Who is Kenneth Reams?

Kenneth is a native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Physical abuse, abject poverty, neglect, and lack of opportunity defined his childhood. In 1993, while still a teenager, he and a childhood friend—also a teenager—decided to commit a robbery so that his friend could have money to pay for his cap and gown for his high school graduation. They did not intend to cause any physical harm. However, during the robbery attempt, Kenneth's friend impulsively pulled the trigger. The bullet struck the victim, who died later that evening.

Even though Kenneth did not shoot or intend or attempt to harm the victim, both teens were charged with capital murder. Kenneth's friend admitted his guilt, pleaded guilty, and received a sentence of life without the possibility parole. Kenneth, who did not shoot the victim, did not want to plead guilty to a murder he did not commit and decided to contest the charges in court. Ultimately, Kenneth was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death before a nearly all-white jury. He became the youngest inmate on Arkansas' death row, despite not having pulled the trigger or taken a life.

Despite being sentenced to death as a teen, then housed in solitary confinement—spending twenty-three hours a day in a cell no bigger than a parking space—Kenneth found redemption from within. He found an outlet in art—using whatever materials he could find—and writing. His work began to be appear in art shows in both the States and abroad. Working with his wife, Isabelle, and outside supporters, in 2012, he founded Who Decides, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to using art to get the public to think about capital punishment, solitary confinement, and mass incarceration.