We recently sat down with Zolo Agona Azania, who was recently released after surviving decades on Indiana’s death row. In this first section of the interview, he covers his early experiences in prison, the role of imprisoned Black Panthers in mentoring him, and the cycle of prisoners struggles that lasted in Indiana from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. In the course of this important neglected history, he shares a wealth of vital lessons for organizing today.