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Incarcerated Advocacy

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Video Description: A horizontal video of Erin, a caramel-skinned AfroLatina with her hair covered in a headscarf wearing yellow glasses, earrings, and a black long sleeved top, signing ASL, in front of a purple background. The video fades to a black background with ivory HEARD logo and “www.behearddc.org” in the center.

HEARD advocates for deaf/disabled defendants, currently incarcerated people, and their loved ones across the United States by:

  • Organizing for the release of deaf/disabled elders including the #FreeFelixGarcia campaign and the 10+ year fight to free John Wilson Jr. (#JohnWilsonLives);
  • Connecting incarcerated people with resources and organizations for information about their rights as a disabled incarcerated person, re-entry support, political education, and more through HEARD’s prison correspondence efforts;
  • Supporting deaf/disabled people facing criminal charges and their loved ones to navigate the criminal legal system with increased access, power, and agency;
  • Advocating for access to telecommunications (videophone, captioned telephones, etc.) in prisons and jails through HEARD’s #DeafPrisonPhoneJustice campaign;
  • Educating attorneys who have deaf/disabled clients to better understand how disability impacts their attorney-client relationship and their clients’ cases; and,
  • Providing financial support to multiply-marginalized deaf/disabled incarcerated people through HEARD’s Commissary Fund and HEARD’s Prison Visitation Fund.

HEARD does not provide legal representation for criminal or post-conviction matters. We do our best to connect people to local legal resources and to train attorneys and organizations to better support their deaf/disabled clients. If you are an attorney or legal worker who is currently representing a deaf/disabled client and would like more information, contact HEARD advocates at contact@HEARDadvocates.org. 

Do you know of a deaf/disabled person in prison, jail, or other facility?

Video Description: A horizontal video shows Leang, a Southeast Asian woman with shoulder-length hair and a black shirt, signing in front of a dark purple background. HEARD logo is placed at the bottom left corner, and there are organic shapes in the top left and bottom right corners. The video fades to a black background with ivory HEARD logo and “www.behearddc.org” in the center.

Did you know that HEARD created and maintains the only national database of deaf/disabled incarcerated people? We have taken on this responsibility because the government and leading advocacy organizations, even those with massive resources, have not prioritized multiply-marginalized deaf/disabled people in their work. HEARD uses this information to guide our advocacy efforts and to help our communities understand the urgent concerns that deaf/disabled people face in our legal system, prisons, and with coming home. We rely on the community’s support to help us locate deaf/disabled incarcerated people.


If you know of a deaf/disabled person in jail, prison, or another kind of facility:

Add to the National Database