It took a jury 8 hours to decide Taylor Conley’s fate, to decide he would live the remainder of his life in prison and die there.
In 2008, 20-year-old Taylor Conley was convicted of aggravated murder. Although convicted, Taylor maintains his innocence. Without the means of an expensive lawyer, his fate was doomed. The trial was full of corrupt witness testimony and so much more. Read further details of the case on www.freetaylorproject.com
15 years later Taylor is serving his life sentence in a Washington state prison. He is still filing appeals and doing what he can to have his case looked over, without a lot of headway but with a lot of hope, he hopes to see freedom one day.
Taylor Conley claims he put himself in the position to be arrested because of the lifestyle he was living and deserved to be punish but not to the extent of serving for a crime he did not commit.
His childhood was marked by abuse when he was sent the infamous WWASP behavior modification, Casa by the Sea in Mexico and Tranquility Bay in Jamaica. He was only 14 at the time. Those horrific programs paved the way to a future of drug abuse, the abuse that eventually led to the position he is now.
Giving up would be easy after being senteced to life in prison. After a few years of adjusting Taylor found his calling through art. It was the beginig of an incredible future he was makign for himself. A motto of his is, “Art changes lives” because it helped change his.
Taylor Conley doesn’t sit in a cell each day feeling sorry for himself. He lives each day to the fullest, helping further his education, helping those around him and helping those outside of his reach.
With the help and support of his wife Cecelia who he married during his incarceration, they created a social enterprise called Designed Conviction. A multimedia company that publishes books, magazines and music.
Most notably is their sister magazines, Inside Designed Conviction and Outside Deigned Conviction. Inside goes to inmates in prisons across the US. Each issue gives inmates an opportunity to showcase their artistic talents by entering an art contest through the magazine.
Outside Designed Conviction goes to the public, educating and making them aware of our prison system and showcasing the amazing talents of those that entered the contest.
It doesn’t stop with the magazine. Taylor Conley and his wife are doing all they can to spread awareness of not just Taylor’s situation but to all those incarcerated that deserve a second chance. To show the world that these are people, not to be locked up and forgotten about.
Taylor Conley hosts an amazing podcast called Life of a Lifer. In this podcast he shares his life experiences as well as interviews those on the outside that have been connected to the world of the incarcerated. Guests ranging from musician Struggle Jennings, to reality tv star Lizzie Kommes.
On top of that, he is a songwriter and has partnered with musicians to create his own albums. An upcoming EP with Seth Anthony will be coming out shortly! Also featuring Bubba Sparxx and Burden.
Taylor and his wife have created a successful YouTube channel where there are featured episodes of his podcast that are animated and a show his wife does called “Wife of a Lifer” Check out their YouTube Channel here.
Recently Taylor Conley was featured on Hey Human Podcast with Susan Ruth. Ruth delves deeper into Taylor’s past from his childhood to the early days in prison. His former drug abuse, current sobriety, and him being a role model to other prisoners who are seeking to change their lives as well.
Listen to their interview here on Apple or Spotify.
Learn more about Life of a Lifer, check out our Blog.