All posts by kimberleyann

In The Cellar, Sentenced to Death

Walk In Those Shoes Writers Publish In The Cellar: After Dark

Leave a comment

Walk In Those Shoes is proud to announce the publication of In The Cellar: After Dark, a new book by WITS writers Jason ‘Mumin’ Hurst and Terry ‘Chanton’ Robinson.

Born from the conversations, reflections, and insights that followed their podcast, In The Cellar, this book offers readers an intimate look into the thoughts, experiences, and perspectives of two men living on death row. Through dialogue, introspection, and storytelling, Jason and Terry invite readers into discussions about life, humanity, hope, loss, resilience, and personal growth.

We invite our Walk In Those Shoes community to support these authors by:

  • Purchasing a copy of In The Cellar: After Dark
  • Sharing the book with friends, family, and colleagues
  • Posting ratings and reviews online
  • Providing direct feedback to the authors about their work

For writers, few things are more meaningful than knowing their words have reached and impacted readers. Jason and Terry welcome conversation about the book and are open to hearing readers’ thoughts, questions, and reflections. While you may contact them directly if you have their information, messages and comments left through Walk In Those Shoes will be forwarded to both authors.

This publication represents not only a significant achievement for Jason and Terry, but also the power of writing to foster connection, understanding, and dialogue across barriers that too often divide us.

Please join us in congratulating Jason Mumin Hurst and Terry Chanton Robinson on the publication of In The Cellar: After Dark and in helping bring their voices to a wider audience.

Thank you for supporting the work of incarcerated writers and for helping ensure that important stories continue to be heard.

Loading

Writing Contests

SPRING 2026 WRITING CONTEST

Leave a comment

DESCRIBE AN EXPERIENCE IN WHICH YOU FELT SUPPORTED BY A FELLOW RESIDENT OR STAFF MEMBER.


ENTRY DETAILS: Only those who live in prison are eligible to participate & we don’t accept anything that has been previously published.

Submission is also permission to edit & post in future WITS projects.
Submission is free.

Entries should be 1,000 words or less. Poetry is considered if it is inspired by the prompt.

Submissions can be handwritten.

PRIZES:  First Place: $75 | Second Place: $50 | Third Place: $25

DEADLINE:  June 30, 2026. Decisions will be posted to the WITS website by approximately August 15, 2026.

MAILING ADDRESS:  Walk In Those Shoes, Writing Contest Entry, P.O. Box 70092, Henrico, Virginia 23255

Please share with any writers you know who live in prison. The details of this contest as well as other writing opportunities are included in the Spring 2026 WITS newsletter which can be downloaded and mailed to anyone interested.

Loading

Writing Contests

SUMMER 2025 WRITING CONTEST

Leave a comment

Describe a time when you chose to be your authentic self when it took courage to do so.


ENTRY DETAILS: Only those who live in prison are eligible to participate & we don’t accept anything that has been previously published.
Submission is also permission to edit & post in future WITS projects.
Submission is free.
Entries should be 1,000 words or less. Poetry is considered if it is inspired by the prompt.
Submissions can be handwritten.

PRIZES: First Place: $75 | Second Place: $50 | Third Place: $25

DEADLINE: September 30, 2025. Decisions will be posted to the WITS website by approximately November 30, 2025.

MAILING ADDRESS: Walk In Those Shoes, Writing Contest Entry, P.O. Box 70092, Henrico, Virginia 23255

Please share with any writers you know who live in prison. The details are also shared on Page 3 of the Summer 2025 Newsletter which has a sampling of the writing WITS accepts.

Loading

In The Cellar, Views From The Inside

Voices of Reform

Leave a comment

Walk In Those Shoes grew from seeds of empathy. Those seeds came full circle when two men with over forty-five combined years living on Death Row had a conversation about relations with correctional staff. These are a few of their thoughts.

A clip of Chanton & Mumin from S1, Episode 7 of In The Cellar, regarding Staff Relations.

Who are we to ask or expect better from them, when we’re willing to put our own humanity aside?  

I think that if we see an officer in need, if we really believe that we’re all people, and we’re deserving of kind treatment, then at some point we have to take a stand and just buck the notion that we ain’t supposed to deal with them, we ain’t supposed to help them, they’re the po-leece.  I think we’re s’posed to. 

One of the ways to first break that division, it gotta start from us.  We have to take ownership of our part, to our role in this equation.  

Terry ‘Chanton’ Robinson and Jason ‘Mumin’ Hurst are WITS writers committed to changing the narrative, sharing their reform through writing as well as their voices In The Cellar.

Loading

In The Cellar

Episode 4 – Visitation

Leave a comment

Episode 4 was released today! Mumin and Chanton share their thoughts and experiences with visitation, discussing it’s value and impact on their lives and those around them. They are also joined by a relative for this one. This project consists of 10 episodes, and I encourage anyone wanting to learn from this community, which in good part is self-governed, to go back and listen to each one.

Loading

In The Cellar

In The Cellar: Episode 1, First Impressions

1 Comment

In their first episode, Mumin and Chanton talk about the impact of first impressions, their and other’s need to convey impressions, and how that is shaped while living in prison.

In The Cellar hopes to raise awareness regarding the psychological impact of living with the looming threat of lethal injection and give policy makers and up-and-coming policy makers a more rounded perspective.

