The Illinois Prison Project is excited to announce the launch of our Women & Survivors Project! Join us on February 18th at 7 pm CST for our second event in the Conversations for Justice series, where we will celebrate the launch of this project with a discussion of how far we have come and where we are headed as we continue to fight for the freedom of incarcerated women and incarcerated survivors.

This event will feature Tewkunzi Green and Vickie Quinn, both IPP Ambassadors and former IPP clients who won their freedom this past year. The conversation will be moderated by Deana Lewis with opening remarks by Mariame Kaba.

We will also hear from attorney Rachel White-Domain, who represented both Tewkunzi and Vickie in their cases, and who will serve as the Director of the Women & Survivors Project.

Tewkunzi Green killed her abusive boyfriend in 2007 as he was strangling her while she was holding their six-month-old child. Although she was acting in self defense and in defense of her infant, Tewkunzi was convicted and sentenced to 34 years. Tewkunzi’s sentence was commuted by Governor Pritzker in November of 2020.

Vickie Quinn was sentenced to 6 years for theft of items amounting to less than 300 dollars, an offense she committed during a time when she was struggling with addiction. An active grandmother in her 60s, Vickie was taken away from her family and her role as a secondary caregiver to her grandchildren. When COVID hit Illinois prisons, she was at heightened risk. Vickie received an early release from custody in July of 2020.

We are so looking forward to hearing from Vickie and Tewkunzi about their journey toward freedom. Their experiences within the criminal legal system illustrate how women and survivors of violence are criminalized and incarcerated. It is their stories and insights that have framed and inspired the founding and the future of this project, and so we urge you not to miss this historic event.

The stories of incarcerated survivors and incarcerated women, as well as transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, are too often disbelieved, marginalized, and erased⏤resulting in convictions, long prison sentences, and lack of opportunities for early release. The launch of IPP’s Women and Survivors Project will ensure that incarcerated women and survivors will continue to have their stories heard and will have legal representation in their fight for freedom.

Reserve your FREE ticket today!