Biography
Emile Suotonye DeWeaver (he/him) is a formerly incarcerated activist, journalist, and widely published essayist from Oakland, California, with proud roots in Rivers State, Nigeria. His book of essays, Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine, debuts with the New Press in May 2025. He writes about the insidious ways white supremacy compromises freedom in America and advocates for clearer, more courageous theories of change. He’s a 2021 Keeley Schenwar Memorial Prize winner, a 2022 Soros Justice Media fellow, and a Center for Just Journalism fellow.
His essays have been published in TruthOut, the Appeal, and the Brennan Center for Justice. DeWeaver has been interviewed as a criminal justice expert by ABC News, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Sad Francisco podcast.
While in prison, DeWeaver successfully organized to pass two senate bills and a state constitutional amendment. He also cofounded the first Society of Professional Journalists in a prison as well as Prison Renaissance, the first non-profit organization in California run by incarcerated people, to challenge prevailing false narratives about rehabilitation and prison programs. Today, he’s the owner of re:frame, a consulting agency that works with writers, justice-centered organizations, media companies, and institutions to support structural change through creative strategies.