Please follow this project on Spotify, and also leave your thoughts and comments, which will be shared with Mumin and Chanton.

Loading

In The Cellar, Sentenced to Death, Views From The Inside

Coming Soon:

Leave a comment

On July 9, 2024, WITS will be sharing the first episode of In The Cellar, a podcast created by two WITS writers. In The Cellar features weekly table talk sessions from NC Death Row. The writers aim to explore the challenges, tragedies and triumphs of living with a death sentence.  In The Cellar will be hosted by Jason Mumin Hurst & Terry Chanton Robinson, two men amongst the many Death Row residents who are pursuing constructive ways to effect change.  As the podcast strives to remain balanced and bring awareness to those in and outside of prisons, I will occasionally join the two men, aiming to provide insight from the civilian point of view and experience.  

In The Cellar will highlight the psychological impact of living with the looming threat of lethal injection. Chanton and Mumin will explore family connections, both broken and restored, community development, spiritual growth, and friendships founded on acts of decency.  They will relive the heartbreak of having lost loved ones over the years and the difficulty of finding closure, as well as recount stories of exoneration, mental illness, past trauma, accountability, healing, and of course – executions.

Join us as we crack the door and shine light into one of prison’s darkest reaches and attempt to provide valuable insight on the practice of murdering murderers in the name of justice.  The hope is to substantiate the redeeming qualities of those incarcerated, knowing that while they may be awaiting execution, according to Prison Policy Initiative, 610,000 others are being released back into society each year*.   Their release plays a key role in society’s restoration, restoration that also takes place right here In The Cellar on NC Death Row.

The first episode of In The Cellar will also be shared on Spotify on July 9, 2024.

*Initiative, P. P. (2022, August 25). Since you asked: How many people are released from each state’s prisons and jails every year? Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2022/08/25/releasesbystate/

Loading

Writing Contests

Spring 2024 Writing Contest

Leave a comment

As shared in the March Newsletter, it is time for the Spring Writing Contest.

There is a depth of resilience and strength that exists within the incarcerated community. Ingenuity; creativity; insight; individuals
adapting and even supporting one another to adjust to incarceration and everything that means.

PROMPT: Describe an act you have witnessed that reflected inner strength. That might be in the form of self-control, forgiveness, or community building. It could look like someone spending decades pursuing education and becoming a PhD student and professor while living in prison, like Leo Hylton who was also featured in the newsletter. Or it could look like Benito Rios who is now a Companion Sitter in Texas, supporting those who are in crisis, also in the newsletter. Or it could be someone who shared their extra commissary with his or her neighbor.

ENTRY DETAILS: Only those who live in prison are eligible to participate, & we don’t accept anything that has been previously published. Submission is also permission to edit & post in future WITS projects.
Submission is free.
Entries should be 1,000 words or less. Poetry is considered if it is inspired by the prompt.
Submissions can be handwritten.
PRIZES: First Place: $75 | Second Place: $50 | Third Place: $25
DEADLINE: June 30, 2024. Decisions will be posted by approximately July 31, 2024.
MAILING ADDRESS: Walk In Those Shoes, Writing Contest Entry, P.O. Box 70092, Henrico, Virginia 23255

PROMPT HINTS: There is strength throughout this community. Benito Rios, featured in the March Newsletter, is an example of someone displaying strength through compassion and empathy for others in crisis as he acts as a Companion Sitter in TX prisons.
Benito, who received $25 for being featured in the WITS newsletter, instructed WITS to send the funds to someone he felt needed it more, again displaying strength through empathy and generosity.
Today, Benito Rios spent his morning helping others in his unit, older residents with disabilities. He will be participating in facilitating a Wheelchair Olympics Relay that will include racing, basketball shotput, basketball free throw, weight lifting and a pull-up competition.
Writing about someone like Benito Rios or Leo Hylton, also featured in the March Newsletter, would be fulfilling the prompt. While Benito did not want to receive funds, he did make the following request:

“I won’t sugar coat anything. I myself am without financially, but I find it fulfilling to help others. But if you know anybody who can stand in the gap with me in prayer, please pass along my info. Keep us in prayer.”
– Benito Rios, Jester III Unit, Texas

Loading

Arizona Book Club

Arizona Book Club, Latest Selection!

Leave a comment

This is the club’s first non-fiction selection, and if you would like to join, we will be starting Killing The Mob: The Fight Against Organized Crime In America by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard in January. This is a definite change in direction by the club, and I am curious to hear the reviews when they are done.

Arizona’s most recent read, The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey, was listed on the Amazon Editor’s Pick list for Best Science Fiction & Fantasy for December, with a 4.3 rating, but the book itself had mixed reviews from our club, with an average of 3.4 stars.

The ending seems to have caught all the readers off guard, with Carlos Sigala calling it “unpredictable” and Victor McKaney saying he “didn’t fathom it at all”. Only one reader indicated that they would not read any more work by this author, but the others felt differently, each saying they would read works by M.R. Carey again.

“I enjoyed the writing and the book as a whole. I would read more
books by this author because I like her story telling.” – Isaac Molina
“I enjoyed the style, I couldn’t put the book down.” – Carlos Sigala
“I won’t read any of this author’s future books.” – Victor McKaney

Loading