Donna Hylton

Donna Hylton is a Jamaican-American feminist, author, and activist who has become one of the most prominent voices in criminal justice reform in the United States. She was a featured speaker at the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, and since 2013 she has addressed thousands of people across the country on ending mass incarceration, recidivism, and prison gender inequality. Today she works as a public speaker and community health advocate for Mt. Sinai St. Luke’s.

Hylton’s path to advocacy was shaped by extraordinary hardship. Born in Port Antonio, Jamaica, she was sent to New York City in 1972 at the age of seven to live with an adoptive family, and her memoir describes two decades of abuse at the hands of adults who should have protected her. At age 20, in 1985, she was convicted of second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree kidnapping for her role in the death of businessman Thomas Vigliarolo. Sentenced to 25 years to life, she served more than 26 years, much of it at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, before being paroled in 2012.

Rebuilding her life after prison, Hylton earned a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science and a master’s degree in English from Mercy College. In 2018 she published her memoir, A Little Piece of Light, which recounts her early life and her journey toward freedom and self-understanding.

Through her organization A Little Piece of Light, she supports women and girls impacted by trauma, abuse, and the criminal justice system. She speaks frequently at colleges, conferences, and seminars, offers consulting in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and health, and works to ensure prison safety and end mass incarceration in the United States.