MARISA'S STORY

 Marisa Merico is an authour, public speaker and having recently obtained a BA (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Justice from Lancaster University, works with academics researching crime and justice as a criminologist. She has also worked in the voluntary sector with women at women’s centres' in the North West of England.

In her past life, Marisa was involved in 'organised crime’, with strong family ties to the notorious ‘Ndrangheta’, Mafia crime syndicate. She is the daughter of a former Mafia Crime Boss.
Marisa ‘served time’ in prison in both England and Italy, and was released from prison 1998.
Whilst in prison, she was a high security prisoner due to her ‘family connections’, which made her prison experience significantly different to the ‘typical’ journey other women experience when incarcerated. 

An advocate for prison reform, Marisa, is committed to changing the prison system and helping other women, who like her have experience the criminal justice system. She frequently talks about her unique experiences at events, using her expertise, to give her side of the story of ‘organised crime’ and the grim realities of ‘prison life’. Marisa has written a book about her life, and engages in media work, detailing her experiences of the ‘Mafia’ and prison.