Cecilia Conley

Cecilia Conley, “wife of a lifer,” is the CEO of Designed Conviction , a social enterprise.
She is also the co-host of Life of a Lifer, the podcast.
She aims to spread awareness and reach the general public, clueless about mass incarceration’s cruel reality.
Born in Mexico, she moved to the US in 2012. In 2015 she found out about the existence of penpal websites for inmates and started writing Taylor Conley, a man serving life without parole in Washington State. Before that, she never asked herself what happened with the men and women found guilty on trial. She never wondered if the length of the sentence made sense, let alone even to doubt the jury’s verdict.
Her relationship with Taylor provided an insight into a reality she ignored; things aren’t black and white, and inmates are people that deserve another chance.
A year later, around the 11th year of Taylor’s life in prison, Cecilia married Taylor and became a “prison wife.”
Today she advocates for the end death penalty, life sentences, and in-fact, sentences longer than 20 years. Through her Youtube show and social media, she acknowledges that our current prison system will require intensive reform to make this happen. It should be about rehabilitation, not punishment, based on science rather than feelings.