Serving a long prison sentence in a United States prison can be very depressing and difficult for some people to handle. This has not been the case for an Ohio prisoner who turned to making music as a way for him to cope with prison life. Jimmy Canyon aka Free Guap has been serving a 24-year sentence since he was 22 years old now at the age of 34 Guap has touched the lives of other prisoners through his music.
With so much time on his hands, Guap turned to writing as a way to help him relieve stress while serving his time. He then found a glimpse of freedom when he discovered he could record himself on a prison owned keyboard. This led him to begin making music that later spread throughout the prison system making him a voice of inspiration and support to his fellow prisoners.
Guap grew up like most black males from the inner city raised in a single mother household with little presence from his birth father. Guap turned to the streets as a way of life that eventually landed him in prison. “I wasn’t a bad kid my mother did a great job with raising me. I surrounded myself with the wrong crowd that wasn’t right.” Jimmy was only 22 years old when he was sentenced to 24 years in prison for aggravated robbery and felonious assault with a weapon. There was no physical evidence connecting Jimmy to the crime only a testimony from a witness who was also involved with tampering with a member of the jury that convicted Canyon. In most cases tampering with the jury is grounds for a mistrial but in Guap’s case, the judge preceded with the trial that later convicted him for the alleged crime.
Guaps music has made a huge impact within the Ohio prison that holds up to 70,000 prisoners. ” I get a lot of love and respect in here because of my music. I have done shows here and the entire compound has come out. It feels good to know my music lifts spirits. I’m not just rapping to them, I’m here with them.” “My music is my freedom. It’s my pain, I’m still here living it. I speak on behalf of all the homies cut like me sentenced to jersey numbers. I want people to understand your circumstances do not define you. Regardless of what you are going through life is still what you make it.”
Guap has definitely turned his lemons into lemonade. He has recorded music, performed sold-out shows, and created his own brand all behind bars. “I am no different than Boosie or a Meek Mill, I have been wrongfully accused and incarcerated by a system that uses me for profit. The difference is that the world hasn’t had the chance to hear my story”
Guap has already served 11 years of his 24-year sentence. He is currently working towards raising funds from his music sales to pay for a new legal team to help him come home. With the hopes of being released one-day Guap wants to continue to pursue his music career as well as being an advocate for at-risk youth.
The United States is the world’s leader in incarceration.
Guap’s story is just another story that shines a light on the unfair criminal justice system that continues to pile in prisoners for profit. According to the Sentence Project, there are 2.2 million people in the United States prisons and jails. This is a 500% increase over the last 40 years. This increase is not due to crime rates, but changes in law and policy. The results of these statistics are the cause of overcrowding in prisons and fiscal burdens on states.
In an article by the Washington Post, The two largest for-profit prison companies in the United States – GEO and Corrections Corporation of America – and their associates have funneled more than $10 million to candidates since 1989 and have spent nearly $25 million on lobbying efforts. Meanwhile, these private companies have seen their revenue and market share soar. They now rake in a combined $3.3 billion in annual revenue
WE HAVE AN INDUSTRY AND ECONOMY DEPENDENT ON HUMAN CAGING AND CONTROL
Where do we need to go from here?
We need a justice system that has different responses for different situations—shifting gears to treatment, prevention, and long-term public safety solutions as appropriate. By taking a practical approach to criminal justice reform, we can decrease crime, enhance public safety, and make more responsible use of our resources.
In particular, we need to start by:
- Eliminating mandatory minimum sentences and cutting back on excessively lengthy sentences; for example, by imposing a 20-year maximum on prison terms.
- Shifting resources to community-based prevention and treatment for substance abuse.
- Investing in interventions to that promote strong youth development and respond to delinquency in age-appropriate and evidence-based ways.
- Examining and addressing the policies and practices, conscious or not, that contribute to racial inequity at every stage of the justice system.
- Removing barriers that make it harder for individuals with criminal records to turn their lives around.
