Help Ray Rebuild His Life After Prison

Please help support incarcerated writer and community organizer Raymond Williams as he returns home.

Raymond is getting a new lease on life — and this is a moment of gratitude and excitement for the future. But, at age 44, he is starting from scratch. He grew up in foster care, juvenile detention facilities, and state prisons. He describes himself as “state raised” — marked by a lack of connection with family and the deep roots with community that life outside of state institutions offers. Because of this, he lacks the kind of resilient relationships that support successful reentry for prisoners with families, and he is relying solely on surrogate family and community. He is leaving prison with no savings, no assets, and no benefits, despite his 16 years of labor inside.

Ray will spend the first period of his life outside of prison living in a camper with no running water and building fences for work. He will need funds for housing, furnishings, transportation (he’ll need a reliable car to get to his job), clothing, legal fees, and daily necessities.

Raymond is being released from prison in Washington State, where he was serving a Life Without the Possibility of Parole sentence under Washington’s “three strikes” law. He was recently resentenced after the law changed, discounting the first strike that happened when he was 16 years old. His writing and journalistic work can be seen in Jewish Currents, Slate, The Seattle Times, The Progressive, and many other established publications, and he was awarded a Marvel Cooke Fellowship in 2023. His community work has been demonstrated through his leadership role in the Concerned Lifers Organization, his authorship of prospective legislation, and a recent report on the racial inequity of Washington’s Three Strikes Law, drafted with the Korematsu Center for Law and Equality at Seattle University School of Law.

Those who know Ray know a person who has strived to improve his life during his time in prison. He works diligently for community goals and puts others ahead of himself, shaping public discourse in his efforts as a writer. Investment in his reentry is an in-kind investment in community progress, as Raymond has shown his capacity to pay it forward and work for the common interests of society.

In Raymond’s own words:

"I'm grateful for the humble beginnings before me. I'm grateful that I won't die in prison. But I don't want to lose my ability to give back to the community — my capacity to effect change — because I get stuck in a poverty trap, selling my future just to survive the day. I want to get to a place where I can work in the community for the kinds of social and political change we so desperately need. It will take time for me to become fully functional in society and to have the basics of a home and transportation. Any help I can get will ease this transition and speed me to a place where I can better serve the causes I care about after my release."

Please support Ray as he takes this major step forward.