Joka Heshima Jinsai

AKA: Shannon Lemar Denham; Shannon Heshima Denham; S. Heshima Denham
In Custody
Era:2000s
Inmate Number:#J38283
State:California
Support
Prisoner Human Rights Movement Autonomous Infrastructure Mission
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Biography

Joka Heshima Jinsai, legally Shannon Lemar Denham, is an incarcerated writer and community organizer associated with the Autonomous Infrastructure Mission and the campaign to end the Thirteenth Amendment’s punishment exception. His supporters describe work on community food, education and economic initiatives. He has challenged prolonged segregation linked to political expression. CDCR listed him at Kern Valley State Prison on September 10, 2026. The case below concerns that prison segregation rather than classifying his original criminal prosecution as activism-related custody.

Case

California State Prison, Corcoran
Charges: Prolonged SHU confinement based on disputed political-material and association evidence
Sentence: Denham’s account in the 2012 UN petition describes about eleven years of segregation and says officials relied on political artwork, a prison-news article and association evidence. A later clemency campaign also reports prolonged isolation connected to his advocacy. These are attributed accounts, not a finding that every classification allegation was false. The reviewed sources do not establish a reliable exact endpoint for this episode. No parole estimate or transfer out of isolation is entered as a prison release date.
Institution State: California

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