Saturdays, 10:30 AM - Noon Host:: Eddie Ellis
Production Assistant: Robert Sims
Phone: (212) 209-2910
Email:
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Program description:
On the Count!: The Prison Criminal & Justice Report is the only public affairs radio program in the United States exclusively produced and hosted by men and women formerly incarcerated as juveniles or adults. They bring their unique perspective to the analysis and programming. There are 2.5 million people in prisons and jails and 7 million more on parole and probation in the United States; more than in all of the western European countries combined. One in every three Black men and one in every seven Latino men in New York State are under some form of criminal justice custody. Despite their still relatively small total numbers, women represent the fastest growing segment of the prison population. This massive and disproportionate incarceration of Black and Brown people has ripped the foundation from poor families and communities of color.
The primary goals of On the Count are to provide a platform for these voices historically excluded from the criminal justice and prison discussion and the decision-making process; to develop program content from the knowledge base and perspective of people formerly and currently incarcerated; to put a human face on those who are caught within the system; to educate listeners about the historic and contemporary development of the criminal justice and prison system in the United States; to introduce programs and policies for reducing reliance on punishment; and to profile individuals and organizations working to create a new, more humane and just criminal justice paradigm.
Host/Producer profiles:
Host: Edwin (Eddie) Ellis, an internationally recognized criminal justice/prison analyst, is the creator and host of "On the Count" a 90-minute weekly public affairs program on Pacifica Radio Station WBAI-FM in New York City and is director of Prison Ministry at New York's historic Riverside Church. He is the National Chairman of the NuLeadership Policy Group, an activist Think Tank of formerly incarcerated scholars at the City University of New York; a consultant for the New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus and the Vera Institute of Justice; and a former consultant for the Soros Foundation's Open Society Institute. He is also a Research Fellow with the Dubois-Bunche Institute for Public Policy at Medgar Evers College. While in prison he acquired a Bachelor's Degree, magna cum laude, from Marist College and a Masters Degree from New York Theological Seminary. Eddie lives in Harlem U.S.A.
Production Assistant/Engineer: Robert (Big Rob) Sims “the boss with the
hot sauce” as Eddie likes to refer to him, spent 15 years in prison. Born
and raised in Northern New Jersey, Robert spent his younger years doing what
most people wished they had the opportunity to do – travel! He
criss-crossed the U.S., Canada and Mexico with one of the world’s largest
carnivals. However, in 1989 Robert was arrested, tried and convicted of a
crime he maintains he did not commit. While in prison he attended the New
York Theological Seminary and Skidmore College. He also became an advocate,
peer counselor, teacher’s aid, facilitator and ultimately, the Program
Director of Transitional Services. Upon his release from prison, he worked
as a case manager for an HIV/AIDS service organization as well as a case
manager for at-risk adolescents. Currently, Robert is a Research Analyst
for the Vera Institute of Justice. He also attends Lehman College where he
is working towards his graduate degree in social work with a concentration
in administration. Robert lives in the Bronx
"Don't give in. Don't give up. Don't give out and stay...On the Count!" --Eddie Ellis
