April 4, 2025
Death Row inmate Albert Jones has documented the conditions of the prison system through his journals and cookbooks.
Albert Jones has been condemned to die. But in an effort “to be remembered” and to support his daughter and grandchildren, he’s selling his creative efforts.
Jones’s creations will be auctioned April 3–5 at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.
A death row inmate, Jones spent more than 30 years in one of the nation’s most notorious prisons, San Quentin. He was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of a California couple. Over time, Jones made a life inside the place he knew he’d never leave. He began writing and creating art, using his voice to document prison life.
The atrocities of incarceration during the COVID-19 pandemic inspired his first book, I Survived COVID-19, which reflected on illness sweeping the institution. He also recounted the deaths of cellblock neighbors, one of whom was a convicted serial killer. In an interview, Jones spoke about the pain of isolation and his need for purpose while living under a looming death sentence.
“I want to be remembered as, first of all, a human being that made mistakes,” Jones told the LA Times. “I didn’t understand what I was going to do with the rest of my life, knowing that the state wanted to kill me, as if I wasn’t nothing. I do have worth.”
Alongside his visual art, Jones is auctioning prison cookbooks that emphasize the communal side of prison life and handwritten diaries that expose the neglect and brutality experienced by incarcerated people.
“He was in a cell for 14 days as punishment for whatever, but you’re supposed to get 10 days in that cell,” Jones wrote in one diary entry. “On the fourteenth day, he killed himself. I don’t know if you can go to heaven if you killed yourself, but I pray that he made it and that his family is at rest. God bless.”
Jones is not the only incarcerated person whose art has made an impact. Across the country, prison walls have borne witness to extraordinary creativity. Some artists have gone on to show their work in major institutions like the Smithsonian and helped create programs aimed at rehabilitation, deterrence, and individual expression.
Former and Current Incarcerated Artists
Tameca Cole
A visual artist and writer from Birmingham, Alabama, Cole began creating during her incarceration in the Alabama Department of Corrections. Her mixed-media collages, many of which explore themes of systemic oppression, mass incarceration, and Black identity, have been exhibited nationally. Cole’s work was featured in MoMA and PS1’s landmark exhibition, Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration.
Welmon Sharlhorne
A self-taught artist from Louisiana, Welmon Sharlhorne began drawing during his time in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison. Using only ballpoint pens and manila envelopes, Sharlhorne created intricate architectural drawings and surreal machines. Now free, Sharlhorne is known for his signature style that blends structure, repetition, and imagination. Sharlhorne’s art has been exhibited at institutions such as the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans.
Mumia Abu-Jamal
The journalist, former Black Panther, and political activist has been incarcerated in Pennsylvania since 1981 for the murder of a police officer. Abu-Jamal maintains his innocence. From death row, Abu-Jamal became a prolific writer and commentator on issues of race, justice, and state violence. His best-known work, Live from Death Row, chronicles his experiences. The work critiques the American criminal justice system. Abu-Jamal’s essays and recorded broadcasts have had a wide influence in political and academic circles. He continues to advocate for prison reform and abolition.
Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter
Also known as Isis Tha Saviour, Baxter is a multidisciplinary artist, activist, and educator. Baxter draws from her personal experience in the Pennsylvania prison system. Her chosen mediums are visual art, music, and film. Her work often addresses reproductive justice and the criminalization of Black women. Her short film, Ain’t I A Woman, examines the incarceration of pregnant women and was featured at the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals.
Ndume Olatushani
Olatushani is an artist and activist who spent 28 years in prison—20 on death row—for a murder he did not commit. Born in St. Louis, he was wrongfully convicted in 1985 for a Memphis killing. During his incarceration, Olatushani taught himself to paint, using art to cope and resist. His conviction was overturned in 2012 after evidence of prosecutorial misconduct surfaced. Since then, he has used his story and art to advocate for criminal justice reform and the abolition of the death penalty.
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