February, 2009

Prisoners Who Focus on Success Reject Labels of Convicts or Inmates

Paul wrote a comment asking me to elaborate on my perceptions with regard to the differences between those prisoners who identified themselves as either convicts or inmates. Specifically, Paul wanted to know whether I thought convicts had committed more violent crimes than inmates, and whether I thought convicts were more likely to re-offend upon release. [...]

The Dilemmas of Prison Guards Who Want to Correct

Andrew commented on an earlier article I wrote about the perceptions I had about euphemistic job titles. I did not strive to disparage the trade of prison guards, though my 21-plus years experience of living in prison did not expose me to any emphasis on corrections. Quite the opposite, in fact, Rather than providing for [...]

Prison Administrators Can Enhance Security by Offering E-mail to Prisoners

In a previous post, I wrote about the benefits prison administrators could realize by offering inmates access to modern technology like e-mail. Mel Lopez commented that he agreed it was important for prisoners to maintain support networks, though he had questions as to whether I thought administrators should grant e-mail access to those offenders who [...]

Eighty-Eight Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp

Today I woke with a wonderful feeling, as if I’ve really made a contribution to society. These good feelings come from an opportunity I had yesterday to contribute to courses on corporate ethics that Professor Kelly Pope was leading at DePaul University in Chicago. I had come into contact with Kelly through my friend Walt [...]

Eighty-Nine Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp

My release date continues to approach at a rapid pace. I like it. Other prisoners I’ve met have expressed deep anxieties about returning to society. They all wanted freedom, of course, but they left trouble behind when they began serving their sentences. During the months, years, or decades that they spent inside prison boundaries, they [...]

Ninety Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp

Yesterday afternoon my counselor called me into her office. The counselors in Taft Prison Camp have the responsibility of assigning job details, approving visiting and telephone lists, and overseeing the sanitation levels of the housing units. When called, I wondered which issue she wanted to speak with me about. As I walked to her office, [...]

Do Prison Staff Members Encourage and Promote a Postive Lifestyle For Prisoners?

Lauren is a university student studying criminal justice who asked a question about the challenges I faced when I was pursuing my university degrees. I want to respond to Lauren’s questions by describing an interaction I recently had in a group meeting at the Taft Prison Camp. A prison counselor was present, overseeing our group [...]

Ninety One Days Until Release From Taft Prison Camp

As I was running the track at Taft Camp this morning, I thought about the real value I derived from these past ten months I’ve served. I never would have thought that my time as a prisoner would evolve into something I would value. Surprisingly, that is the frame of mind I’m in now, as [...]

My 7,861st Day In Prison

Monday, 16 February 2009 I left my cubicle at 3:05 this morning. The extraordinary visit I enjoyed with my wife yesterday took a lot of energy out of me, so I slept in a little longer than usual. The payment for those extra 30 minutes of sleep would mean that I had to sacrifice my [...]

Ninety Two Days Until Release From Taft Prison Camp

I had an awkward encounter in the bathroom of my housing unit at Taft Camp. It was early on a weekend morning, a time when many of the other prisoners were still asleep. I was washing my face when Mark walked in. Mark was another prisoner with whom I had been friendly in the past. [...]

Ninety Three Days Until Release From Taft Prison Camp

Through my readings I learned something about the history of America’s prison system. The entire concept of imprisonment began with a religious sect, the Quakers of Pennsylvania. Prior to my own incarceration, when I thought of Quakers, the only image that came to mind was the round tube of oats with the picture of the [...]

Blogging for Dummies Book Report

Date Read: February 7, 2009 Book Title: Blogging for Dummies Book Author: Suzanna Gardner and Shane Birley Book Publisher: Wiley Publishing (2008) Nonfiction/368 pages Blogging for Dummies was the third book I read in 2009.   Reason I read Blogging for Dummies:  A friend of mine sent me this book through the mail when I [...]

Beware of Roman Frabrizi in Prison

I’ve met scores of con artists during the more than 21 years I’ve served in prison. New prisoners should avoid interacting with them. I say con artist, I’m not talking about the men who led Ponzi schemes or who were convicted of the various fraud statutes. Those types of white collar offenders filled federal prison [...]

Ninety Four Days Until Release From Taft Prison Camp

As I sat to write this morning’s blog, I realized that today was Valentine’s Day. This was the holiday for people in love, yet I was alone, as I had been for the past ten months. Living in prison meant living within a community of men, separated from the fairer gender. I missed women, and [...]

Celebrating Another Valentine’s Day in Prison

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. This year marks the seventh February 14th that Carole and I have celebrated together. I know that I’m blessed to have a loving wife who commits herself wholly to our marriage in spite of the long prison sentence that I serve. Others I’ve met in prison have asked how Carole and [...]