Born in October 1964 in Philadelphia, Garrison Johnson grew-up in a single parent household with five siblings. His mother struggled to make ends meet so decided it best to move to California for employment. Living in California as a boy was difficult and confusing because of the issues that plagued the poor communities in Los Angeles. There was a dividing line between those who had and those who had not. Garrison discovered that he had a learning disorder, which resulted in his inability to read and write throughout high school. Submitting to the negative environment around him, Garrison chose a life of crime. In and out of juvenile facilities, he has been serving a life sentence since 1987. In attempting to gather evidence suppressed from his last trial, Garrison became self-educated inside prison walls. Some of his poetry has been included in a self-published book called Poems from the Inside, which is available at his website www.garrisoncorrespondenceinc.com.
