Zhi Kai H. Vanderford, incarcerated for nearly 40 years, says prison is no longer about rehabilitation — it’s a failed system that devastates families and communities.
Zhi Kai H. Vanderford - #145673
Zhi Kai H. Vanderford is a 58-year-old trans man serving a life sentence, with 38 consecutive years of incarceration across California, Oklahoma, and Minnesota’s women’s and men’s prisons. He is believed to be the first female-assigned person in Minnesota to be transferred to a men’s facility without access to gender-affirming surgery, and he identifies as a modern-day Mulan. Zhi Kai is working on his Master’s in Business Administration and seeks parole support at freezhikai.org.