News FeedTwenty-Three Thanksgivings in Prison
Today begins my 23rd consecutive Thanksgiving holiday as a federal prisoner. I’ve now passed as many Thanksgiving holidays in prison as I passed as a free citizen. Prison has numbed me–I no longer experience the excitement and joy of holiday celebrations, though I know the season represents a time of significance for citizens of the world.
Despite my inability to join in festivities, I certainly have much for which I can feel grateful. I express gratitude for the many blessings of my life every day, and today I bow my head with special prayers for my loving wife, for my family, for good health, and for the opportunities I have to appreciate life.
Yesterday I met Leighton, a young man who self-surrendered to Taft Camp from the San Diego area. New to prison, Leighton brought a fresh perspective as he experienced his first full day in federal prison. He had spoken with my friend Justin before he self-surrendered, so Leighton had an idea of what to expect. Yet he stood in amazement when he saw the amount of waste firsthand.
It’s true that the easy atmosphere of federal prison camps would astonish most taxpayers. At first impression, the prison camps look like recreational resorts, with grown men spending all of their time lounging, exercising, or wasting time. Prison camps truly waste taxpayer resources and human lives.
Certainly, the “punishment” comes with separation from family and community. But taxpayers suffer a high cost for this brand of justice. As Leighton observed, an enlightened society could do so much more than operate these prison camps that separate nonviolent and non-threatening people for years at a time.
2 Responses to “Twenty-Three Thanksgivings in Prison”
Leave a Reply
« A Moveable Feast | Home | Bam »
I can add that my son is in a state prison in California and the waste affects the federal tax dollars as well as the state tax dollars. Jobs in prison are a joke and do nothing to train our men and women to have any kind of successful career after prison. My son is lucky because he is smart and is working his own program to just as you do. Others will be back because prison breaks down our men and women to a child like state. Have you thought about it that way? You are told when to wake up, when to eat, when to play and when to watch TV or use the phone. It becomes easy for many. Punishment? Not really. The punishment is the removal from family but for many men and women prison becomes the life. We wonder why recidivism is so high. We break these people and they commit new crimes often because they don’t know how to live outside of the walls of prison. We do not train them; we do not fix those who can be fixed. All we do is break them more. WE ARE A PRISON NATION and obviously our people are the worst in the world according to our prison number statistics so why are we trying to fix other countries?
I still can not grasp how non-violent criminals can be locked up so long, altho I think we all would agree the so called “white collar thieves” need to repay/pay for destroyed lives. I just don’t know where to start the whole system over-whelms me. So I blog, post relevent links, but it seems so small compared to the problems.