To Whom It May Concern,
I am happy to announce the winners of the 2021 Spolin Law Prison Poetry Contest.
We had over 700 submissions, so it was very difficult for our panel to determine the poems to honor. Of course, poetry is subjective, so a different group of judges could have selected a totally different set of poems.
Five judges (including lawyers, poetry professors, and a former inmate) voted for the poems they thought were the best. The single poem with the most votes in each prison was selected for the “Winner – Best in Prison” award, and the one poem with the most votes nationwide was selected for the “Winner – Best in Nation” award. I have attached a list of the “Best in Prison” and “Best in Nation” award recipients.
We are now accepting submissions for the 2022 Spolin Law Prison Poetry Contest (deadline of June 1, 2022)! Further information about the contest is viewable at spolinlaw.com/poetry.
Sincerely,
Aaron Spolin
Criminal Appeals and Writs Attorney
National Winner
($500 Prize and “Winner – Best in Nation” Certificate)
Gregory Truitt (#01701265)
Darrington Unit (State Prison)
Rosharon, Texas
Criminal Appeal
Caught up in a crime, that I didn’t commit;
Don’t count the days, just let them tick.
Reassigned to a unit, where there are drugs galore;
I don’t want drugs, not anymore.
In my thoughts, I’m very sad;
Grant my appeal, I’ll be glad.
My check-up began, the nurse read my file;
It was so long, it took him a while.
I looked up when he said, “you are lucky to be alive;”
I said, “really, I see parole in twenty-five.”
Now in church, talking about my sentence;
And how Christians built prisons for people’s penance.
Apprehended a Bible, taking more than a look;
The law-library has solutions, in a combination of books.
Love reading case-law, even though it is grueling;
The Judge said what, what was her ruling?
Another opined, “it’s better to let one thousand guilty go;
Than to incarcerate one innocent, and hand him a hoe.”
Persona non grata, tilling the ground by hand;
Slave to the State, no longer a man.
Pious opinion, by that Judge on a mission;
Justice is served, nope, nobody listened.
Every exoneration, takes many years;
Furious are those prosecutors, who shed no tears.
And yet they argue, “someone is guilty of the crime;
Therefore somebody, anybody, needs to do this time.”
Lastly, while cases are continuously overturned;
This story is finished, the lesson adjourned.
Contest Judges
- Rodney Hollie (Former inmate)
- Aaron Spolin (Attorney)
- Brittany Means (Professor)
- Adam Wright (Poet/Professor)
Rodney Hollie – Judge 1
Former inmate and former Spolin Law P.C. client
Rodney Hollie was wrongfully convicted of murder and served several years in prison before successfully overturning his conviction in 2020. He obtained his freedom in Superior Court on January 29, 2020, represented on that day by Spolin Law attorneys Aaron Spolin and Caitlin Dukes. Mr. Hollie now gives lectures on wrongful convictions, life in prison, and the value of never giving up.
He had the following to say about the winning poem by Gregory Truitt:
“This poem reminds me of my time when I was serving my sentence. I found myself in the law library and the opinions that were from other inmates regarding my case. This [poem] was very relatable, and it gives you an insight into what an inmate goes through. No matter if you’re guilty or innocent, the prosecutors want someone to be found guilty for their own personal status.”
Aaron Spolin – Judge 2
Criminal appeals attorney and former prosecutor
Aaron Spolin handles criminal appeals, writs of habeas corpus, and other post-conviction matters throughout the country. He worked as an Assistant District Attorney before becoming an appeals lawyer. He has a Juris Doctorate degree from U.C. Berkeley School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University. He is also the author of Witness Misidentification in Criminal Trials, which discusses the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States.
Brittany Means – Judge 3
Professor of English and Literary Critic
Brittany Means is a former professor and literary critic. She taught English at the University of Iowa and served as a judge for the Iowa Prize in Literary Nonfiction, a contest run by the University of Iowa Press. She has won over a dozen literary awards and accolades in the field of creative writing and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Ball State University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa.
Adam Wright – Judge 4
Professional Poet and Humanities Professor
Adam Wright is a professor of humanities subjects, including creative writing, literature, English, rhetoric, and comparative religions. He is also a professional poet. He is currently serving as a lecturer at the University of Texas at Dallas. Mr. Wright has two Master of Fine Arts degrees, one from the University of North Texas and another from the University of Central Oklahoma, the latter of which is in creative writing and literature. He also has three Bachelor of Arts degrees, all from Oklahoma State University, in the subjects of English, history, and broadcast journalism.
All the judges were impressed with the level of literary skill demonstrated in the competition.
