Spectrum News: Allan McIntosh

“I’m probably the happiest man on Earth right now.”-Allan McIntosh

After spending 20+ years incarcerated and isolated from his family for gun possession, Allan McIntosh has finally been resentenced and freed.

ucla radio - AN INTERVIEW WITH UNITE THE PEOPLE’S CEO, CEASAR MCDOWELL

“Unite the People here, how can I help you?” 

14 years into his prison sentence — three life sentences for a non-violent crime — Ceasar McDowell founded Unite the People, a non-profit organization providing legal services for low-income communities in California, right from his cell at San Quentin State Prison. By working with his brother on the outside, he built a website, filed paperwork, and took company calls on a contraband cell-phone.

signal tribune - “Former LA prosecutor joins Long Beach-based legal nonprofit to fight for incarcerated people”

After spending years holding plaintiffs accountable as a deputy city attorney for Los Angeles, Rosemary Chávez will now be holding other prosecutors accountable as part of the Long Beach-based legal nonprofit Unite The People. “It’s important that someone with a background in criminal work looks to see that the prosecution was done correctly and the judge’s rulings were applied with justice in mind,” Chávez told the Signal Tribune. Now that Chávez has joined Unite The People, her expertise will be available to people who otherwise couldn’t afford it.

Spectrum News: Inside The Issue

In this special edition of "Inside The Issues" with Alex Cohen, one of Unite The People Inc.'s clients has their story told. Alex Cohen and Daniela Parto of Spectrum News, help share the story of Allan McIntosh and his family; and supplies a real life example of how disproportionate sentencing is still playing a role in our society to this day.

spectrum news: The socal scene

Our CEO and Co-Founder, Ceasar McDowell, spoke with Spectrum News’ “The SoCal Scene”, hosted by Melvin Robert and crew, about how the recent uptick in robberies is impacting prison reforms. Make sure to check out the interview from Spectrum News if you have not done so already!

George Gascon Talk & Ceasar McDowell Spectrum News Interview

“CEO of Unite The People, Ceasar McDowell, sits down with George Gascon and survivors of violent crimes to discuss what resources should be available to these victims. Listen to this interview by Spectrum News that discusses more of Ceasar's story and what this talk meant to him.”

Long beach post: Rapper Tory Lanez gives $50K to pay legal fees for 30 families

Canadian rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer Tory Lanez stopped by the Unite the People office in Downtown Long Beach and donated $50,000 to pay off the legal fees for 30 families on Friday. Most of the families were completely surprised by his appearance and gesture. “Going through my own situations, I can understand how the legal system can be,” Lanez said as he spoke to the families. Lanez has been an advisory board member with Unite the People for three years and the organization is diligently working on prison reform. But at this moment, he felt paying off the legal fees would provide an immediate impact.

TMZ: Tory Lanez Donates $50K…”I’m Uniting The People!”

Tory Lanez stopped by the Unite the People office in Downtown Long Beach and donated $50,000 to pay off the legal fees for 30 families on Friday. Most of the families were completely surprised by his appearance and gesture. Lanez has been an advisory board member with Unite the People for three years and the organization is diligently working on prison reform. But at this moment, he felt paying off the legal fees would provide an immediate impact. “People think the goal is to be successful. My goal is not to be successful. Success is just the platform in which I help people from,” Lanez said.

La Opinion: Sorprenden a familias con donativo de $50,000 para pagar servicios legales de sus encarcelados

El rapero canadiense Tory Lanez sorprendió a 20 familias de California, al donarles entre $1,000 y $5,000 a cada una para que paguen por los servicios legales de sus familiares en prisión, que ya fueron sentenciados. “Para mí, significa el mundo poder ayudarlos”, dijo Lanez, quien desde hace tres años es miembro de la directiva de la organización no lucrativa Unite The People, a través de la cual donó $50,000 para ayudar con el pago de los servicios legales de los encarcelados convictos. El popular rapero recordó a las familias latinas, afroamericanas y asiáticas reunidas para recibir los donativos, que él fue un desamparado a los 14 años, suplicando por dinero en las calles.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 120: Cesar McDowell Turns His Life Around at San Quentin

Cesar McDowell chronicles his journey from San Quentin to becoming, while still incarcerated, the co-founder and CEO of Unite The People Inc., a non profit organization that promotes social justice and offers affordable legal services throughout the state of California. After spending 20 years in prison and falling victim to the social inequality in our criminal justice system, McDowell founded his organization from his prison cell with the hope of saving all those who have been wrongly prosecuted and sentenced. It is an incredible story of perseverance and redemption and McDowell walks the audience through it. McDowell on Everyday Injustice shares his story about how he spent 20 years incarcerated in one of the CDCR’s toughest facilities, San Quentin State Prison; under an illegal sentence.

