Pamela Winn
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Pamela Winn | |
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| Born | 1968 (age 55–56) Atlanta, Georgia |
| Nationality | African-American |
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Pamela Winn (born 1968) is an African-American social justice activist and the founder of RestoreHER US.America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring dignity and safety for incarcerated pregnant women. Known as the "Face of Dignity for Incarcerated Women," [1] Winn has been credited as the primary advocate behind anti-shackling laws in Georgia[2] and Alabama[3] after rising to national attention for her work to pass Senator Cory Booker's Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act[4] in 2017 by starting a petition that gained nearly 200,000 signatures.[5]
Early Life
Pamela Winn was born in Atlanta, Georgia to a low-income family and a parent that struggled with substance use.[6] She graduated from Benjamin E. Mays High School in 1986 and enrolled at DeKalb Technical Institute, now Georgia Piedmont Technical College, to become a nurse. In 2000, Winn received her Peri-Operative Certification from Emory University.
Career
In June 2018, Pamela Winn founded RestoreHER US. America, described as a "policy advocacy reentry organization led by and for justice-involved women of color based in Georgia." [7]
Incarceration & Miscarriage
Winn was working as a surgical nurse and entrepreneur prior to her incarceration. In 2009, Winn was sentenced to serve a 78 months in a federal detention center for a white collar crime. During her intake evaluation at the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Lovejoy, Georgia, Winn learned she was six-weeks pregnant with her third child.[8]
The staff at the detention facility shackled her during transportation to and from court hearings. One one of these trips, the shackles caused her to fall while attempting to enter a van. Within a few days, she began bleeding and asking to see the medical staff. The medical staff described Winn's bleeding as "normal," and repeatedly ignored her requests for medical assistance.[9] Shortly after, Winn began experiencing contraction-like pains and bleeding profusely. The prison staff did not attempt to seek medical assistance until after every women in her dormitory began screaming for the staff to help Winn.
Winn was finally transported to a hospital where she underwent procedures while shackled to a hospital bed. The nurse performing the ultrasound notified Winn that she could not detect a fetus, which would have been around eighteen weeks, and asked the US Marshal's where they had placed her bed linens that she had been bleeding on. The Marshals told Winn and the nurse that they had thrown out the linens that contained Winn's unborn child. Winn describes this moment as, "the lowest point of my life. For me to hear someone say that they just discarded my baby in the trash like it was trash, and it was nothing."[9] Winn wasn't able to see her two young sons during her entire prison sentence.
Activism
After her release, Pamela Winn devoted her life to protecting the lives of incarcerated pregnant women and their unborn children. Her advocacy revolves around anti-shackling legislation, ending prison birth, and supporting incarcerated mothers. She works with organizations such as Dream.org, the Southern Center for Human Rights, and REFORM Alliance as an expert on incarcerated pregnant women and legislation.
In 2017, she rose to national prominence as the "Face of Dignity for Incarcerated Women" after spearheading a digital campaign to pass the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act sponsored by Senator Cory Booker. In 2019, she passed HB345[2] with the help of Rep. Sharon Cooper which was voted unanimously through the House of the Georgia General Assembly and was later signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp. In 2022, she advocated for Alabama, the last southern state to shackle incarcerated pregnant women,[10] to pass HB440[3] with the help of Rep. Rolanda Hollis.
Alongside legislative advocacy, she founded the RestoreHER LeadHERship Fellowship program funded by the Soros Foundation to help women transition out of prison alongside the Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network (FICGN)[11] and the Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison.[12]
Her work to end solitary confinement with Unlock the Box[13] resulted in a documentary featuring her story in The New Yorker called "The Box."[14]
Recognition
In 2018, Jared Kushner invited Pamela Winn to the White House to discuss criminal legal reform.[15] This was one of many invitations to The White House.
In 2021, Pamela Winn was recognizes as a Forbes 50 Over 50: Impact leader alongside Ala Stanford and Valerie Biden Owens.
Pamela Winn's story was featured in the short film WINN which premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival in 2022 and went on to be distributed by PBS[16] after receiving two awards.[17]
Winn went on to join Columbia University's Collective Leadership Institute in 2021[18] and the Power, Innovation, and Leadership (PIL) Program at Harvard University in 2023. [19]
References
- ↑ "After Prison Miscarriage, Pamela Winn Became The Face of Anti-Shackling Campaign in Georgia". WABE. 2019-05-09. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Georgia General Assembly". www.legis.ga.gov. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Legislative Acts | Alabama Secretary of State". arc-sos.state.al.us. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ S.1524 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Dignity Act. (2017, July 11). https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1524
- ↑ Oded, Yair. "Former inmate calls for Dignity for Incarcerated Women". FairPlanet. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ Wells, Myrydd (2022-02-11). "After miscarrying in a Georgia detention center, Pamela Winn became a powerful voice for women in prison—and for those trying to leave it behind". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ "RestoreHER US America Inc". RestoreHER US America Inc. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ Edwards, Breanna (2019-07-16). "She, The People: Pamela Winn On Sharing The Incarceration Story She Never Meant To Tell". Essence. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 They Threw Her Baby in the Trash, retrieved 2023-08-22
- ↑ Burkhalter, Eddie (2022-04-08). "Alabama Legislature passes bill ending practice of shackling pregnant women". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ "Leadership". Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network FICGN. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ "Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison - Our Team". www.gachep.org. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ "unlocktheboxcampaign.org – End Torture Now". Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ Yorker, The New (2022-09-07). "Survivors of Solitary Confinement Tell Their Stories in "The Box"". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ "The Real People Who Lobbied for Justice Reform: A Son, a Widow, an Expectant Mother (Published 2018)". 2018-12-13. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ "WINN". PBS Short Film Festival. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ "ATLFF Award Winners". Atlanta Film Festival. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ "Pamela Winn | Center for Justice". centerforjustice.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ Norbom, Hans Marius; Lopez, Patricia Denise (May 2016). "Leadership and Innovation: Informal Power and Its Relationship to Innovative Culture". Journal of Leadership Studies. 10 (1): 18–31. doi:10.1002/jls.21430. ISSN 1935-2611.
External links
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