Billie Mizell’s path to becoming executive director of several prison programs that help offenders take responsibility for their crimes was inspired by a traumatic occurrence in Monroeville, Alabama, in the 1980s.
“When I was a teenager, just starting high school, a girl who was only a couple of years older than me was murdered in a nearby county,” Mizell said. “A Black man was arrested, soon convicted and sentenced to death.”
Mizell said the man, despite having numerous alibis and no physical evidence tying him to the crime, was convicted and spent eight years on Death Row before being exonerated by attorney Bryan Stevenson.
Years later, Mizell read about the case, and it sparked a fire in her. “I knew I wanted to work on capital cases.” She began working as a defense investigator on death penalty cases in the 90s.
Mizell’s journey led to doing investigative work for three Black Panthers, the Angola Three in Louisiana.
Robert King, Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox (the Angola Three) were not sentenced to death, as they went to trial during a brief time when there was no death penalty in this country. But they were put in solitary confinement in 1972, for the death of prison guard Brent Miller at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola Prison. No forensic evidence tied the Angola Three to Miller’s killing, and they always maintained their innocence.
Mizell joined their case in 2004 and the men were still in solitary. Mizell began using many of the same techniques she used in capital cases. She conducted a social history investigation, which is not typically done unless the defendant is facing execution. During Mizell’s investigation, she also tracked down Brent Miller’s widow, Leontine “Teenie” Rogers.
“I expected Teenie would slam the door in my face, but she welcomed me in,” Mizell said. Mizell found that many of Teenie’s questions had gone unanswered.
“The social history/mitigation investigation helped answer those questions. Once Teenie was given the opportunity to connect to the humanity of the men she had previously known only as ‘Black Panthers’ and ‘murderers’, she was able to review the case through a different, more objective lens,” Mizell said.
“…And working with Teenie, I also became more acutely aware that victims of crimes do not get services or care, or a voice in their own needs. Teenie often, in many ways, revealed how re-victimized she felt in the years after Brent’s death.”
Woodfox, the last of the Angola Three to be released, spent a total of 43 years in solitary confinement before being released from prison in 2016. Woodfox, Teenie, and Mizell were recently acknowledged together in Los Angeles for their perseverance in demonstrating Woodfox’s innocence.
Becoming friends with the Angola 3 solidified Mizell’s drive to work on capital death penalty cases. She worked for years as an investigator and mitigation specialist for men and women sentenced to death, looking for evidence on why the crime had really happened.
“My job was to unearth the trauma the defendant may have endured prior to taking someone’s life,” Mizell said. “The goal was to connect the dots, from the trauma to the crime, for the court and the jury.”
Mizell said that when she heard about the Insight Prison Project (IPP) she realized it was, in a way, similar to the kind of work she did as an investigator.
“I unearthed the traumas experienced by the defendants, and then took my investigation outward, to the court,” Mizell said. “While IPP was helping incarcerated people take that investigation inward.”
Insight Prison Project created and supports a number of programs that spoke to Mizell, including the Victim/Offender Education Group (VOEG) Program, which according to IPP’s website, bridges the gap between punishment and parole with “a 52+ week curriculum designed to allow prisoner participants a place to unearth and explore root causes of harm and understand the impact of the harm they have endured and that they have caused, which leads to the choice not to harm again.”
In 2014, Mizell became IPP’s Executive Director.
“I came to this work from a field that is very similar, but also very different,” Mizell said. “Previously everything I did was rooted in litigation, in the fight, in the win. Being a freedom fighter suited me well and I never expected I would change careers to embark upon this new Restorative Justice journey, in which fighting is not exactly encouraged. It has, at times, been a challenging transition for me. But I am fortunate enough to work with a team that is simply remarkable.”
Mizell feels her work now is profoundly rewarding. “Human life is a miracle—human transformation might be even more miraculous,” Mizell said. I am surrounded every day by those who have created their own miracle in the face of the most difficult odds. That’s a privilege I don’t take lightly.”
Mizell said the team she works with is made up of extraordinary dedicated change-makers:
Karena H. Montag, MFT, joined IPP in September 2015 as Programs Director and Clinical Supervisor. Montag maintains a dozen IPP programs in 15 prisons and three states. “Her tireless commitment, efficiency and energy make it a joy to work with Karena,” Mizell wrote on the IPP website
Jennifer Thompson, Associate Director, has been with IPP for seven years. “Jennifer is the glue that binds our operations,” Mizell said.
Andrea Travers, Replication Coordinator, has been able to successfully replicate IPP programs in many institutions in Southern California, “resulting in hundreds more people receiving direct IPP services and the opportunity for those at underserved institutions to be enrolled in the Victims Offender Education Group (VOEG) program.”
Ayoola Mitchell, Community and Survivor Outreach Specialist, has spent years working with crime survivors as well as the incarcerated population, advocating for more resources for crime prevention and rehabilitation. “Ayoola’s boundless commitment and compassion, and beautiful ability to build community, cannot be overstated,” Mizell said.
Rochelle Edwards, MFT, directs the Victim/Offender Dialogue program. Edwards trains facilitators to mediate meetings between survivors and the person who committed a crime against them.
Troy Williams, Youth Programs Development Specialist and VOEG facilitator trainer, spent six years of his 18-year incarceration at San Quentin before being released in 2015. Williams facilitated VOEG at San Quentin, along with facilitating mental health and wellness workshops and Restorative Justice. “Troy is uniquely qualified to act as a successful liaison between prisoners, volunteers, community members/organizations, prison administrators and media groups,” the website reads.