Cellblocks to Mountaintops – Details, episodes & analysis

Take a look behind the scenes as Director Lydia B. Smith and Host Phil Stockton discuss the making of Cellblocks to Mountaintops. 

They chat about how this project came together, Lydia's original vision, and Phil's experiences teaching theater in prisons. They also delve into the importance of the arts in prison and the ways in which the current criminal justice system fails both incarcerated individuals and survivors.

We are happy to introduce the Making Amends podcast which was recorded at Oregon State Penitentiary around the same time, we started filming Cellblocks to Mountaintops and features some of the same people - most notably Anthony Pickens. Listen to Episode 1of Making Amends to hear even more about Anthony’s journey of redemption. 

Violence was a constant in the lives of both Anthony and Theron, starting at a very young age. Once in prison, they began to question their allegiance to their gangs and their reliance on violence. What motivated that introspection and change?

  www.makingamendspodcast.com

Should juveniles who commit murder ever be given a second chance, or do they deserve to be locked up for life?  In 2012 that question made its way to the Supreme Court in a landmark case argued by renowned attorney and activist Bryan Stevenson. While not a slam dunk, their ruling gave Sterling hope for an eventual release. 

Watch Sterling share some good news with his friends in the video Fresh Hope. In The Rehearsal, we see Sterling’s legal team prepare for the 2020 hearing. 

To watch our companion videos, read the transcripts, and to see our complete show notes with media links, sources, and references please visit our website: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com

Featured in this Episode

Ryan O’Connor, Criminal Defense Attorney

Sterling Cunio

Chloe Williams, Criminal Defense Attorney

Professor Aliza Kaplan, Professor of Lawyering and Director of the Criminal Justice Reform Clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School.

Karuna Thompson, Former Prison Chaplain and Victim Liaison at the Oregon Department of Corrections

Companion Videos for this Episode:

Video 6A - Fresh Hope

Video 6B - The Rehearsal

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com

Watch an intimate “inside class” discussion on shame and personal accountability, inspired by Danielle Sered’s book, “Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration and a Road to Repair.” The men comment on how the current criminal justice system does not promote accountability and in many ways even discourages it. Sterling and his classmates reflect on the difficulty of acknowledging the pain and harm, as well as the lasting impact of their past actions.

They are being accountable. Now what? Find out in Episode 5, Restorative Justice.

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com

Join undergraduate students from Willamette University and men from Oregon State Penitentiary in the classroom. Professor Melissa Buis and Sterling Cunio co-teach “Reforming Criminal Justice,” a class about mass incarceration. Classmates discuss cycles of violence, trauma, and the effect of societal expectations.

Find out how Sterling’s awakening affects life at Oregon State Penitentiary in Episode 5, Restorative Justice.

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com

Sterling leads a candid discussion with fellow restorative justice facilitators on what it means to live your amends.  The men discuss taking responsibility, personal growth, and the struggle for self-esteem while incarcerated.

In Episode 5, Restorative Justice, hear how Sterling and his friends manage to change prison culture.

Sterling’s intense educational pursuits led him to a class on restorative justice, where  he developed a vision for completely changing the toxic prison culture where he’d likely spend the rest of his life. What started as a path toward forgiving himself grew into a tool for brokering peace and mediating clashes between gangs inside. We hear from Danielle Sered, a foremost expert on alternatives to incarceration.

For an intimate look at the men inside Oregon State Penitentiary discussing accountability, guilt, shame, reformation, and making amends, watch our three mini-documentaries, Restorative Justice,  Class Inside, and True Accountability. 

To watch our companion videos, read the transcripts, and to see our complete show notes with media links, sources, and references please visit our website: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com

Watch excerpts of Sterling’s performance from “The Bucket,” an ensemble play about solitary confinement which won first prize from the PEN America prison writing contest. Directed by our podcast host Phil Stockton and co-written and co-starring Sterling Cunio,  these dramatic pieces provide a glimpse into Sterling’s gritty real life experiences .

How did Sterling evolve into the award-winning artist he is today?  Be sure to listen to Podcast Episode 4, Love, Loss & Art.

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com

With acute self-awareness, Sterling recounts several of the key turning points in his life that enabled him to transform. Thanks to an unexpected letter and a surprising connection to a novel he randomly read, Sterling’s perspective on himself and his crime turns upside down.  Witness this unfolding transformation enhanced with old photographs.  

Hear how letters, love, and creative expression propelled Sterling’s transformation in Episode 4, Love, Loss & Art.

Relationships with people in the outside world are essential for maintaining hope, working towards rehabilitation, and reducing recidivism. Letters, emails, and in-person visits from friends and family bring a shred of humanity to an otherwise inhumane environment. In Sterling's case, he found a pen pal that would become very dear to his heart. And in writing, he began to express himself in a way that people would finally listen.

To see Sterling’s transformation unfold through pictures and stories watch Turning Points.   Watch Sterling perform in the award-winning play, The Bucket.

This episode includes a description of suicide ideation about 8 minutes into the program. Listener discretion is advised. If you or anyone you know is struggling with a mental health crisis or suicidal thoughts, please call 988. That’s the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 988.

To watch our companion videos, read the transcripts, and to see our complete show notes with media links, sources, and references please visit our website: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com

Featured in this episode:

Cheryl Cunio

Sterling Cunio

Lauren Kessler, teaches Storytelling for Social Change at University of Washington,  former writing teacher at Oregon State Penitentiary, author of 15 books including A Grip of Time and Free, Two Years, Six Lives and the Long Journey Home, both of which feature Sterling Cunio.

Performers in *The Bucket:* Troy Ramsey, Key Davis, Ben Pervish

Becca Stevens, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter

Antonio Sánchez, 4x Grammy Winner, Film Composer of 2014 Best Picture Winner, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

Thana Alexa - Grammy-nominated vocalist, composer, arranger and producer.  She performs a portion of The Bucket in this episode.

Companion Videos for this Episode:

Video 4A - Turning Points

Video 4B - *Excerpts from The Bucket*