Malika Henderson is a 30-year-old incarcerated abolitionist from North Philadelphia. Henderson has been incarcerated for 12 years, including nine years in solitary confinement at various times. In addition to utilizing every means available to elevate herself while behind bars, Henderson stands up for the human rights of her fellow incarcerated women and fights to end solitary confinement across Pennsylvania. Henderson is a plaintiff in the federal class-action lawsuit Hammond v. PADOC, which claims that holding people with mental illness in solitary confinement violates their constitutional rights.
The author can be contacted at: Smart Communications/PADOC, Malika Henderson #OX4166, SCI Cambridge Springs, PO Box 33028, St. Petersburg, FL, 33733. —Valerie Kiebala
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My name is Malika Henderson and I am 30 years old. I grew up in North Philly, and I’ve been incarcerated since I was 19 years old—more than a third of my life. Most of my incarceration has been at the women’s prison State Correctional Institution (SCI) Muncy, which is located about three hours from Philly…