Jeremy Hall Reintegration Support Campaign

Jeremy Hall has been incarcerated in federal and provincial institutions since the middle of 2009. He was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for 25 years. He was then charged with 2nd degree murder in August 2011 for the death of a fellow inmate in the Niagara Detention Centre. Shortly after that Jeremy was charged with two counts of counselling to commit murder. 
Jeremy was acquitted of both counts of counselling to commit murder. A mistrial was declared regarding the 2nd degree murder charges. In 2018, Ontario’s highest court overturned Jeremy’s first degree murder conviction. In 2020, the Crown’s key witness in Jeremy’s case was charged with second degree murder. When reviewing the witness’ case, it was revealed that items in the case were relevant to a material issue in Jeremy’s initial conviction. As a verdict is reached, discharge planning is underway for Jeremy Hall. 
I began corresponding with Jeremy Hall in 2017 through an organization called PASAN, who provide health and safety resources to incarcerated persons across the country. Jeremy’s initiative and enthusiasm to contribute to PASAN’s national newsletter “Cell Count” and other health and safety initiatives spoke to his community spirit and passion for supporting those in need.
Jeremy and I spoke about his experience inside prison, learning how to draw and tattoo, his family and his hopes for the future. Our correspondence during those first few months culminated in an article for a UK tattoo magazine, which advocated for prisoners rights to respect, dignity and adequate health care while incarcerated. 
I continued corresponding with Jeremy as he eventually began his current retrial. I connected with his daughter, a brilliant young woman with a kind heart and a passion for writing. Raine had also been a frequent contributor to Cell Count, writing about her experiences having a father inside, taken from her with no sign of release.
In 2019, Jeremy was contacted by an independent art gallery in Toronto called The Loon. Working closely with the gallerists, Jeremy gathered a collection of illustrations and poems  speaking to his immense talent, critical self-reflection and ability to express his innermost emotions. Here is a statement from The Loon:
“A mutual friend introduced me to Jeremy in the spring of 2019. We began corresponding and talking about art, talking about the ways in which art has the capacity to become a vehicle for emotion and for willpower. It can allow us to connect with ourselves and also with others. It can also allow us to examine our surroundings as a way of superseding authority and domination.
Over the summer we planned ‘The Deadtime Collections”, a wide ranging exhibition of drawings and poetry that he had worked on over the past few years. I don’t think anyone was prepared for the breadth and depth of his artwork. The Loon is in debt to Jeremy and his daughter Raine for all the work and knowledge they brought into our space. We look forward to the day when they can both be physically present in our small gallery and our beloved community.” - Oliver Roberts, The Loon
Throughout this process, as the law deliberates over and over again, we are reminded of how the system holds our fate in its hands. The grieving families, the loved ones lost, our hopes and fears of what the future may hold. This campaign does not wish to diminish the loss and violence this case has created in the lives of all who are connected to it. We simply wish to try our best to provide the best possible opportunity for transformative justice to take shape. 
Reintegration is a devastating process for the majority of prisoners who are released. Canada has no reliable or consistent data on how successful the corrections system is at ‘rehabilitating’ inmates, or what percentage of people re-offend. A conservative estimate of recidivism (return to custody) sits around 40 percent .
Research  shows that offenders recommit crimes because of their socioeconomic status, effectiveness of their parole officers, length of time incarcerated, seriousness of crime, their education level, along with many other factors. An offender’s willingness to recommit crime can change through programs that help offenders create positive peer relationships in their communities, which enlarge their circle of support. Their attitudes may change from seeing crime as a necessity, knowing that they have a circle of support to lean on. Income and financial stability is a crucial part in this process. 
Jeremy will be released in early January with the belongings that he had on his person in the courtroom he was convicted at in mid 2009. Unseasonable clothing, no housing and the mark of a decade long stay in federal corrections. Please consider donating to our campaign to provide Jeremy with a realistic chance of finding a new pathway which will lead him away from incarceration and towards restoring his relationships with himself, his family and the community. 
We are also working on setting up an online store for the community to purchase some of Jeremy's art, merchandise and materials.

Thank you for considering this cause. Please donate as soon as you can. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to Jeremy, in hopes of providing him with $1000/month for his first year out of prison.

“It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.”