The Ultimate Investment: The freedom fighter

AS: Tell us about the initiatives that you support? 

JF: My goal is to end mass incarceration in the US, which is one of the worst failed social policy disasters in history. 

AS: What impact do you think mass incarceration has on the wellness of communities, families and individuals? 

JF: The effect on communities is devastating because a large percentage of people in prison have children. Children of incarcerated parents are subject to extreme hardship and deprivation, and are the most likely segment of the population to end up in prison themselves. Most studies even say that it has a negative effect on reducing crime. 

AS: Do you also campaign on behalf of those wrongly arrested? 

JF: For almost 25 years now, I’ve been a board member and supporter of the Innocence Project, which fights to free people who’ve been wrongfully convicted and to promote better practices so that these travesties don’t occur with such alarming frequency. So, yes, I’ve been focused on helping to free the innocent, change police and prosecutorial practices, and support people post-conviction to get back on their feet. 

AS: What originally inspired you and set you on this path? 

JF: I read a newspaper story about a kid named Steven Lennon who was serving 15 years to life for a non-violent first offence. It threw my sense of fairness and justice completely out of whack and I decided that I had to try to do something about it. So I contacted the only criminal defence attorney I knew, a man named Bob Kalina. Occasionally the rock stars I was working with would get arrested and he was the guy we would call! He said it was virtually hopeless but agreed to take on an appeal on a pro bono basis, as a favour to me. Six months later we were in a courtroom. I was holding the hand of the defendant’s mother as the judge ruled in our favour and ordered him to be released. It was then and there that I realised that a normal citizen like me could make a difference if they really set their mind to it. It was just the greatest feeling that I had ever had.

AS: It sounds like you’re very hands-on… 

JF: I am very hands-on and I enjoy that because although it’s maddening, it also allows me to exercise a different part of my brain. There are so many incredible organisations that I interact with such as the Civil Rights Corps and Worth Rises, who are making a tremendous difference. Families Against Mandatory Minimums is also doing phenomenal work and I am proud to serve on their board. As another way of making sure these important stories are heard, I also started a podcast, Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom, in which I interview people who've lived through the nightmare of wrongful incarceration. My hope was that I could help to create a more informed and educated audience, all of whom are prospective jurors and voters, and thereby help to prevent some wrongful convictions in the future. 

AS: What are you most proud of? What do you see as your biggest achievements? 

JF: Helping to change public opinion and working with thought leaders to change policies. I’m very proud of the people I've been able to help get off Death Row – those are actual lives being saved – and the people that I’ve been able to help finally get their freedom back after decades of incarceration. 

AS: What are your plans for the future? 

JF: Raise more money, do more advocacy, get more people out of prison who shouldn’t be there, change more attitudes and laws. 

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Jason Flom is a US music executive who has headed Atlantic Records, Virgin Records and Capital Music Group, and signed acts such as Katy Perry, Kid Rock and Lorde. He now runs his own record label and music publishing company, Lava Records, and founded a podcast company, Lava for Good Podcasts. Recognition for his work includes the Torch of Liberty award from the American Civil Liberties Union.