for-profit facilities. Some inmates of the juvenile system are or were "status offenders", children who committed acts that are not crimes for adults, but can get juveniles in trouble with the law. Status offenses include consensual sexual acts, truancy from school, smoking cigarettes, curfew violations, drinking alcohol, running away from one's residence, chronic disobedience of parents, guardians, and/or other authority figures, waywardness, and ungovernability. Find Ray on: seattletimes.com/opinion/restor… progressive.org/topics/raymond… On X (Twitter) @RAYWILLIAMS80 On Securus Raymond Williams #767974 Washington CC (Cedar D-11) PO Box 900 Shelton, WA 98584 United States Treehouse treehouseforkids.org 2100 24th Ave S Ste 200, Seattle, WA 98144 +1 206-767-7000 Facebook info@treehouseforkids.org

“I know my son as I know him—before the state kept him from any contact with me for more than 10 years. And I know his arrest was a direct result of my absence in his life.” My latest for ⁦@Slate⁩: slate.com/news-and-polit…

State Raised: Raymond Williams Part 1of4 Check out the link in my Bio and on Spotify. What is the meaning of the term “State Raised”? As you listen to Aaron and Ray speak about the “State Raised” and “School to Prison Pipeline” phenomenon, keep a few facts in mind, bearing in mind the statistics change annually. These facts are taken of government websites. In 2020, there were about 73.6 million children in the United States According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, on any given day, over 48,000 youth in the United States are confined in facilities away from home as a result of juvenile justice or criminal justice involvement. 4.0% of all children in the USA do not live with a parent in 2019. In America, nearly 11 million children are poor. That’s 1 in 7 kids, who make up almost one-third of all people living in poverty in this country. This number should be unimaginable in one of the world’s wealthiest countries, and yet child poverty has remained stubbornly high for decades Across the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is made up of 37 countries including Denmark, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the United States is consistently ranked as one of the worst in child poverty rates.

State Raised: Raymond Williams Part 2 Link to the audio is in my Bio above..... Please listen. What is the meaning of the term “State Raised”? As you listen to Aaron and Ray speak about the “State Raised” phenomenon – are there any benefits being raised by the state? Well, Ray answers that question emphatically - listen to his answer. There is far too much work to do on this subject and very little good is coming from it but an organisation called Treehouse is doing great work with out precious youth. Check out the contact details, below. Keep a few facts in mind, bearing in mind the statistics change annually. These facts are taken of government websites. I’m keeping these details in for you to revisit the facts…. In 2020, there were about 73.6 million children in the United States According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, on any given day, over 48,000 youth in the United States are confined in facilities away from home as a result of juvenile justice or criminal justice involvement. 4.0% of all children in the USA do not live with a parent in 2019. In America, nearly 11 million children are poor. That’s 1 in 7 kids, who make up almost one-third of all people living in poverty in this country. This number should be unimaginable in one of the world’s wealthiest countries, and yet child poverty has remained stubbornly high for decades Across the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is made up of 37 countries including Denmark, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the United States is consistently ranked as one of the worst in child poverty rates. In 2021, an estimated 391,098 children were in foster care in the United States. Many factors contribute to the number of children in foster care. These circumstances for removal are neglect (63%), Parent drug abuse (36%), Caretaker inability to cope (14%), Physical abuse (12%), and others. Since more than one reason exists for removing the child, the totals for reasons do not add up to 100 in the AFCARS report. The most recent report from 2021 shows that an estimated 606,031 children passed through the US foster care system over the course of one year. This number, from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), represents both the children who were already in the system at the beginning of the federal fiscal year (October 1, 2020) and the children who entered into the system over the next 12 months. On the last day of the fiscal year, September 30, 2021, approximately 391,098 kids were in foster care. In Washington state there were 487 children in foster care per 100,000 residents under age 21 as of September 30, 2021. There are 1,770,279 children under the age of 19 in Washington state. The total population of Washington state in 2010 was 6,724,540 1. Therefore, the percentage of children under the age of 19 in Washington state is, approximately 26.2% of the population in Washington state. The United States incarcerates more of its youth than any other country in the world through the juvenile courts and the adult criminal justice system, which reflects the larger trends in incarceration practices in the United States. In 2010, approximately 70,800 juveniles were incarcerated in youth detention facilities alone.[1] As of 2006, approximately 500,000 youth were brought to detention centers in a given year.[2] This data does not reflect juveniles tried as adults. As of 2013, around 40% were incarcerated in privatized, for-profit facilities. Some inmates of the juvenile system are or were "status offenders", children who committed acts that are not crimes for adults, but can get juveniles in trouble with the law. Status offenses include consensual sexual acts, truancy from school, smoking cigarettes, curfew violations, drinking alcohol, running away from one's residence, chronic disobedience of parents, guardians, and/or other authority figures, waywardness, and ungovernability. Find Ray on: seattletimes.com/opinion/restor… progressive.org/topics/raymond… On X (Twitter) @RAYWILLIAMS80 On Securus Raymond Williams #767974 Washington CC (Cedar D-11) PO Box 900 Shelton, WA 98584 United States Treehouse treehouseforkids.org 2100 24th Ave S Ste 200, Seattle, WA 98144 +1 206-767-7000 Facebook info@treehouseforkids.org

MUTUAL AID REQUEST! Big warm welcome home to @UnCagedCritique. We are helping with some funds as she starts up her life and continues her writing career from out here. If you can send any money her way, please send it to Venmo account Emily-Nonko with the line "For Christy."

@raywilliams80's latest for @theprogressive is about the shift he's witnessed as his prison got access to tablets and e-messaging, and all the data that @SecurusTech @Aventiv_Tech is collecting as it happens. Read it here: progressive.org/latest/when-ta…

When tablets first came to my prison, it changed life inside -- but nothing in this world is free. Read about it in my latest publication with @theprogressive. progressive.org/latest/when-ta…

Countless former foster youth populate our prison system. These State Raised prisoners experience incarceration differently than those with families. Read about it in my latest piece with @JewishCurrents. jewishcurrents.org/when-prisons-p…

"We may have been raised in these institutions. That does not mean we want to die here" Read incarcerated writer @raywilliams80's powerful dispatch on how prisons' emphasis on "family" marginalizes State Raised individuals, who grew up in institutions jewishcurrents.org/when-prisons-p…

@raywilliams80 writes for @JewishCurrents about state-raised individuals and their experience inside prison, with a gut-wrenching illustration by incarcerated artist Corey Devon Arthur. jewishcurrents.org/when-prisons-p…

The loneliest place on earth is prison. In my 25 years of incarceration, I know this pain too well. But two heroines, Elodie and Sigrid, are doing their part to combat Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation. I wrote about it for @Slate. slate.com/news-and-polit…