KHSU: As California Prepares to Release up to 8,000 Inmates, Advocates Ask What’s Next

“Until late May, San Quentin had remained untouched by the coronavirus. That quickly changed when a group of 121 incarcerated people from the California Institution for Men in Chino were transferred to the Marin County facility without being tested immediately beforehand.” Ceasar McDowell, CEO and Co-Founder of Unite The People Incorporated discussed his experience with COVID-19 while incarcerated at one of California’s toughest prisons in San Quentin State Prison.

Long beach post PODCAST: How Unite the People is helping people gain their freedom

This week on the Word on Long Beach we take a closer look at how the nonprofit organization Unite the People Inc. began. Cesar McDowell spent 20 years in prison for a non-violent offense based on California’s “three strikes law,” which increased prison sentences for those with previous felony convictions. From his prison cell, he started Unite the People Inc., to help people who were in his situation and do not have the means to retain a competent attorney. If you would like to know more or get involved with Unite the People Inc., you can visit their office at 555 E. Ocean Blvd., suite 205. You can call them at 888-245-9393 or, you donate or learn more via their website.

KQED: California Prepares to Release up to 8,000 Inmates

Ceasar McDowell was released from San Quentin State Prison on June 26, his pre-scheduled release date — unrelated to the coronavirus — after serving a 20-year sentence on a three strikes violation. The 46-year-old from Rialto, California spent his last four days in the prison’s COVID-19 ward, even though he had no symptoms and never received the results of the coronavirus test he had taken as a “just-in-case” measure, he said. McDowell said those final days — sitting in a cell with men coughing all around him — were some of the most brutal of his entire incarceration.

Revolve Impact’s Expanding Empathy (TOWN HALL Meeting)

On Tuesday, March 30th, Revolve Impact, Summit, Athletes for Impact, and Unite The People Inc., brought together George Gascón, Los Angeles District Attorney; Ceasar McDowell, CEO & Co-Founder of Unite the People; and Professional Soccer Player, Megan Rapinoe, for a discussion on the role of survivors and systems-impacted people in the re-imagining of and the building of a new justice system. For more information on this event, visit the “Our Work” tab, at the top of our page.

sIGNAL TRIBUNE (interview & Article)

“Three-strikes law keeps Long Beach man in prison for 22 years on nonviolent charge.” “Ceasar McDowell poses with a picture of his mug shot from when he was arrested in 2000 in the office of his non-profit organization Unite the People in Long Beach on July 6, 2021. On his wall are photos from prison and other accomplishments he has made since getting out… As of Wednesday, June 30, McDowell’s nonprofit organization Unite the People has gathered 29,144 signatures on an online petition to get McIntosh resentenced by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.”

Hip Hop Zone Radio (Interview)

In December 2020, Ceasar McDowell sat down with Hip Hop Zone and discussed his time incarcerated, how he started the organization, and the organization's plans for the future. This interview provides an in depth look at the origin of Unite The People Inc.!

univision: three strikes protest

Unite the People, formally known as “We the People Org,” formed a protest in the city of Los Angeles to take a stand against the various issues surrounding our criminal justice system. Mass incarceration in America is an epidemic, and has become a burden on families and taxpayer dollars. Unite the People, organizers of The People’s Fair Sentencing and Public Safety Act of 2018, hopes to eradicate the Three Strikes Law. The organization hopes to push many other prison and sentence reforms.

94.1 KPFA: Formerly incarcerated activists demand Gov. Newsom visit San Quentin

Thursday, activists with the #StopSanQuentinOutbreak campaign held a press conference outside of the prison to call on Gov. Gavin Newsom to release incarcerated people with nonviolent convictions to slow the spread of the virus inside the prison, which is dangerously overcrowded. We spoke with Ceasar McDowell, who is now working with Unite the People, a nonprofit organization promoting social justice and providing affordable legal services for disadvantaged communities.

locked in: Breaking bread podcast

Locked in is a grassroots organization comprised of people passionate about social justice and wanting to make lasting change for those affected by injustice. Locked In is focused primarily on 3 pillars: Communication, Education, & Action. In our podcast Break Bread, host Dee Marie sits down at the table and has meaningful conversations with people who have been affected by the justice system and those that are active in reform.

“It is official, Season 2 is out and what an episode to drop with! Ceasar gets real and shares so many stories and truth nuggets with DeeMarie. Some of what he talks about are why he started robbing and how he got 3 strikes for doing nothing, how it was being in San Quentin at the height of Covid, and how he started his non-profit Unite the People from his prison cell. This episode is so good we had to go longer than usual.”