How to Win an Election From Jail

Joel Castón was incarcerated when he was 18 years old. He’s now 45 and in November of last year, just two months ago, Joel was released after serving over 26 years. While incarcerated, he received a degree through the Georgetown Prison Scholars Program and started a mentorship initiative called Young Men Emerging. And, because D.C. changed the law to allow incarcerated people to vote, he ran for office, and he won: he is now an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Washington D.C. representing the 7th Ward including the jail that he just walked out of. He’s the first incarcerated person in D.C. history to win elected office. Joel joins us today to talk about his experience, what he’s focusing on as a newly elected commissioner in D.C., and how he’s changing the public narrative about incarcerated people.