Reginald Dwayne Betts

1 month ago | freakonomics.com | Steven Levitt |Reginald Dwayne Betts |John List |Jill Lepore

It was 20 years ago this week that Reginald Dwayne Betts was released from prison. And that’s a great excuse to replay our conversation from 2023. This is a very special episode for me. I had never met Dwayne before this conversation, but I was so impressed by him that we stayed in touch, became friends, and I’ve even joined the board of the organization Freedom Reads. He’s truly one of the most remarkable and likable people that I’ve ever known.

Aug 9, 2024 | poets.org | Reginald Dwayne Betts

Find and share the perfect poems. A group of almost anythingHas a name: crows are a murder,& flamingoes a flamboyance. Most of the others I don’t know. A group of empty shot glassesIs called a disaster; of emptyRooms, a yesterday; a collectionOf tomorrows, even if dreamed,If desired, craved for like a someSmall child wanting one more storyAt bedtime, is called hope. TooMany nights when all I had was hope. No collective noun exists to holdAll the people you love.

Apr 14, 2024 | post-gazette.com | Reginald Dwayne Betts

No prison sentence begins the same, but they all become the same relentless struggle against disappearing. Almost 20 years after my release, prison still has not let me go. I return to prisons now with the organization I founded, Freedom Reads, to let people inside know that they haven’t disappeared. Solace in the holeAt 16, I tried to carjack two women walking to their car in a dark parking lot and also carjacked a man asleep in his car.

Apr 13, 2024 | houstonchronicle.com | Reginald Dwayne Betts

An inmate's hands are shown during an interview about solitary confinement at the Ellis I Unit Wednesday, March 5, 2014, in Huntsville, Texas. Brett Coomer/Houston ChronicleNo prison sentence begins the same, but they all become the same relentless struggle against disappearing. Almost 20 years after my release, prison still has not let me go. I return to prisons now with the organization I founded, Freedom Reads, to let people inside know that they haven’t disappeared.

Apr 11, 2024 | iolaregister.com | Reginald Dwayne Betts

No prison sentence begins the same, but they all become the same relentless struggle against disappearing. Almost 20 years after my release, prison still has not let me go. I return to prisons now with the organization I founded, Freedom Reads, to let people inside know that they haven’t disappeared.