Top-Voted Poems at Each Prison1
($100 Prize and “Winner – Best in Prison” Certificate)
California
Avenal State Prison (ASP)
Kirk Donche (T37441)
California City Correctional Facility (CAC)
Anthony Herod (T98057)
California Correctional Institution (CCI)
Rollin Denem (V44249)
California Institution for Women (CIW)
Ahmana Jones (X36713)
California Men’s Colony (CMC)
Berry Denton (P96760)
California State Prison, Corcoran (COR)
Marquise Byrd (AG0882)
California State Prison, Los Angeles County (LAC)
Raymond Anglin (BE8886) (tie)
Eric Hawkins (AX3820) (tie)
California State Prison, Sacramento (SAC)
Domanic Brown (K87924) (tie)
Nathaniel Sapp (F14459) (tie)
California State Prison, Solano (SOL)
Shaylor Watson (E79573)
Calipatria State Prison (CAL)
Patrick Hernandez (V76823) (tie)
Michael Mauricio (AD9717) (tie)
California State Prison, Centinela (CEN)
Joel D. Robinson (T92090)
Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF)
Vershonda Sneed (WF5363)
Correctional Training Facility (CTF)
Miguel Angel Vargas (F94177)
Folsom State Prison (FSP)
Danny Lewis (C39915)
High Desert State Prison (HDSP)
Robert A. Clark (BL2173)
Ironwood State Prison (ISP)
Donte Revels (BJ7076) (tie)
Sean E. Walker (AA0936) (tie)
Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP)
Tony Douglas Baga II (AA3798) (tie)
Davione Wiley (BF7896) (tie)
Los Angeles County Sheriff Men’s Central Jail
Rafael Martirosyan (E54812)
Mule Creek State Prison (MCSP)
David Brinson (J09563)
Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP)
Rodney Ross (P62462) (tie)
Daniel Saavedera (BL4928) (tie)
Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD)
Robert Snyder (AC9136)
Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP)
Edward Iturralde (BK0922) (tie)
Henderson Johnson (V02639) (tie)
San Joaquin County Jail
Juan Zazueta (000386389)
San Quentin State Prison (SQ)
Anthony Marzett (E68792)
Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran (SATF-CSP, Corcoran)
Anthony McDaniel, Jr. (AE5936)
Wasco State Prison (WSP)
Jamie Avila (T25040)
New York
Downstate Correctional Facility
Sheldon Arnold (13A0519)
Eastern NY Correctional Facility
Peter Anakwe (99A2717)
Elmira Correctional Facility
Antonio Jones (96B1330)
Mid-State Correctional Facility
Vincent Carmona (14A0979)
Shawangunk Correctional Facility
Rogelio Ferrer (14A3515)
Southport Correctional Facility
Stanny Vargas (17A5213)
Texas
A.M. “Mac” Stringfellow Unit
William Venable (02058841)
Alfred D. Hughes Unit
Jose Ramos (02176043)
Allan B. Polunsky Unit
James Wibi Jackson (01841911)
Barry B. Telford Unit
Aguilar Gilberto Gonzalez (01998446)
Beauford H. Jester III Unit
George R. Lopez (01465634)
Beauford H. Jester IV Unit
Eliseo Ruiz Mendez (01929729)
C.T. Terrell Unit
Derrick B. Johnson (01622794)
Christina Melton Crain Unit
Shanetha Coleman (01798193)
Clarence N. Stevenson Unit
Shannon D. Marshall (01007893)
Clemens Unit
Edward Lawrence (02171629)
Dalhart Unit
Cleveland McDonald (02140873)
Daniel Webster Wallace Unit
Jamie Ash (02003564)
Darrington Unit
Aaron Ellis Osby (01957505)
Diboll Correctional Center
Curtis Collins (02159140)
Dolph Briscoe Unit
Gerry D. Williams (02062167)
Dr. Lane Murray Unit
Rebecca L. Dugas (02120794)
Eastham Unit
Hymon A. Walker (01014857)
Fort Stockton Unit
Alvino Ramos (02073005)
French Robertson Unit
Samuel Gonzalez Almazan (02121251)
George Beto Unit
Conrado Calderas III (01792384)
Gib Lewis Unit
Gonzalo Garcia (02057314)
H. H. Coffield Unit
Sammie Caston (02058587)
Huntsville Unit
Nicholas Keys (02155630)
James “Jay” H. Byrd Unit
James B. Jones (02075024)
James Lynaugh Unit
Alfredo Coleman (02123604)
James V. Allred Unit
Greg Fonseca (01878692)
Jerry H. Hodge Unit
John Porter (02061132)
Jim Ferguson Unit
Larry Holloway (01899560)
Joe Ney Unit
Moses Cervantes (01982996)
John B. Connally Unit
Marcus Leslie (02001223)
John M. Wynne Unit
Angelo Baker (01731727)
John Montford Unit
Donald Haynes (01857411)
L.V. Hightower Unit
Jeremiah A. Griffin (02150534)
Louis C. Powledge Unit
Steven Kurt Baughman (02180609)
Mark W. Michael Unit
Santos Antonio (01883380)
Mark W. Stiles Unit
Kendrick Hill (02019313)
Mountain View Unit
Frances R. Ford (01916749)
O.B. Ellis Unit
Cenca A. King (01064695)
O.L. Luther Unit
Jon Miranda (01943242)
Oliver J. Bell Unit
Jose Luis Martinez (02133456)
Pam Lychner State Jail
Alejandro Zarate (02055033)
Preston E. Smith Unit
Daniel Ray (02067338)
Price Daniel Unit
Larry Bennett (01988215)
Richard P. LeBlanc Unit
Kurt Ray Kaspar, Jr. (01888794)
Ruben M. Torres Unit
Matthew Shipp (02162052)
Rufe Jordan Unit
Cameron Brown (02165650)
T.L. Roach Unit
Dillon Bevel (01893403)
Thomas Goree Unit
Bradley Jason Jordan (01505327)
W. F. Ramsey Unit
Patrick Denton (02176324) (tie)
Pablo Zuniga (00856129) (tie)
W. J. “Jim” Estelle Unit
Ryan Drake (01917718)
Wallace Pack Unit
David Taylor (01972889)
Wayne Scott Unit
Grady C. Nelson II (01463325)
Willacy County State Jail
Arthur Hill (01917765)
William G. McConnell Unit
Marcus A. Francis (01661135)
William P. Clements Unit
James E. Schad (01865444)
William P. Hobby Unit
Wendy Howeris (02285689)
William R. Boyd Unit
Syrjuan Benson (01922473)
Federal
United States Penitentiary, Lee
Manuel Hernandez (44584-112)
1 Note: Winners are listed under the prison facility that they identified on their submission form if identified; therefore, some individuals may no longer be at the listed facility.