Photos documenting the formerly incarcerated
- Text by Miss Rosen
- Photography by Brandon Tauszik

By 2006, California’s prison system was bursting at the seams, reaching a record high with over 170,000 people incarcerated. The state’s 33 prisons were at double capacity, resulting in horrific conditions that qualified as “cruel and unusual punishment” and a violation of the inmates’ Eighth Amendment rights.
In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled against the state, requiring them to release some 37,000 prisoners over three years – and still, the prisons remained overcrowded. But what of the challenges former prisoners faced as they transitioned into civilian life?
In 2018, photographer Brandon Tauszik and writer Pendarvis Harshaw embarked on Facing Life, a Pulitzer Center-backed project documenting the journey of five men and three women rebuilding their lives.

“These people served decades, and most of them were former lifers who had been recently released due to changed laws, changed behaviours, and approvals from the parole board,” says Harshaw. “Our question was: who is there to ensure these people have a healthy return to society?”
After release, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation gives people just $200 and six months of transitional housing. “After that you are expected to be entirely self-sufficient, employed and housed,” says Tauszik. “California is a very expensive state and it’s tough to enter a rapidly automating workforce in your 50s. Most of our participants are trying to work tough blue-collar jobs, while at the same time, the reality of an ageing body creates physical challenges.”
In Facing Life, Harshaw and Tauszik bear witness to the struggles and triumphs of elders reintegrating into a world that has changed tremendously while they were away. Challenges to find work, housing, to reconnect with families and community, and learn new technology were exacerbated by deeper issues of purpose, generational trauma, and mental health.

“One of the people featured in this project, Travielle, said that on his first night out, he had trouble sleeping because he didn’t want to wake up back in a cell,” says Harshaw. “He also told us that nowadays, one of his favourite things to do was drive, simply because he hadn’t obtained a drivers license before he was sentenced as a teen – and while driving, he feels free.”
Like Travielle, Robin received a sentence of life without parole. “For the majority of their adult lives they had no conceivable chance of ever being free,” says Tauszik. “Others, like Fahim, were sentenced to 42 years to life. The psychological pressure and resulting despondency from such bleak prospects can be crushing.”
Yet, despite the obstacles they face, Tauszik reveals, “Once released, lifers have an extremely low recidivism rate of around 1 per cent. None of the participants in Facing Life have reoffended or even committed a parole violation.”
“Almost everyone in the project is now off parole and completely free,” Tauszik continues. “Since everyone went in as a teenager or young adult, there’s also a lot of ‘firsts’: first time flying, first vacation, first car, first apartment. They are rekindling relationships with family, traveling, and getting married. There is a real zeal for life that’s deeply inspiring.”






Find out more about Facing Life here.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like

Dalia Al-Dujaili: “When you’re placeless, nature can fill the void”
Babylon, Albion — As her new book publishes, the British-Iraqi author speaks about connecting with the land as a second-generation migrant, plants as symbols of resistance, and being proud of her parents.
Written by: Zahra Onsori

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”
Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.
Written by: Angela Hui
Meet the hair-raised radicals of Berlin’s noise punk scene
Powertool — In his new zine, George Nebieridze captures moments of loud rage and quiet intimacy of the German capital’s bands, while exploring the intersections between music, community and anti-establishment politics.
Written by: Miss Rosen

The rebellious roots of Cornwall’s surfing scene
100 years of waveriding — Despite past attempts to ban the sport from beaches, surfers have remained as integral, conservationist presences in England’s southwestern tip. A new exhibition in Falmouth traces its long history in the area.
Written by: Ella Glossop

Southbank Centre reveals new series dedicated to East and Southeast Asian arts
ESEA Encounters — Taking place between 17-20 July, there will be a live concert from YMO’s Haruomi Hosono, as well as discussions around Asian literature, stage productions, and a pop-up Japanese Yokimono summer market.
Written by: Zahra Onsori

We are all Mia Khalifa
How humour, therapy and community help Huck's latest cover star control her narrative.
Written by: Alya Mooro